South Africa page 1 of 3
It has been long overdue since my last bulk (yes I apologize) email. If you are not up to date I was in Cape Town, South Africa February 19-22. Cape Town was amazing; my only regret is that I wish I had a couple of more days to do everything that I wanted.
My first day I went on a Semester at Sea faculty directed program. The program was called AIDS in Development in South Africa. The program started at around 11 o'clock and we docked at 9. So I had a couple of hours to kill in Cape Town. Let me tell you, you think you were in Europe or in the South of France. This definitely did not look or feel like Africa. The shops by the port were all trendy boutiques and mainstream stores that can be found in the US. The cars were luxury vehicles and I even saw a couple of Ferraris.
Apartheid officially ended in 1994, but it sure doesn't feel like it. Everything is still segregated; only difference is that it's not legally enforced. Yes, I experienced all of this in my first two hours so you could only imagine what my time was like after that. I left for the AIDS in development program, which was at a Presbyterian Church in Guguletu, a South African township. The church is also an AIDS clinic and the finest facility in the whole township. Guguletu is approximately 350,000 people and the houses consisted of shacks and simple rectangular shaped cinder block designs.
At this township, approximately one in five are HIV+. When we first got to the church we attended a small lecture by the pastor who was also head of the AIDS clinic. He gave us the history behind the clinic as well as the gravity of the situation. People in Guguletu were forced into this township during the Apartheid regime. The apartheid regime is known as the most far right legal separation system of government where people's rights are determined on the color of their skin. Whites have the most rights with coloreds as a close second. Asians and blacks have close to no rights. The pastor told us that during apartheid many Africans were displaced thus losing generations of genealogical records. He believes that African families don't know what it means to be a family anymore because of the white people moving them around from township to township whenever they wanted their land.
The pastor also told us about the current administrations stance on AIDS. Mbeki, the current president and Mandela's successor, was quoted as saying that he does not recognize a link between HIV and AIDS. Before Mbeki was president, HI V positive people were given anti-retroviral medication, which would weaken the strength of the virus. Anti-retrovirals cut the transmission in pregnant women to child by 50%. This medication is also given to rape victims right after they have been raped to stop any possible infection if the rapists were HIV+.
Since Mbeki and the Minister of Health question the link between HIV and AIDS, something we've proven in the 80's, the administration has cut all funding for anti-retrovirals for AIDS sufferers and million of babies that could have been spared the virus are now being infected because expected mothers cannot afford the anti-retroviral medication. The pastor as well as our professors told us about this horrific baby rape myth and AIDS. South Africa use to be a colony of England and when the English had syphilis outbreaks, the whites would have sex
with a virgin as an antidote for syphilis. Well, some Africans that are HIV+ and are desperate will rape a young child, which they think will get rid of their AIDS. This practice they learned from the English is just a vicious cycle infecting the younger and powerless generation. In fact, the youngest child ever to be raped was recorded in South Africa. It was a newborn baby just nine days old. The church as well as other churches in South Africa have been very proactive on combating AIDS in South Africa, a subject that is very taboo in American churches. The AIDS clinic also educates people in the townships and rural areas by handing out free condoms and demonstrating how to put one on. They also educate people on the virus and the different ways one can become infected. This Presbyterian Church also offers free HIV testing. Going to school at Elm Grove Lutheran AIDS was always something that bad people got, in fact I remember my fifth grade teacher saying that anyone who gets AIDS deserves it because of their lifestyle. Well, they should come here, millions of people are being infected against their will, and the churches are the ones doing something to stop it.
At the AIDS clinic we met others who are HIV+ and they told us their stories and even how they got infected with the virus. Most of them were very upbeat and wore HIV+ t-shirts to show that they have no shame. Their mission is to educate other people on the disease and prevent it from spreading to the younger generation. Most people working at the clinic are HIV+ and mainly women.
From what the pastor told us, most men choose not to get tested because if they find out they are positive they will look weak and look like less of a man. Even though some men are educated about the virus and have access to condoms they prefer not to wear them because it's not manly. If you wear a condom you are being a sissy and it has to be "flesh to flesh". We heard the story of one guy who had two girlfriends who died of AIDS and thought that he did not have it because when he gave blood he saw that his blood was "clean" because it was the color red. As you might know they have an HIV+ character on "Sesame Street"
to educate the children on this disease. The only problem is that 65-70% of the population do not own a television and it's the rural Africans that are most at risk. Because of AIDS, the life expectancy will drop from 67 to 49 in the next two years. The average life expectancy in 1998 was 67 so it goes to show you how big and fast this disease is spreading. Half of all 15 year olds will die of AIDS in South Africa. Just imagine all the teenagers you know, they could be schoolmates, nephews, nieces, grandchildren, children, and half of them will die of AIDS. Now that apartheid has ended there is so much promise and future for these children, but sadly because of the AIDS epidemic their future looks rather dismal. Even if they aren't infected with the disease they probably know someone who is.
After visiting the church/AIDS clinic we split up into groups and went into the township and visited the homes of people who were dying of AIDS. The house I went to was a small one-bedroom house with no stove or oven. There were random car parts spread across the yard. This is where Wendy lives with her parents. Wendy is the woman who we visited. She is 32 years old and in the last stages of AIDS and has lesions all over her face and body. She is very thin and can barely keep herself up. She was just recently diagnosed with meningitis. The
ten of us went into her living room and we got to ask questions about her condition and her thoughts about the current situation. Her father was also in the room, and when she didn't have enough energy to respond to our questions her father answered on her behalf. Wendy has a seven-year-old son and we asked her if her son has been tested. Sadly, he has not.
