Monday, October 12, 2009

The Big Five Say Hello to Ms. Elder's Class



Dear Students: Thank you all for your notes and I'm almost ready to return to the equator to shave my head per your notes to me but the ship is now heading to Mauritius; can you find this speck of an island off the coast or west Africa?  I would have shaved my head but at this point in my life every hair counts but if I were the age of the students on this ship I would have done it knowing that it would grow back in a short time.

I want to share some things with you about South Africa and I hope you can easily find it on the map. We had a GREAT time in South Africa and the most exciting adventure we had was visiting the world's largest animal reserve, Kruger National Park. This wildlife reserve was created in the 1920s and is huge--it is as big as the state of New Jersey. This reserve also had the most wild animals in the world, including the Big Five: Elephant, lion, rhinoceros, leopard, and water buffalo. We saw four of the big five pretty up close. In fact, we saw a female lion right after she had just killed a small water buffalo and the lioness was breathing pretty heavy. She was also dragging around big chunks of her "kill" to keep the vultures from eating her dinner.

I think all of you would have loved the trip we took to the reserve. We were part of a safari that included about forty people from our ship and we drove around in some very cool jeeps that kept us up high and protected from the animals. We spent three days in the reserve and saw herds of elephants, lots of rhinos (including one taking a mud bath), several types of monkeys and baboons (do you know the difference?), and lots of giraffes and other animals. It was a great adventure and we want to return to do more of it. We put two pictures in we took; one of a lion that had just killed a water buffalo and the other of a rhino that was taking a mud bath--hope you like them.

We spent almost a week in Cape Town which is a beautiful city and the biggest city closest to the South Pole. We took a little drive around the coast and were able to visit a colony of penguins and we were told that this is one of the only penguin colonies that live outside of Antarctica. We also went to a coastal town named Hermanus where we saw several whales swimming so close off the shore that we could see their flippers when they turned over and I think they were blowing us wet kisses.

We loved Cape Town as it is located on a beautiful bay with a mountain (called Table Mountain) that seems to guard the back of the city. Cape Town will host the World Soccer Cup next year and the South Africans are very proud of this event as they will be the first sub-Saharan nation to every host this very big and important event--any of you soccer fans?

We left Cape Town a few days ago and have been at sea and it has been very rocky. Did you know that the southern passage around Cape Town and along the coast is probably the most dangerous in the world for ships as more ships have sunk here due to storms than anywhere else in the world. While we have seen and felt some pretty big waves we have been OK although more than a few students missed classes the last few days as they were not feeling too good.

This is a very cool ship and let me share some things about it with you. First off, we have three separate dining rooms; two of them can seat about three hundred people each and both of them have outdoor tables/chairs on the deck where you can eat while trying to spot whales, dolphins, and other mermaids. We have spotted plenty of whales and the dolphins sometimes seem to be racing alongside the ship but no mermaids so far. We also have on the seventh deck (the highest deck) a small outdoor cafe where you can order pizzas, hamburgers, and other stuff but you have to pay separate for those items. When you are a student or teacher on the ship your tuition pays for three regular meals in the two big dining areas but the pizzas and other food served on the seventh deck cost extra.

We also have a small work-out gym but because there are so many of us you have to sign up in advance to use the exercise machines. We also have weights on the seventh deck so you can work out while watching the ocean and there is also a basketball court and a ping-pong table where the students try hard to beat each other. The ship also has a big conference room and we have had some great events there, including a student talent show and a mis-matched party where students wore all types of clothing and weird stuff that did not match. The students are having a great time and while this is not a huge ship it is big enough so that there are lots of events going on all the time.

Well, it's pretty late and time for us to turn in. The students just finished a dance in the middle of the ship and it was great to see them dancing although they have a big test coming up so they all had to end the fun around 11 PM. I will write you all again and let me know what’s on your mind.





