Mauritius!
So this port was not the most cultural/educational. We were only there for one day so everyone decided to rent catamarans and sail around for the 5 hours we had free. We got the most amazing weather so we swam and snorkeled all day. I'm not going to lie I had a couple rum and cokes in me so the water was a nonissue. I felt like i was in st. barts. the water was so warm and everyone swam in between all the boats to see other sas people. I have a couple war wounds from coral on the bottoms of my feet but the neosporin and bandaids that Heids insisted on me taking came in handy. back on the boat now and on our way to India. 10 page paper is handed in so I have a couple days to relax and hopefully lay out up on the 7th deck. In one day it will be March and we all know what event happens in March... miss everyone!

Cape Town!

To start this has been my favorite port yet. I definitely want to come back at one point in my life. The trip did not start out well though. The winds were so high the first day that we couldn’t get into the port. I guess where we docked was pretty narrow and with the high wind we might have crashed or damaged the boat. So that Thursday stuck on the boat was miserable. Everyone was so ready to get off the boat but we all just had to sit on the boat with nothing to do (of course I could have done work but I didn’t…) I felt really badly for some kids though because they were missing their safaris or one of my friends was supposed to meet his parents in cape town. Good thing I had nothing planned and was just going to explore Cape Town that day. Anyways, I spent a good portion on the day in bed with about 5 girls packed into jenna and my beds and watched movies. We got an update at like 5pm saying that we were hopefully going to get in between 11pm and 1am so we got more excited because then at least we would be able to get off the boat and get a drink somewhere. By 3am we gave up though and went to bed when we still hadn’t made any progress toward docking. When I woke up at 8 we were still on the open ocean. Let me tell you I was not happy at all. Luckily the wind had died down and bit and we were able to get off the boat around 12pm which meant I could still go on my Robben Island trip. We got on buses and went to one of the first townships built for blacks removed from the inner part of the city during the beginnings of apartheid. Lunch was very rushed because we had to get back to the docks to get on the boat that would take us to Robben Island and the traffic was crazy because there was a U2 concert in the soccer stadium which is right near the port area. We made the boat though and got to watch the seals swimming along beside us. The most interest part of the tour was that our guide had been a prisoner there for 7 years so he was able to tell us what it was like to actually have been there. He talked about the hunger strikes that the prisoners would do and how different blocks would communicate with each other. I also learned that the island had not always been a prison. One of its original uses was a leprosy community so that the disease would be isolated.
That night we went out to an amazing Italian restaurant port area. It was so odd because walking around looked like the US. Everything was extremely western and new because of the World Cup from last summer. After dinner we went to Long Street which looked exactly like Bourbon Street in New Orleans (with police on horseback and all). We pretty much just bar hopped and met up with other semester at sea kids throughout the night. When I got back to the ship though I had an unwelcome surprise. The safari that I was going on the next morning that was scheduled to leave at 8:30 was moved to a 6am departure…. Waking up at 5 to pack was not a fun experience. After a bus to the airport, an hour long flight, then another van ride we finally made it to the game reserve. The whole safari was absolutely incredible. There were only 6 of us (all kind of odd people but I made the best of it) which made it easy to do a lot of different activities. The next two and a half days were mostly going out in the massive Land Rover and seeing animals. One of the highlights of the trip was when we went on a short hike to go see hippos and on our way back we had to practically run because elephants were coming along out path and we had to get back to the Land Rover before they got there. We were then able to take pictures with the seven elephants 30 feet away. Another highlight was seeing an entire pride of lion with two full grown males, one female, and four cubs (they were 3 years old though so not little anymore). One of the cubs was so close that I could have put my hand out of the Land Rover and touched it. I have some amazing pictures of everything. Had to go back to delete some back picture on the last day because I had filled up my memory card. I was so happy to have Dad’s really big lens which let me take some awesome pictures. Wish I could upload pics to the blog! Here is a list of all the animals I saw though:
Lion, cheetah, buffalo, elephant, whit rhino, black wildebeest (which the south africans pronounce “vildabeest”), blue wildebeest, white lion (there are less that 500 in the world, it’s a rare genetic mutation that makes the lions white instead of yellowy orange), giraffe (including a couple days old one!), zebra, hippopotamus, warthog, black-backed jackal, blesbuck, kudu, nyala, waterbuck, gemsbuck, springbuck, red hartebeest, bushbuck, impala, eland, grey duiker, mountain reedbuck, chamca baboon, and vervet monkey.
So basically saw the big 5 (minus the leopard) and A LOT more.