In Guguletu, anti-retrovirals are given to 150 people. Remember, 1 in 5 out of 350,000 are infected but only 150 can get anti-retrovirals to weaken the effects and stop it from spreading. The government provides some anti-retrovirals, but they are mainly provided by NGO's and different non-profit organizations. Just think if we all donated just a little how many people could be spared in this region. Wendy told us that the government is cutting off her anti-retroviral medication at the end of this month. Remember, she has meningitis too. We asked if she was upset that the government was cutting off her anti-retrovirals and she said that even if they didn't she couldn't take her medication anyways because you need to take it with food, and she doesn't have any food to eat. The only thing her family has eaten in the past two day were a couple of potatoes fried in three-day-old oil. Her father can't work because he has to stay at home and take care of her. We asked her
what there thoughts were on the Mbeki's stance on AIDS. They were outraged; Mbeki is part of the African National Congress political party that all black South Africans vote for. They were both angry that Mbeki has turned his back on them. They feel that the government is extremely corrupt. We asked if Wendy was afraid for the future and that's when she started crying. She was sobbing saying she was afraid for her son to grow up without her mother. At that point, everyone in the room was crying both males and females. I can't remember the last time I cried or felt so sad. The ten of us decided to gather some money together so they could at least buy some food or pay for anti-retrovirals. Anti-retrovirals are only $40 a month, which is nothing to us, but to them it's Wendy's life.
You would think our government or IGOs would do something to make these drugs more affordable but if you can believe it or not American pharmaceutical companies at the latest WTO meeting said they would not give up their patents and make the drugs affordable even though many AIDS activists were at the WTO meeting pleading to make the drugs more accessible. This is the downfall of capitalism; I use to be pro-globalization but not after reading about the WTO and anti-retrovirals in the South African newspaper. One European pharmaceutical company cut the prices of their AIDS medications by 92% to make them more affordable in Africa. One good thing to come out of the Bush administration is that it promised to give $15 billion in aid to Africa to stop this epidemic. Wendy told us that it's only Americans like us who come to visit her home that try to make a difference. She says a white South African has never been found in her township before.
Now you are probably thinking that two and a half pages is a lot to write about one field trip but I was so moved by this program. In many ways I'm glad I went on this trip because it opened my eyes but in some ways I wish I hadn't. Going to Wendy's house still haunts me and I think about it on a daily basis. I've been to AIDS walks before but I can't say that I made it my personal mission to stop this disease nor have I cared that much about this epidemic. Now my life has changed, I want to make a difference any way I can.
Well, after going to the AIDS in Development field trip I decided to hike Table Mountain with my friends in Cape Town. Hiking this mountain was the best way to process my thoughts from everything I had just seen. I hiked it with my friends Mark, Amy, Danielle, and Constantine. I thought hiking in Boulder and Lencois was difficult but this topped them all. The first part of the hike was extremely vertical and required lots of endurance. My friend Amy got sick so she went back down and took the cable car to the top. The whole middle part was ok but we saw signs everywhere telling us to look out for rams. Somewhere near the middle of our hike we got lost and we weren't sure that we were on the right trail. We ran into some people and it turns out we were headed in the right direction. The very end of the trail was so vertical that we had to climb on top of rocks to get to the top. It's called Table Mountain because it's completely flat on top. Once on top you can see both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean. They had a little restaurant on top so after our hike (which took 2 hours) we decided to get some food and drink champagne to celebrate. I have to say, South African champagne kicks ass, way much better than the cheap champagne I bought myself for New Years. We were so beat and it was getting dark that we decided to take the cable car down. We all took a nap for a couple of hours and then later that night we went to a club. This concludes my first day in South Africa.
The second day was more relaxing. In the morning I went with some friends and walked to the market. It was kind of a long walk so we went out to lunch and went to the market afterwards. I got a nice hand crafted wood table for $12 and a traditional African mask for $40. I have no idea how I'm going to get either of those home. After many hours spent at the market we went back to the ship and I ran into some friends who invited me on a helicopter ride. It was my first time ever on a helicopter and worth every penny of it. I got to see all of Cape Town and Table Mountain on our half hour helicopter ride. It was absolutely beautiful. Later that night I went to a musical with some friends entitled "District 6". As I mentioned before, under apartheid, whenever the whites wanted the black African's land they would push them off it and give them little compensation and move them to temporary housing at a township. At the theater we had dinner beforehand, which included some more South African wine. "District 6" is a musical about blacks living in a township being forcibly pushed off their land. Surprisingly, the musical was one of the best musicals I have ever seen. It was sad, funny, and entertaining.
The third day I was in South Africa we decided to take a train to Stellenbrosch and cycle through the wine lands. We started our venture early in the morning because it was over an hour train ride. I went with nine friends and when we finally got to the place where we were renting bikes from they only had two left to rent. Two of my friends ended up renting those two bikes and left their driver licenses as collateral. He gave us directions to another bike rental place to rent more bikes. The second bike we went to was not renting out bikes that day because they were servicing all of them. Finally after walking throughout town we found a place where we could get more bikes.