Down to Cape Town



South Africa blew away our expectations although the truth is that we did not know what to expect as we had no prior frame of reference other than the old classic movie Zulu where Michael Caine and his band of English soldiers were almost wiped out but were saved at the last minute by the begrudging respect of their noble adversaries. We woke up before dawn to catch the sunrise and the mighty tug that would guide us to port. The omens from the very first were wonderful as we were escorted by several porpoise pods into the harbor; odd how it felt as if they were looking at us in our steel encased terrarium and that we were the objects of their curiosity. Our ship gently settled into Jetty 2 that put us less than fifty yards from the Queen Victoria hotel and a host of pubs, restaurants, shops, and other conveniences and in the background loomed Table Mountain shielding all of Cape Town.

The short story is that we indulged ourselves greatly in South Africa. I led a field trip with eighty students on our first day in port to visit two of the most progressive wineries in South AfricaNelson Creek and Backsberg. Our goal was to ask the heads of these wineries what they were doing in the areas of sustainable development, innovative production processes, new international market strategies, attention to biodiversity, etc. We also probed and enjoyed several small pours to better understand the rationale and nuances of Pinotage and their other varietals versus the familiar vintages of our great California homeland. Of course I prepared the students while en route via the bus with tales of my own long history and indulgences with wine—they actually paid attention although I told them that their attention would have no impact on their course grade.

On day two of our South African visit we woke up at 5 AM to make our airline reservation that took us past Johannesburg to the Kruger National Park for our three day/two night “safari”.  Kruger is the “mother” of all African reserves as it was made a National Park in the ‘20s and has been an ecological/biological/environmental “jewel” of South Africa ever since. We stayed at the Sabi River Inn which was located about 30 km outside of the park although the Inn also had its share of wildlife, including a group of hippos hanging out near the 18th hole (the Inn had a well groomed golf course with pretty reasonable rates) and a couple of lazy crocodiles digesting some of the fish and other wildlife that were foolish enough to pass by them during meal times.

We arrived mid-afternoon and barely had time to put on our safari outfits and immerse ourselves in bug repellant before jumping into some very cool looking Toyota jeeps that were equipped to handle us eco-touristas. Within a few minutes of entering through one of the south side gates our mouths fell open as we spotted all manner of wildlife, including a several elephants, mini-heards of kudu and antelope, and about another thousand species that we had only seen in books or in National Geographic/Discovery Channel programs. We were literally overwhelmed by the breadth and depth of biodiversity and while the landscape looked a bit trampled and worn it obviously manages to sustain the wildlife to the point where the elephant population has growth from about 5,000 to more than 12,000 and the lions don’t have to work as hard to find/make their kills and the other predators and the hunted seemed to be in abundance. All of this on the first day with a return to the Inn where we had cold beer, good wine, and an outdoor dinner with grilled meats and plenty of food to satiate ourselves.
We rose again at 5 AM to prepare for our first full safari day; ready to go after a couple of very good ginger snaps and a cup of tea (coffee only available via Nestle cylindrical packets). We boarded the jeep and were in the park as the sun was rising and immediately saw a herd of water buffalo and several small groups of giraffes. It was a magnificent day and we were blessed with bunches of wildlife, including several small bands of elephants and scores of little wild things that were unnamed until we bought a booklet with photographs and a listing of the wildlife in the reserve. The high-point of the day when we spotted a lioness that was about thirty yards off the road and was panting heavily after making a kill. Alicia was able to use her spiffy new camera to get a close-up of the lioness as she was dragging the hind of a water buffalo into the shade and to protect it from the vultures that were waiting patiently on the nearby trees. After dragging the hind quarter to the tree she (lionesses seem to do all the heavy work) returned to the carcass where she took a couple of chunks out of a whole side or ribs. We finally spotted the male lion who was dozing nearby but our eyes were still on the lioness who was still breathing heavily while dragging chunks of the kill to different areas for later repasts.