We got back to the ship that night just in time to get ready and go out to dinner with a bunch of people. The restaurant was about 40 min drive away to this hotel (I think) that also has a winery. Food was much more African with lost of regular and bush meat. They also painted small designs on our faces. Everyone had something different. Unfortunately I got a design across my forehead that looked like a unibrow… so cute.  That night we went back to Cape Town and bar hopped again with other semester at sea kids.

The next day we woke up early to go skydiving! Still can’t believe I actually did it. I went up in the plane with one other girl and the two guys we were strapped onto. We were in the plane for about 20 min where we got the most amazing views of the coast, Table Mountain, and Cape Town. Before I knew it the guy started strapping me onto him and telling me to put on the goggles. My friend I was with went first and watching her fall out of the plane was so crazy. Surprisingly though I wasn’t as nervous as I thought I would be. I think I just convinced myself that I was doing and there was no turning back. After she jumped I had to put both my legs out of the plane and then we just fell. The first couple second were scary and then I was so happy and blown away at how amazing it all was. It was the biggest rush of my entire life. We free fell for 1 min then he opened the parachute at 5,000 feet. Going down in the parachute was just as cool as the free fall. It was so crazy looking down and only seeing your legs and nothing below you. The view was so beautiful. The guy through pulling down on either side of the parachute made us spin in circles. When we landed I was completely speechless and could barely walk my legs were like jelly. I was breathing like I had just sprinted a mile. The whole thing was so awesome.

The rest of the day we all just went back to the port area and had our last non ship meal. On ship time was 6pm so at 5 we went back to the boat. It was depressing getting back on because I wanted to stay in Cape Town longer and do more things.

We are now on our way to Mauritius but lucky for me I have a presentation, midterm, 10 page paper, and four page paper to get through before!

We all realized today that we only have 2 more months left. Time has absolutely flown by!

So i am still on the boat because it is too windy so we can't dock in Cape Town! such a bummer. i am so excited to get off this boat so i really hope the wind dies down enough for us to dock by tonight. last night the boat was rocking so badly that the waves were coming up and hitting my window and my drawers and closet kept opening and banging closed. so crazy!  fingers crossed i get to cape town soon!

On the boat on our way to Cape Town! its getting colder as we move farther away from the equator... so sad because it is going to majorly screw up my tan. i have a 10 page paper to do before i get to cape town which will be hard. I am supposed to compare my experiences in either Manaus or Ghana with the books we read set in those two places. My teacher read an example that i though was amazing and so well done and he said it was either a B or B+. Not sure how i am going to do if that really good paper was only a B... Rumor has it that there are fries for lunch today. BIG day. its kinda sad i feel like my days revolve around when i am going to eat. always hungry on the boat haha. Classes are going well though. I got a 100 on my first religion test and think i did pretty well on my Global Studies quiz. Today in class we talked about HIV/AIDS in Africa and how in some countries in the last 30 years the life expectance has decreased by 10 or more years. really sad reality. anyways we are going forward another hour tonight so i will be 7 hours ahead of everyone! hope all is well at home and in cville!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!! hope everyone is having a great day! about to watch an ice cream cake eating contest....

GHANA!

Random things from Ghana:
        Not that many dog but goats are EVERYWHERE!
        All the children are so adorable and love waving at you when you walk by.
        Ghanaians are obsessed with Obama and love Americans
        When you are trying to buy something you have to cut their offer price by at least half. (even though they say because you are my friend I will give you a good price)
        Every woman carries their baby on their back with a colorful piece of cloth. The babies cheeks are pushed against their mothers backs and is the most adorable thing ever. (wish I could upload a picture)
        The women carry everything on their heads. Some of the baskets are half the size of the women and they don’t even need to support it with their arms
        Toilet paper barley exists. Had to drip dry more than I would like to say
        The safe (and cheaper) water comes in 5 x 5 plastic bags that you would see everyone suck on. The sad part was that everyone would just throw them on the ground when they were done.
        Being gay is illegal (which was a bit of an issue because there are so many gay people on the boat)
        Every child has to go to school by law so on a week day you see all the children in different school uniforms
        There is rice with every meal which was AMAZING!
       