When we got our bike our friend Melinda just happened to tell us that she has never ridden a bike without training wheels before. In fact she hadn't ridden a bike in the past ten years. So before we could get anywhere we taught her how to ride a bike in front of this pizzeria. When she finally figured it out how to pedal right we started cheering for her. All the South Africans thought we were crazy, I don't think they've ever met anyone our age who doesn't know how to ride a bike. Come to think of it, either do I. Well just shortly on our way
to our vineyard my friend Constantine got a flat tire. The rest of the group went on their way and I went back with him to get a different bike. When we went back the rest of the bikes had very little air in the tires so we had to go to a gas station to fill our tires up with air because the bike rental place did not have an air pump. By this time our group is far ahead of us. I had a very romanticized view of what cycling through the wine lands looks like, it's really just biking on the side of the highway to get to the vineyard you want. Well Constantine and I made pretty good progress with our bikes and we passed our friends Chris and Lora. Apparently Chris got a flat tire on his bike too so he and Lora were walking the rest of the way there.
We finally got to Spiers vineyard at 2 o'clock and had lunch. At three o'clock we went to a wine tasting and tasted the wines of the region. The lady directing the wine tasting was so rude to us because we were young that she didn't even acknowledge us. Even though she was extremely rude we still ended up buying wine. It was about 4 o'clock and Chris and Lora had to pick up their drivers licenses at 5. Only problem is that Chris has a flat tire and the last train left at 6 so we didn't have time to walk the bikes back to the rental place and pick up their drivers license. So they left after the wine tasting and called the company to have them pick up the bikes at the vineyard. They
left right away for the train station which was nearby.
Meanwhile, I and some other girl were sent back to their bike rental place to go pick up their drivers licenses. The bike place closes at 5 so we had to hurry. The girl I biked with was kind of slow and we were short on time so I asked her where the bike rental place was and passed her. She gave me the wrong directions and I ended up getting lost trying to find this bike rental place. Now I'm starting to panic, the last train leaves at 6 and I have to get to my friends bike rental place to pick up their drivers licenses and still have to return my bike plus I'm lost and as many of you know I'm not very good with directions (and that's probably an understatement). I somehow wound up in this neighborhood and I'm asking everyone for directions to the center of town. No one knows how to speak English except for this man selling vegetables on the side of the road. He gave me directions and I found my way to the center of town. While there I ran into my friends and they went with me to both bike rental shops and we made it to the train station just in time. Later that night we went out to dinner and to another club.
My last day in South Africa I spent it going kloofing. Kloofing includes rappelling down waterfalls, hiking, and boulder hopping. I went with about five of my friends kloofing. For many of them, since they live in big cities on the East coast, this was their first time doing anything kind of outdoorsy. In fact, my friend Constantine didn't know what rappelling was until we were getting ready to put our harnesses on. He got zip lining and rappelling confused. We rappelled down three waterfalls, which was incredible. Rappelling down a mountain is hard but going down a waterfall is even harder because it's
all wet. Surprisingly, I was one of the better ones in my group and I didn't even fall once. Kloofing was the perfect end to a perfect stay in South Africa.
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I arrived in Cape Town on February 19th at 5 AM. I watched the sunrise over Table Mountain and the beautiful city. The first day I went to Robben Island which is where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. It is a combination of a prison and a concentration camp. Our guide had been a prisoner there for many years� most of his life. It was very interesting. On the 30 minute boat ride back to the city the entire fleet got sick! Everyone but Joe, Amy and I was throwing up everywhere because of the motion of the ocean! I felt like a true sea chick. I was completely fine the whole boat ride! When we came back I took off on my own to grab a sandwich at a caf� on my own and enjoy the sound and people of the new place. I then returned to the ship to meet up with the crew for our departure to the Stellenbosch wine lands. Melanie had gotten a number from a taxi driver so we called him up to drive us 9 girls to the wine lands. He pulled up in a mini van with 2 other men! We did not know what to do. He offered us a very cheap fair so we decided just to go for it! I thought for sure they were going to kill us! LOL! We even wrote down there license plate number on all our hands just in case anything happened. But they did take us to the right spot! Granted they pinched me and Melanie�s butts when we got out, but we were alive!
We arrived at our destination a hostile called Stumble Inn. It was a decent hostile, dorm style and co-ed. The man running it was a young guy named John. He and the whole place was very hippy style. He agreed to take us out on a pub crawl for the night. We jumped from bar to bar in this all white town and definitely experienced some serious racial tension because of our multi cultural group. We had a good time but went home a little disappointed and offended by some occurrences.
The next morning we spent several hours trying to find transportation to the wine lands. John finally agreed to bring us. He brought us in a 1970 Land Rover that was ghettofied! LOL! The entire roof was missing and the truck was rusty and gutted out. The back had 2 steel planks for sitting on. We all climbed in and headed up the beautiful drive to the wine lands that John�s parents owned. We first had wine testing... over 10 kinds along with aged cheese as he taught us the proper way to drink and appreciate wine. Then he gave us a wonderful tour of the factory. He packed us all picnic baskets and we headed up to the peak of the land to have a picnic lunch while overlooking the grape filled valleys and mountain peaks off in the distance. It was amazing. I can not describe the scene! The lunch was fabulous too!
