Our first entry into a country below the equator was Namibia on February 14. Namibia has only been independent since 1990. It is twice as big as California and has a population of 2 million. The US imports nuclear fuels from Namibia. Our port was Walvis Bay, pronounced Val-fish Bay. Like Casablanca, it is a large industrial port, it took about 30 minutes just to walk out of the port. Like much of Africa, Namibia has a small wealthy class and a large poor class, very poor. There is no middle class. A girls’ choir came to the foot of the gangway of the ship to welcome us. They sang and danced for us while the ship was cleared and passports distributed. There were about twenty girls who we later learned are all AIDS orphans. It was a very touching Semester at Sea moment for all of us as we saw land for the first time in days and were serenaded by the group. When I got off the ship I took the opportunity to pass out postcards and pencils from Philadelphia. The girls were most appreciative. Later the young singers came on board and were hosted by a group of students. One of the students took a few girls to her cabin and gave them some toys she had brought along for this type of interchange. The girls were awed by the cabin itself. Then they asked to go to a second cabin. That student did not have toys set aside but the girls asked for her crayons which they had not seen before and for a photo of the student and her father. The student suggested that she cut the photo in half and just give her own picture and she would keep her father’s photo. A young girl asked if she could keep the whole picture because she does not see families together. The student was struggling to think of what else she could give that would be special. It finally hit her; she went to her closet and took out the dress that she brought for the Ambassadors’ Ball on ship. The young girl put it on and was so excited. That dress will probably be passed around for years and the student will never forget the moment.
We signed up for a camping trip into the desert to see the dunes and the stars. It was a long drive to our destination. On the way we stopped to see the Kuiseb Canyon. Lunch was in the desert, provided by our drivers. Later in the trip it poured rain, which is not unusual for February there but not what we expected in the desert. On arrival at Agama River Camp we got set up in our two-man tents, similar to what we use at Falcon Ridge. The owner, Jonathan, welcomed us to his bar and social rooms where we enjoyed South African wines. (His bar reminded us of Bubbles Bar in Portugal.) Over the two nights at Agama we had quite a lot of conversation with him and his fiancé, Monique. They will be married at their home in December. There is no other home or business within 10 km of their place. Some of the discussion was around AIDS. 30% of the population of Namibia has AIDS with little help or medication available for most. We also discussed the social situation, specifically as related to his business. He has five full time employees. He provides housing and is required to hire on a year round basis; seasonal workers are not allowed. He has gone through 55 people in two years to get the 5 he has. The biggest problem is that the men drink until they drop every night. They come up with all kinds of ways to get beer and liquor from having the food service delivery people bring it to riding a bike a great distance to get it. The divorce rate for whites is 60% in Namibia. For blacks there is no figure to compare to; many never marry or have two wives, one in the city and one in the rural areas. Sadly all of the rain led to cloudy nights and we were unable to appreciate the stars over Namibia. This was more than made up for in South Africa.
On February 15 we had our adventure in the vast Namib Desert. We drove to Sossusvlei to see the sand dunes. We walked 6 km into the desert. Most of our group climbed to the top of the highest dune (250 meters high!). The dunes are beautiful and photographs are gorgeous because they show the shadows on the different faces. As hikers climb up over the day they destroy the smooth surfaces of the sand but they are recreated every night by the winds. We walked part way out but by then we were in the heat of mid day in the desert so we took 4x4s the rest of the way. Lunch was offered back at our bus area. In the afternoon we went on to Sesriem Canyon. Sesriem means six belts as it took that many belts tied together for a bucket to reach the water at the canyon’s base.
Upon returning to Walvis Bay we had time for a walk through town and a bit of shopping. Just outside the port many vendors were selling local crafts. The most interesting were the Ovahimbas. This tribe lives in the north; they are the ones you may have seen who put a paste of red ochre and butter on their skin and in their hair to protect it from the sun. They wear no clothes and live without the conveniences of electricity, running water and even without plastic! They still carry water in gourds. Some people on the trip flew to their area and spent time with them. The photos and videos are wonderful. One of our group was trying to find something to share in her bag and came up with lotion. She put some in the kids’ hands. They were inclined to lick it but she showed them to put it on their skin. They more enjoyed putting it on her skin. When one SAS person went to take their pictures the women quickly put on necklaces for show but still no clothing.
Shipboard life- After the ports the students have a Reflections session where they tell their stories from the ports. I find them very interesting. Most are the life changing stories of relating to children, working in Operation Hunger, building for Houses for Humanity. The students are very moved by these experiences, often their first of the kind.
Since the last entry we were invited to the Captain’s dinner. This was a formal (at least for this ship) event, including cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a formal dinner complete with full service, linens and many pieces of flatware. It is also possible to have a special occasion dinner on the ship by prior reservation. Our group did that once already and it was quite nice. An even better meal than the Captain’s Dinner, again with full service and a lovely menu. I am continuing with yoga on all days at sea. Still very difficult but it is supposed to be work. One more funny story. They did the first random drug test at sea, 5 students and me. What? I passed but it got down to the last two of us and there was some technical problem that delayed results. Pretty funny. I said, “OK, I had a martini right before I came here.” No problem, but the last girl, who has become a friend, tested positive due to smoking before departure. They will give her a second random test in the future to confirm her story. Meanwhile our group is thanking me for taking one for the team. February 28 is the Sea Olympics, all day on the ship. I think there are 6-8 teams competing in a variety of silly and serious events. I signed up for synchronized swimming because it is easily the funniest event of the day.