After 9 days of being on the boat I was so excited to get off and see Ghana. First day I went to the two main slave castles, Cape Coast and Elmina. We went to Elmina first and on the way I found out that my teacher from UVA who taught Art and Culture of the Slave South (where I first learned about the castles) was on the tour as well. He talked about drumming in African culture and I remembered his lecture on that topic back when I took his class the spring of first year at UVA. At the castle we walked through where they kept the female and male slaves and heard about the system of the slave trade. One of the most interesting parts of the tour was how Africans took such responsibility of the whole system of the slave trade. I really had only ever thought about the demand side and how the west created and perpetuated the buying and selling of people out of West Africa but in our tour the tour guide kept emphasizing how there could never have been a slave trade without the in depth involvement of Africans of capturing and selling other Africans. Cape Coast Castle had much of the same history but was a bit bigger. The male slave dungeons held 1,000 men and had no bathroom, lights, and barely any ventilation. The whole day was very heavy and intense. The weird part as well was that when you were not where they kept the slaves it was a really pretty fort with gorgeous views. Wish I could upload pictures to show you all! It was interesting going to Cape Coast as well because Obama (who everyone in Ghana LOVES and wherever you go they always talk about) was there in 2009. At both castles they had “the door of no return” where the slaves would walk through before getting on the boats for the middle passage which they have renamed because people now can return through the doors. All in all was a very interesting and worth while day. Very sad and moving but an interesting place to visit.
Right across from the boat was a duty free shop so that night everyone convened at the duty free to drink and hangout before the superbowl. The fact that they really only sold handles of alcohol prob wasn’t the best… Ghanaian men came up and started drumming while everyone was hanging out and I saw one of my teachers, who was really drunk, dance for like 30 min. pretty entertaining. Next we went to a bar called Ocean Bar which kinda sketchy but because there were so many SAS kids there it was fine. Went back to the boat in time for the superbowl but only stayed awake for a little of it.
Day two I had to wake up at 6am for a 7am trip to Kumasi. Hangover hit about 2 hours into the 6 hour drive… pretty rough. Got to Kumasi around 12 and had lunch of spiced rice, chicken and French fries (which I found they had pretty much everywhere). The highlight of the day was going to a ceremony where the king of the Kumasi region appointed a new council member. Everyone was wearing black cloth wrapped around them in the traditional material worn for funerals and other serious events. We got to the ceremony right when the new man was announced so men began to drum and the royal women danced. We stuck out like a sore thumb but everyone was fine with us being there. I guess the king is extremely powerful because of all the money he gets from gold mining in the region. The president of Ghana has to have a good relationship with the king or else he will have no control over the Kumasi region. That night we stayed at a hotel and I got to call mom and dad!!! Was so so nice to hear their voices! Im getting so excited for lizzy and mom to come visit!!!
Next day we went to villages outside the main city to see where the made crafts like wood carvings and their traditional woven cloth. Weaving is taboo for women to do because the loom is close to your stomach and they think that if women weave and they get pregnant it will mess up the pregnancy. They have 1, 2, and 3 weaves. The 3 weaves are only supposed to be worn by royalty and if you wear it in front of the king you have to take it off and change into something less nice. Everywhere we went they followed us around trying to sell stuff to us. I am used to dealing with that and bartering just because of the other traveling I have done but some of the other people on the trip were extremely uncomfortable and I had to talk to locals for them. The trip was a ton of fun though especially because it was only 4 students and the rest were life long learners and teachers so I got to know more people on the boat much better.