John said he would also bring us back, the 45 minute drive, to Cape Town. We got to ride in our Land Rover which we entitled the �holler mobile�! The whole way we blew kisses at all the passing workers leaving the fields for the day. It was quite the site! When we returned to the city, John said he would bring us to the top of Table Mountain for a farewell drink. Half the way up his truck, our �holler mobile�, broke down! We had to all get out and push! LOL! We found bricks and parked it there! John had his brother come and get him and I and the girls went for dinner. That night I, Melanie, Khiran, Lyn and Chrissina headed out for a night of dancing. Our taxi driver took us way out in the cut to a club. Then I, Chrissina and Lyn were the ONLY white people to be seen! It was a very fun place though despite the harassment the Lyn received for being blonde and a few other situations! We met 2 models that worked in Cape Town and Europe. One named Marvin was IDENTICAL to Lenny Kravitz! We spent most the night dancing with them until they left. They said there goodbyes and me and the girls continued to dance when I felt a tug at my purse. I grabbed it and realized a few items were missing. I turned around and noticed one of my items sticking out from a guy�s pocket. I went up to him and confronted him. We argued for a while and I gave up because what he had taken really had no value. We continued dancing and after a while I forgot all about him. A little later he came up to me and said �Do you want your stuff back?� I said, �Yes�. I will not type exactly what he said back but he basically said �If you want your stuff back you have to give me something� This something was a rude and derogatory remark towards a woman�s body part. So I gave him exactly what he asked for�. I punched him straight in his jaw and knocked him out against the stage. I snapped. He got up and I charged at him full force. Melanie jumped on my back, Khiran pushed me back from the front and Lynn tried to grab my hands to contain me as I lost it on the man. His friends grabbed him by his clothing and drug him by his shirt out from underneath me across the dance floor. The bouncers kicked him out. I received an applause from the club as everyone was watching the show. Granted I may not have made the right decision but I doubt that man will ever rob or disrespect an American woman again.
The next day I spent wandering the city on my own and doing some shopping. I was leaving the mall when I saw a little boy dressed in dirty torn clothes digging through the garbage. He appeared to be looking for food. I asked him what his name was and introduced myself. He looked at me with a confused look. I asked him if he would like to grab a bite to eat with me. His entire face lit up for just a second and he shook his head yes. I asked him where he wanted to eat and he pulled me towards a Steers which is equivalent to Burger King. I asked him what he wanted as he stared silently at the menu for a while. He did not respond so I asked him if he wanted a burger. He nodded yes. I asked which one and he pointed to a picture. Then I asked if he wanted fries and again he nodded yes. I then asked if he wanted a coke and he nodded. I placed the order as the entire �colored� crew just stared at me with confusion. Keep in mind the racial issue of S. Africa. They could not believe that I was not only interacting with someone of color but also helping him. It was a very strange feeling for me, but I was doing what anyone would or should do. We got his food and I asked if I could sit with him so we sat outside at a picnic table. I started asking him questions about where he lived and about his family. His name was Mantinah and he is 12 years old and homeless living in the streets of Cape Town. He is not sure where his mother or father live but he has to live on his own because his parents could not afford to feed him anymore. He tried to be so polite with his food. He even ate his fries with a fork. We ended up having a very nice conversation. The time neared when I had to leave and meet my friends. I explained to him that I had to go and I said �Goodbye Mantinah, it was very nice to meet you.� And he looked at me and said �Nice to meet you to Lindsey.� I could not believe that he remembered my name. I had only told him once and that was when I approached him by the garbage before I even offered a meal. I tried to fight the tears as I headed back towards the ship. I had become so numb to beggars and here was this young boy not asking anyone for anything but digging in garbage for his own survival. I could not help but wander what has this world come to. And not only that but what have I come to� I have only spent 2 months improverished countries and I am already numb.
That night me, Melanie, Khiran and Chrissina went to a club called 169 to meet up with Marvin (Lenny Kravitz). The place was very nice. Somewhat a lounge but also a decent sized dance floor and some fat beats. The next day I did some more shopping at the markets and looking for Mantenah. I wanted to say goodbye and buy him some clothing or maybe dinner again. I took in my last few breathes of Cape Town. As the sun set, I sat looking out to the ocean. I boarded the S.S. Universe and watched as we drifted back out to the dark ocean and Cape Town faded away. Even though Cape Town was very Europeanized; S. Africa still taught me a valuable lesson. It showed me the great racial segregation that still exists and the century old struggle that the people have dealt with. I have seen the broken down rubbish that the �coloreds� call home that looks more like an old shack out back than a living space. I have seen the British with their fancy cars and nice homes overlooking the ocean at the base of Table Mountain. I have experienced what it feels like to be looked at with disgust because I am not with �white people� and interacting with the �lower class�. I have felt what it feels like to go into a place of entertainment for the repressed �colored� people of Cape Town and to be accepted yet not fully trusted.
I did not understand why all places that I have gone to the people, for the majority of the time, left me alone and were willing to interact with me whereas others like Lyn where pulled at and messed with. Ryan, my friend from the boat said he feels that it is my ora, that I have a relaxed vibe and people can see that I am comfortable among people that are different than me. He said most people are uncomfortable when around a completely different culture and environment then their own. Maybe he is right maybe not, but no matter how culturally aware and open I am, I definitely felt the tension and definitely was aware of my skin color in the segregated country of S Africa�
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We just got a phone call from Rusty - the first news we've had from him since a quick call when they docked in Brazil. He said South Africa is beautiful, definitely his favorite so far. He and four others - Brady, Kyle, Shauna, and Christina (I'm not sure about last names or spellings!) went swimming this morning at Cape Point where they had a great time and even saw penquins! He's done a little shopping and said that although he didn't want the ports to be too "American or European", he was very glad to be able to go into a store and get some regular shopping done - snacks, camera equipment, etc. He said everybody seems to be doing great. He has not been seasick but he did say the seas had been a little rough - someone's dinner plate fell right off the table the other night. They thought that was pretty funny.