We saw a good deal more on the safari but the photos on Alicia’s photo site tell a much better story. As we had one full unscheduled day to enjoy we got together with two other couples and rented a van with a driver to take us to see a penguin colony located on False Bay, several whales vacationing at Hermanus, a world class vineyard/winery at Stellenbosch, a local hardware/appliance shop to let me buy a French press coffee pot, and a drive through some of the most “drop dead” beautiful coastal area we have ever seen. We also stepped for lunch at a phenomenal restaurant perched over a relatively new wine growing area located in a valley that emptied into Hermanus. I had some of the best dang ribs ever and the others all said that their meal was terrific although after eating shipboard food nonstop for several weeks I think raw seaweed would have been tasty. We ended the day by going to a couple of stores/shops along the water front to buy survival food for those days when we could not face another boring ship meal.

On our last day in Cape Town we went on a FDP (Field Development Program) to visit a township; townships are all black communities that are generally located outside of the regular cities.  We learned that while the overall unemployment rate in South Africa is almost 50% we were also informed that the unemployment rate in the townships hovers around 95%.  Given this sad statistic we expected to find a “depressed” community when in fact we found a pretty vibrant community filled with people that were dedicated to helping each other. We walked around the township and it was at first unsettling to have both old and young people walk up to us to shake hands and ask where we were from. I think we got over it pretty quickly when we figured out that they were just reaching out to let us know that they were glad to see that at least some “Americans” were willing to venture into their community. We ended out township visit with another phenomenal meal at a dining hall that was run by a local female entrepreneur and had built onto one of the modest homes. The food was both familiar and foreign with several types of sweet potatoes/yams that were mouth watering sweet, chicken in a local chili sauce that had literally had been walking around the back yard a few hours earlier, some humongous meatballs that obviously had deep Dutch roots, and a variety of curries, meat stews, and other food savories that would have given the ethnic Iron Chef cookout a run for the money. All of this and a five piece local marimba style band performing both regional music and some well-known favorites, including Over the Rainbow.

Cape Town was truly a “godsend” and we left the Cape with regret although well stocked with several bottles of wine, a new coffee maker, bags of chips, cheese, and assorted foodstuff to save us on those days when we could not face the overcooked beef or dry chicken.  I’ve written this piece on South Africa as we round the Cape with some pretty powerful wave action and frequent escorts of whales, dolphins, and incredible vistas of the South African Coast.

Friday, October 2, 2009

Ghana Update for Ms. Elder's Class


Dear Students: My lovely wife tells me that you guys are following her photos on "Shutterfly" which is great although I will gladly answer any questions you might have about the countries we have visited or will be visiting. I'll use this update to share a few comments about the students on board this ship.

We have more than 500 students from over 200 universities and colleges throughout the United States; we also have several students from other countries, including France, Mexico, Spain, and a few other nations. There are slightly more girl students than boys but they are all having the time of their lives. Many of them worked several jobs over the summer and after-school to pay for this educational adventure. While a few of the students have traveled with their families or on their own to other countries the majority of the students have not traveled much and a few have never been out of their home state until now. My hope is that some of you will get the "travel" bug and consider enrolling in a program like this when you attend college; these programs are called "study abroad" and they are perhaps the most exciting way to see and learn about the world.

The students on the ship take from four to five classes and the classes range from theater to business to astronomy and geology. The students generally share rooms and have between two and three roommates and they seem to get along pretty good considering that they are all new to each other. Since we all live together on this ship we are always bumping into each other so they call this a "living-learning" community. It's very neat to see and talk with students both in and out of class as we share different ideas when we are outside of the classroom.

The students split their time between taking classes on this ship (in fact, every day we are at sea) and then doing field trips. Some of the field trips are adventurous, such as taking a canopy walk in the Ghanaian jungle almost 75 feet off the ground (see the photo). In Morocco, several of them camped out under the stars in the mountains and rode camels. Others took the trains to remote cities and others visited rural villages to learn about the way the Moroccan people live.

I am teaching three classes, including one called Sustainable Development, which looks at how we currently live on this planet and what we should be doing to ensure that there is a good planet for all of you to live on tomorrow and into the future. I love this class as the students all care about the planet and want to learn how to preserve the planet so that you can enjoy it when your time comes to help take care of it.

I know you are all pretty busy in Ms. Elder's class but send me a note if you have any question. Professor Dan