We got back to the boat and I couldn’t have been happier to get back to my room and take a shower and eat normal food. Im starting to appreciate more and more the kind of traveling I am doing. Normally when you travel home base is a hotel but for me I get to go back to a room that’s mine, food that’s safe to eat, and a shower that has hot water. Anyways that night we went to Axim beach which was about an hour drive away. After a stressful drive there where the bus driver really screwed us with how much he charged us we got to spend the night on the beach just drinking beer and watching drunk people go skinny dipping in the ocean. There was no way in hell I was going to go in the water. It was dark and we were in Ghana, I had no idea what was in that water. (ps why has the blog been a lot about me and water??? I’m a freak) Next morning I didn’t have a bathing suit at the beach so I wore my friends athletic shorts and a sports bra. I looked reallllyyy cute. We left around mid day and went back to Takeradi and the boat. The cab ride back was no AC and my lungs were filled with dust by the time I got back. The had turned back on the water, which they had turned off to conserve while in port, so I got a nice cold shower.
That night was back to the duty free, this time in smaller numbers because many people were doing overnights outside the city or still at the beach. After duty free we went to another sketchy bar called Spike…. The bar was like caged in (maybe so people couldn’t steal alcohol??) anyways went back at a decent hour and had to make the 20 min walk back to the boat. AHH I haven’t said anything about the port and where the boat was! So we were docked in a shipping yard where we had to walk 20 min through a construction and shipping area to get to any taxis. Was a little creepy at night so always made sure to be with a lot of people.
Next morning was another early one. I went on a SAS trip to what they called a Water Village. We took a two hour drive outside the city to the welcome center where we were all given life vests. And oh yeah it was pouring raining… I was just wearing shorts and a tshirt. Four of us got in a canoe and a man in the back paddled us through this stream and lake for an hour. We were absolutely soaked when we got to the town. On the way people were putting their hands in the water and stuff. So weird. That water was brown and I had no clue what things were living and swimming in it. The canoe we were in was barley wide enough for a person and when we moved it would tip. I was not a happier camper to say the least. Anyways the town was really interesting. They had built their houses on stilts out in the water and had had a village there for over 400 years. It was sad though to see all the children barley clothed and all the garbage in the water everywhere. It was also a bit hard for me because I felt like I was intruding on their lives. People would go up and look into windows and take pictures of the local people. It makes me so happy how fortunate I am to have all that I do. After walking through the village (which was really slippery because of all the rain and I was petrified of falling off into the garbagey water) we took the hour long canoe back to the bus. We all looked like wet dogs when we got back. I was freezing cold and think I am going to get a cold soon because of it. Im just thankful I didn’t fall in and I wasn’t struck by lightning. I had three of my friends with me as well which made it much better. We would all just start laughing randomly because of the absurdity of the situation. After the two hour bus ride back I immediately got in a hot shower and stayed there for a solid 20 min. was amazing.
Back on the boat now. Today we passed through the prime meridian and equator. I guess that’s a big deal?? I don’t really get it. Today was absolutely gorgeous though. Sat outside and red for two hours in the afternoon and could not have been happier. I am sitting out on the 7th deck right now. I watched the sun set while blogging this absurdly long post. Its dark out now and I can see the stars. I’m sticky with salt from the wind. So happy. Love you miss you all

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while! right now we are on the atlantic on our way to Ghana! haven't seen land in like 5 days. I think i am starting to get used to the waves because i don't notice the boat rocking as much anymore. will have pretty funny sea legs when i get off the boat in Ghana. We just had 6 class days in a row and now have a day off for the Sea Olympics which basically is just sections of the boat competing in weird sports activities like basketball and synchronized swimming. (decided not to sign up for anything athletic so my team wouldn't hate me. instead im cheering everyone on) Only issue is that it is raining today so a lot of the activities had to be switched and moved inside. Probably good it is not nice out because i have a test tomorrow that i need to study for. Today my group presented for Global Studies. WE did our presentation on the effects globalization has on inequality in Brazil. The presentation went well and because we were one of the first to present, we got some extra credit. we keep having to set our clocks forward so we are now 4 hrs ahead of home.
Annie- I am so jealous you are going to FL! you will have so much fun! tell everyone hi for me