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Rusty [item 4]
Another call from Rusty this morning. Add him to the list of those who've gone skydiving. He said he watched for a while and decided that it must be safe (evidently they'd been told it might not be) since they were doing it tandem and he didn't think the South Africans would strap themselves to a parachute that wasn't safe. He said the free fall was really fast then it was a slow, calm, quiet ride once the parachute opened. He had a disposable camera taped to his hand - his digital was lost/stolen in Cuba so he's taking no chances! and hopes he got some decent shots. It was fun and he felt it was definitely worth the money. He and Karen(???) were hiking up to Table Mountain to watch the sunset then take a cable car back down. He's going to the winelands tomorrow morning then riding horseback on the beach in the afternoon. He saw a musical - District 6 - about apartheid that he thought was really good, his township visit was only so-so. His classes (oh yea, they are a part of this trip, aren't they?) are ok but it's hard to get motivated to study with all that's going on. The kids are talking about the possibility of war although they really don't have much information to go on. I told him we didn't have a whole lot more than them! He got 12 cards/letters in S Africa and was REAL excited. He opened a couple and realized they were birthday cards so is saving the rest until his birthday next week. He did open one from a mom in CA and was real surprised to get it. He evidently didn't realize we were sending cards to all of them. Thank you to whoever sent cards to him. They obviously mean a lot! He said he's going to wait and do some of his Africa shopping in Tanzania because he thinks prices will be better there than in S Africa. That's about all he said except that everyone is having a great time and S Africa is beautiful and a fun place to be. It sounds like it.
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Rusty [item 5]
Hello all,
I can�t believe that the trip is already almost half over. It has really flown by fast. We just left Tanzania yesterday, but I still haven�t told you about South Africa, so I guess that is next. South Africa is an absolutely amazing place. When we pulled up to the port, the sun had not risen yet and you could just barely see the outline of Table Mountain towering over the lights of Cape Town. As the sun rose, the mountain was slowly revealed in all of its majesty. Cape Town is a very European city. Right off of the boat was a huge mall that was very modern. It was nice to go to a port that was a little taste of home. It was also nice to be able to buy food and film and that kind of stuff.
The first day I went with Brady, Kyle, Shawna, and Christina to a tour place and we rented a driver for the whole day to take us around the cape peninsula. We went to Kirstenbosch botanical gardens, a fishing village at Hout�s Bay and then all of the way down to Cape Point. Cape point was absolutely beautiful. It is the place where the Indian and Atlantic oceans meet, and it is the most South Westerly point of Africa. Our driver was great. His name was Zed, pronounced Zaid, and he was very helpful. He came to be a good friend. On the way back we stopped at boulder beach and saw the penguins that were just chillin� right there on the beach. I was like two feet from them. I went swimming in the ice cold water and luckily I didn�t get attacked by any of them. That night I went out with some friends and we had a good time living up the nightlife of South Africa right near the port.
Day two. I left early to visit an African township, which is the place that most blacks in Cape Town live. The townships are right outside of the white dominated city. The hard thing to believe is that the blacks are 75% of the population, but they are the poor outcasts. The country of South Africa is still recovering from a long period of legal segregation known as Apartheid that just ended in 1994. That night I went to see a musical about one aspect of Apartheid where blacks were forced off their land. The musical was called District Six and it was really good. We had the opportunity to meet the director and writer and he told us about the play and its history. The next day I went on a little bit of an adventure. I kind of alluded to it in my last email. I went skydiving in Cape Town and it was awesome. I drove out into the country and then watched all of my friends jump because I was the last on the list when we signed in. I strapped on my yellow jump suit and ran out to the plane with no instructions or anything. Then my Tandem jumper jumped in behind me followed by the other jumper and his partner. Then we took off. Oh by the way, there was no door on our little rinky-dink plane. I got my 2-minute instruction session as we climbed up to 9000 feet. When it was almost time to go, he strapped onto me and out we went. I had my disposable camera taped to my hand and I tried to snap some pictures. Who knows how those will turn out. The free fall was crazy but as soon as they pulled the chute it was so peaceful. Anyway, that was the morning. I walked around that day. I had gone to the market the day before so I just killed a little time and then I went with my friend Karen and hiked Table Mountain.
Table Mountain was great. It was a pretty intense hike, but the view from the top was great. There was a little bit of a fog and so the sunset was hard to see but once it cleared it was beautiful. The best was when the city lit up and there were a million lights. We took the cable car down at about 8:30. The last day we were there I spent the first half of the day in the winelands of Stellenbosch. We took a tour out there and went to two different wine estates and did wine tasting. It was very beautiful. One of the places had a Cheetah reserve and at the other place we took a tour of how they make the wine. It was a really good morning. I shopped a little more that afternoon and then that night I went with several friends to a place called Clifton Beach to watch the sunset. When we got there we had a great surprise because we saw whales off the shore. It was the perfect end to the trip. I kinda missed the sunset because I went swimming in my jeans, and when I was running back up the rocks to see it I busted my toe and it started to bleed. I ended up losing the whole toenail, and now it is a nice black color. Anyway, we rushed back to make it to the ship for on ship time and looked back on a wonderful stay in what so far was my favorite port.
I had a good birthday, my friends surprised me with a cake and they bought me some drinks to celebrate here on the ship. It was great to see so many people come out to hang out with me and it let me know what good friends I have made on the ship. I am trying to think of ways to suck more of the marrow out of this trip as Thoreau would say.