They just had the midterm for the Global Studies class, required of all students. 100 multiple choice questions from all of the morning lectures. There was a lot of gnashing of teeth, whining and the like. Global Studies is heavy on science and many of the students are not used to science courses. Boohoo! Since we do not have to take it Lisa went to the gym to exercise. It’s usually difficult to get on any piece of equipment in the morning.
We signed up for a camping trip into the desert to see the dunes and the stars. It was a long drive to our destination. On the way we stopped to see the Kuiseb Canyon. Lunch was in the desert, provided by our drivers. Later in the trip it poured rain, which is not unusual for February there but not what we expected in the desert. On arrival at Agama River Camp we got set up in our two-man tents, similar to what we use at Falcon Ridge. The owner, Jonathan, welcomed us to his bar and social rooms where we enjoyed South African wines. (His bar reminded us of Bubbles Bar in Portugal.) Over the two nights at Agama we had quite a lot of conversation with him and his fiancé, Monique. They will be married at their home in December. There is no other home or business within 10 km of their place. Some of the discussion was around AIDS. 30% of the population of Namibia has AIDS with little help or medication available for most. We also discussed the social situation, specifically as related to his business. He has five full time employees. He provides housing and is required to hire on a year round basis; seasonal workers are not allowed. He has gone through 55 people in two years to get the 5 he has. The biggest problem is that the men drink until they drop every night. They come up with all kinds of ways to get beer and liquor from having the food service delivery people bring it to riding a bike a great distance to get it. The divorce rate for whites is 60% in Namibia. For blacks there is no figure to compare to; many never marry or have two wives, one in the city and one in the rural areas. Sadly all of the rain led to cloudy nights and we were unable to appreciate the stars over Namibia. This was more than made up for in South Africa.
On February 15 we had our adventure in the vast Namib Desert. We drove to Sossusvlei to see the sand dunes. We walked 6 km into the desert. Most of our group climbed to the top of the highest dune (250 meters high!). The dunes are beautiful and photographs are gorgeous because they show the shadows on the different faces. As hikers climb up over the day they destroy the smooth surfaces of the sand but they are recreated every night by the winds. We walked part way out but by then we were in the heat of mid day in the desert so we took 4x4s the rest of the way. Lunch was offered back at our bus area. In the afternoon we went on to Sesriem Canyon. Sesriem means six belts as it took that many belts tied together for a bucket to reach the water at the canyon’s base.
Upon returning to Walvis Bay we had time for a walk through town and a bit of shopping. Just outside the port many vendors were selling local crafts. The most interesting were the Ovahimbas. This tribe lives in the north; they are the ones you may have seen who put a paste of red ochre and butter on their skin and in their hair to protect it from the sun. They wear no clothes and live without the conveniences of electricity, running water and even without plastic! They still carry water in gourds. Some people on the trip flew to their area and spent time with them. The photos and videos are wonderful. One of our group was trying to find something to share in her bag and came up with lotion. She put some in the kids’ hands. They were inclined to lick it but she showed them to put it on their skin. They more enjoyed putting it on her skin. When one SAS person went to take their pictures the women quickly put on necklaces for show but still no clothing.
Shipboard life- After the ports the students have a Reflections session where they tell their stories from the ports. I find them very interesting. Most are the life changing stories of relating to children, working in Operation Hunger, building for Houses for Humanity. The students are very moved by these experiences, often their first of the kind.
Since the last entry we were invited to the Captain’s dinner. This was a formal (at least for this ship) event, including cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a formal dinner complete with full service, linens and many pieces of flatware. It is also possible to have a special occasion dinner on the ship by prior reservation. Our group did that once already and it was quite nice. An even better meal than the Captain’s Dinner, again with full service and a lovely menu. I am continuing with yoga on all days at sea. Still very difficult but it is supposed to be work. One more funny story. They did the first random drug test at sea, 5 students and me. What? I passed but it got down to the last two of us and there was some technical problem that delayed results. Pretty funny. I said, “OK, I had a martini right before I came here.” No problem, but the last girl, who has become a friend, tested positive due to smoking before departure. They will give her a second random test in the future to confirm her story. Meanwhile our group is thanking me for taking one for the team. February 28 is the Sea Olympics, all day on the ship. I think there are 6-8 teams competing in a variety of silly and serious events. I signed up for synchronized swimming because it is easily the funniest event of the day.
They just had the midterm for the Global Studies class, required of all students. 100 multiple choice questions from all of the morning lectures. There was a lot of gnashing of teeth, whining and the like. Global Studies is heavy on science and many of the students are not used to science courses. Boohoo! Since we do not have to take it Lisa went to the gym to exercise. It’s usually difficult to get on any piece of equipment in the morning.
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