Rusty
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Kimberly [item 6]
Hi Mom and Dad,
We arrived this morning at 5am. I was up by 6 had a quick breakfast and have been on the go ever since. Today, I rented a taxi for the day with two other girls. (25 US dollars) We went to the Cape of Good Hope, saw penguins, and ostriches. Then we climbed up to a lighthouse and saw a whirlpool in the ocean. Lots of ships get wrecked there. Oh, at the cape there were baboons. One tried to attack me from behind for the cookie I was eating! Luckily a worker scared him away. Someone had to walk us to the taxi b/c we were carrying food. The baboons would take the food right out of your hands. Tonight we are going out to eat and tomorrow I'm going to hike Table Mt. and go to Robin Island..The next day I'm going to the winelands, and the last day to a township.SA is amazing, and I can't believe I am here! The weather is in the 70's, nice huh? It is seven hours ahead of our time, so I'll try to call you at some point. We are right near a large mall :) I bought a small teapot made out of an ostrich egg and a beautiful small jewelry box made out of a green stone. I am having so much fun, and I can't thank you enough for this trip!! I have so much to say, but I'll tell you later, I miss you and love you. Can't wait to hear your voices!!
Kim
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Eric K [item 7]
Eric just called from Cape Town! He said everything is "awesome!"
This was his port for "extreme sports" so he went skydiving!!! He said it was an amazing feeling jumping out of the plane and then going through clouds! Wed. evening he went up to Table Mountain. He said the view was incredible. He has a panaramic photo. Some day he might send me some pictures! He kept saying, "I'll show you pictures on the safari!"
Today he went shark diving! Unfortunately it is "off season," so he didn't see any sharks. The skipper felt bad so he asked if they wanted to see Seal Island. Eric said there were about 50,000 seals on the island!!!
Friday he plans to visit Robben Island. Saturday he is going on a township visit.
Eric described the harbor as resembling the Baltimore Inner Harbor. (The kids from CA said it resembled their homes! Everything depends on your perspective!) He said he felt VERY safe. The security was very strong. He said they had 10' seas for the last 2 days before reaching port. He reports the long stretch at sea can be a little boring. I told him I didn't think anyone would have any sympathy!
Again, mail I sent ahead of the deadline hasn't arrived yet! Hopefully it will arrive before he leaves on Saturday. He did get an early birthday card from Cari's mom!
He admitted to being a little inebriated during the call! "Alcohol is so cheap here!" Hey, at least he called and he felt he could share that with his mom!
He is definitely having a wonderful time!
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"...happy to be on Land" Her, Erin Mc teague (plus a few others) were planning a trip to Table Mountain & Robben Island. She is also doing the "amy Beihl Trip".
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Tara W [item 9]
I got a call @ 9:00am PST today. She is having the experience of her life. The "Amy Beihl Trip" was ...."life changing". Their tour guide is one of amy's murderers, wow! Tara also met Amy's mom, she lives in Newport Beach Calif.(very close to San Juan Capistrano where we live), and plans to help the foundation in some way. She wants to return to S.A. someday.
Also , independent travel (which she really enjoys) to Table Mntn. & the Stellenbosch winelands..."Beautiful!". She's been travelling with Rachael (Norman?) from Santa Cruz , Kelly (whose mom is an RD on the ship) and Erin Mcteague. They are visiting Robben Island today & looking forward to Safari in Tanzania.
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Kirsten [item 10]
Today I also had a long phone call from our daughter Kirsten. She informed me that she also went skydiving this morning. She loved it. (She had left a message the night before on our answering machine that she would be going skydiving and I was worried sick that she was going to be all right.)
She indicates that Cape Town is a very cosmopolitan town and she is enjoying every minute. She climbed Table Mountain and was hoping to go horseback riding. She hadn't slept in over two days.
We had a great conversation and she is looking forward to going on her Operation Hunger excursion. Once the ship leaves Cape Town she promised to give me a detailed account of her latest adventures in her next email.
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Abby D [item 11]
I just got off the phone with Abby. She also has had a GREAT time in S.A. She did mention that part of their briefing is on what's safe to eat/drink; apparently Capetown is Europeanized enough that they don't have to worry too much. She did the Kagga Kamma trip; she said the countryside looks just like Southern CA -- to the point that they passed signs for Porterville (SA) -- we live in Porterville CA-- and for Fresno (SA) -- Fresno CA is an hour north of us. Apparently in her group she was the only one who is an astronomy buff (she had a list of must-see things to see while in the southern hemisphere) & got a lot of attention from the guide that night & got to spend a lot of time with the telescope; he even met her at the hotel on their way back & presented her with a handwritten paper he'd prepared while waiting, on the things that are significant in their sky!
She sounded extremely "up" about everything & is planning to do more on her own in some of the next ports. Oh, and she said her township visit was so incredible she would have to write about it instead of trying to summarize on the phone. She did say that the trip leaders make decisions about each port "as they come up", since things can change so rapidly; so although I would think they'd have more concerns about the Korea situation, they apparently are still undecided about Tanzania and India, which could be too close for comfort if the Iraq situation breaks. She said there is an international cricket competition going on in S.A. & they got to watch a game on TV with some of the locals. She hasn't had any bad side effects from the Malarone & is over the worst of the Amazon revenge; seems that they're all beginning to accept "travelers diarrhea" as a part of the experience. I'm looking forward to seeing posts from other phone calls! She's also promised a long email about "everything" once they leave port. Oh, and I'm probably the "California mom" who had sent the birthday card. Glad to hear it arrived!
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Laura K [item 12]
We heard from Laura tonight - 10pm our time, 8 am her time. She was already up and out. She said she loves to rise early in port, there's too much to do to sleep late. She loved the Kagga Kamma trip. It is a nature preserve and they saw many animals. They had a star walk and she said she saw more stars than ever in her life. The rings of Saturn were amazing. The group was about 30 which she enjoyed, and on the way back they stopped to do wine tasting. Yesterday she hiked Table Mtn, said it was 2 hours straight up, but well worth it. She was planning to visit the prison where Mandela was incarcerated and go to a township on the last day. She was practically gushing, Cape Town is beautiful, (she said it reminded her of Jack London Sq. in Oakland, only bigger), and the food is wonderful! She got some mail, but not the package we sent. (so far)
It was great to hear from her!
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Tara C [item 13]
I recieved a short call today from Tara. She is having a great time in South Africa. She spent the day sightseeing and shopping. She took a cable to the top of the table. The view was magnificant.She is sorry that she has herself scheduled tomorrow for an all day world hunger assignment and then an overnight lodge trip. She wants to do all this and more. Would like one more day to hike the table. She is still feeling sick from the amazon trip and has trouble with stomach pains and keeping food down. Aside from not feeling well thinks South Africa is great.
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Lisa [item 14]
I received a phone call from my daughter Lisa from S.A. saturday morning. She says she loves S.A. and can't wait to come back sometime in the future and visit it again. She went rock repelling and said that was a great experience. She sounds so positive every time I speak to her or get an e-mail.
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I also heard from my daughter Jaclyn who also went on the Amy Biehl trip & she said it was amazing. Amy's mother who runs the foundation just returned from California & embraced their guide who was one of Amy's murderers. Here is a web sit I found interesting about information of the Amy Biehl foundation. They are an incredible family. http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/africa/9807/28/safrica.biehl/. She is also definitely going back to South Africa & wished she had more time to spend there. It's wonderful to know that our children are having such a great time & experiences that they will remember for a lifetime.
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Mary A [item 16]
Mary called yesterday afternoon ( our time) to give us a quick re-cap of the visit to South Africa, which she loved. She said that she was up early (5:00am) the day that they arrived and loved seeing the lights and sunrise as they pulled into the beautiful port ( Mary is a photographer).
She said that they did a lot of shopping, went to a 4 star restaurant for dinner- had drinks, a wonderful meal and desserts and the bill with the tip was only around $20. She also went on the Amy Beihl trip which was amazing and the winelands.Mary said that she spends a lot of time with Kim from Flushing and Meghan from MA. She also mentioned Tamara and Becca.
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Emma [item 17]
Just received a call (3:30 a.m. there) from our daughter Emma, and it settled our anxious hearts. She had informed us by email that she was cosidering skydiving and we let her know that we were not terribly excited with the prospect. Just who packs those chutes, anyway? Had read earlier in the evening the message from a mom whose son had done the same and since he hadn't mentioned that any of the other students had died....
Well, she had an amazing (seems to be the operative word for all she sees and does) time and loved her "buddy"(4,000 jumps under his belt.) She evidently had been talking to him about her about her father's love of flying and his favorite saying about skydivers - only a fool would jump out of a perfectly good airplane. Just before the plunge he looked at her and cried, "Whose your daddy now?!" She was breathless telling all that she has been doing since they arrived yesterday.
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Liesa [item 18]
"I am ready!� And we went. The freefall lasted about 35 seconds, but only felt about 7 seconds long. I was screaming the entire way. It felt like I was floating on a different planet. There are no words to describe what freefalling at that altitude feels like. No words. When the parachute opened, I was grateful, but also a little sad that the freefall was over with. I started screaming nonsense about how amazing it was. Andre was laughing and screaming with me. He said I had a lot of energy (more than most people) when it was time to jump. We talked and he pointed out Table Mountain and Robyn Island.
My conscious mind was not really there though, I was basically in shock. Then it struck me that we were suspended in air, about 4,000 feet from the ground! It was a creepy feeling, but Andre once again took care of me, and we made it safely to the ground. I wish there was a way to better describe what was going on in my head and how the experience felt. But, the truth is is that there is NO WAY to put it into words. It was just simply amazing. There is no comparison, nothing remotely similar to the experience. Nothing else I could do would feel the same as sky diving. I am so glad I did it. I will never forget jumping out of that plane in South Africa�"
Roxy [item 19]
All of you have to make a trip back to Cape Town. Words cannot even explain how incredible this place was, but regardless I am going to try to use them, just keep in mind there is no way they can give it justice!! Now it's time to hear about the absolutely amazing Cape Town!!!
We arrived at around 5:00 in the morning - coming into the port was incredible, saw the sunset, table top mountain, lions head, had seals swimming around us - great!
First day - we got off the ship about 9:00. The harbor is so different from any of the past ports. It's beautiful here. The port looks so similar to Baltimore's port (found out later that they had the same designers). And I feel like I have stepped back into the states. Little shops everywhere lined the streets and I have to admit it was almost a relief to feel at home. I think what I enjoyed most of all was the cleanliness of the city. After Cuba and Brazil, a descent bathroom was not something I was use to in the ports.
After going to the mall, picking up some things we really needed, doing a little shopping and orientating ourselves with the area, it was time to go meet with our tour guide - Daniel (a man around 50 with a good personality and knew everything about everything, from trance parties to how many species of plants were found in Cape Town) . So six of us (Sarah, Christen, John, BJ, Byron and Paul - friends of mine and all from CU and me) headed off to table mountain because the weather was good and we were told it can change in a matter of minutes. I didn't think a view could get better than sugar loaf or the Christ statue in Rio, but this one definitely gave it a run for its money - the mountain's view was incredible. Cape Town's landscape cannot even be captured in pictures or described in words. It's a paradise with the most beautiful beaches jutting off of mountains, palm trees lining the streets, and wild animals running around in the rural areas. The most beautiful people you have ever seen and really just everything from natural beauty to structural man designed art that is all spectacular in its own way. So we sat for a while, drank a South African wine called Pinotage, and enjoyed our surroundings while being educated by Daniel about the wine, correct way to drink it, and what to look for in the wine. The wine here is excellent! Pinotage has definitely become one of my favorites. All of you have to try it - so we will just have to go back to get some!
Later we had a city orientation and I just found that the incredible Cape Town could even get better! To say the least I love it here and know you would too!! That night we went out to eat at a restaurant that had been recommended, Blues, which was in another upscale area of town. I definitely splurged - we had lobster (they call it crayfish), shrimp, mussels, crab, wonderful soups, pastas - the food was delicious so we all had to share (you would probably hate how everyone tries everyone's food). Then we went upstairs to a really cool, open bar that over looked the beach. For the rest of the night we just bar hopped. The first part of the night was pretty chill, then toward the end we went to a fun dancing bar, but it was only a Wednesday night so not that much was going on.
The next morning (three hours later) we met with Daniel and were off to Cape Hope and Boulder beach. This is the most southern tip of Africa. We saw penguins and one was hatching an egg, baboons walking along the street, ostrich, and Cape points breathtaking National preserved Forrest. The penguins were cool but I could have stayed at Cape Hope all day. There were trails everywhere and the landscape and surroundings were unreal. Hiking around that area is something I have to do when I go back as is hiking up Table Mountain instead of taking the easy way up in the gondola. Our trip out to this area was really interesting too. Having Daniel is the best! He took us through all the unique areas of this region (Cape Town is so big) - Camps bay, Clifton's beach, etc (if you want you can look then up on the Internet so you can see how incredible these areas are). It was really interesting. When we got back we met up with a South African guy that BJ had talked with at the bar the night before and he took us to some of his friend's house in Camps Bay. This house was unreal. We had no idea we were going to a place like this - glassed in pool, sauna, Tabletop Mountain in their back yard. This I believe was a turning point in my trip! I feel almost guilty in a way now because looking back I wish I would have interacted more with the poverty stricken section of town, but I have no regrets and know everything happen for a reason as did this experience. Five guys and two girls form Virginia moved to Cape Town and found this house in October. They didn't know where they were going to live, work, none of them had ever even been here. It inspired me. They pay $250/month and just enjoy life here in paradise. They had all good things to say about South Africa, and they are a big influence in me knowing I have to come back here. They were so cool and we ended up going out with all of them that night to a really fun bar, Baseline!! We stayed out all night. The ride home was beautiful, the sun was rising and we were admiring the beauty city. Long story short - We got a taxi, got to the boat, changed cloths and went back out to meet Daniel for our wine lands tour - Yes Crazy!
We were a little tired, but the exciting surroundings and kept us up. The wine lands were another unseen until now beautiful area of Cape Town. We saw Zebras along the streets hanging out with cows, beautiful vineyard, more dreamlike landscapes, and had so much fun. After three vineyards it was time to go back. I found out I like white wine a lot more that I thought at the champagne vineyard, but red is still my favorite. When I come back I want to stay out at the wine lands. I can't explain how awesome they are. Soon as we got back we had tickets to the Rugby game. The atmosphere was a lot like our football games on a smaller scale, then we left to meet with Thomas, one of the Virginia boys, for dinner at Five Flies, another incredible restaurant! Dinner took 3 � hours. I love that!! We went back to Thomas's house. They were having a party for others and us at semester at sea, but by then me and everybody else who hadn't slept were about to pass-out so most of us had to leave early and get at least a few hours of sleep (only four hours) before we had to get up for our last tour.
The townships were a total contrast from everything we had been experiencing so far. I have never seen anyone live the way these people do. They are communities of thatched shacks and one-bedroom homes that house families. Children filled the streets with no shoes and old torn cloths, dirty form head to toe. Trash was everywhere and just basically the worst slums you have ever seen, but then across the street would be normal (to us) homes lining the opposite side of the road. The profound contrast of the two groups of society I experienced as I did in Salvador is so hard to understand. I loved the township though. At a small school I started playing with the children and showing them themselves in my camera and they freaked out. All the mothers gathered around and it truly was incredible. To see the fascination in there smiles was awesome. Someone had said South Africans smile with their entire face and right then I saw it. They are so content and happy with nothing. It's sad to say, I just can't really understand it. I don't know if they just don't know any different, but I honestly don't think that's what it is because they can look over two block and see it. And another thing I found surprising was in some of the shacks they would have nice radio/CD player. The experience was great and it made me wish I would have really gotten more involved with this portion of the society than I did, but I have months ahead of me and have absolutely no regrets. Later that day I went to a diamond factory, Shaminsky's. WOW!! They had a 58-carot-tanzanite ring. The rarest and largest in South Africa - I will have to show you pictures!
My trip was again incredible, awesome, wonderful -- life changing and eye opening and I will be back!
I love all of you so much -- only 72 days left! Keep emailing me with what's going on. I hope everything is well with you!
We are: 10861 nautical mile to Tanzania (I think), have sea temp of 82, moving at 14 knots, and above an ocean depth - that's deep
These experiences are making me grow but all of you have still made me who I am - I love you - Roxy
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Meghan [item 20]
Meghan called from CapeTown and as everyone else, sounded like everything was 'amazing'. She did the paragliding instead of skydiving and of course that was the best thing she's ever done! Already informed me that she intends to go back next year, maybe on Christmas break!
