7 DAYS IN SOUTH AFRICA!

This is going to be a long one…and my picture's aren't loading so I'll try again later to add in some pictures. I'm actually in Malaysia right now at an internet cafe so I'm a bit behind on posting but I'll try to keep up.

DAY 1: We got up for the sunrise again because we heard Cape Town was the best one to see. But again, the weather was awful and we could barely see anything. Usually we have a diplomatic briefing but maybe because of the political drama there was no one to come on the ship. So we got off the ship without any delay.

I’ve only spend a few hours in South Africa so far because one of my day trips to Robben Island (kind of like Alcatraz) was cancelled. I went to a museum downtown called District 6. It was a museum honoring people who lived in an area named District 6 and forced to relocate during apartheid. It was strange and sad to see a museum in reflecting on an event that happened relatively recently. Since we were downtown, we walked around a bit before heading back to the waterfront. The downtown area felt like a normal big city with skyscrapers, lots of restaurants, and shopping. One thing I’ve noticed is that there is an abundance of coffee shops! There was even one called the Seattle Coffee Co hahaha. The waterfront area, right near our ship, is extremely nice and clearly a tourist area. There is a huge mall and lots of little shops and restaurants. It doesn’t feel like Africa at all. In fact, the cold weather is still really throwing me off too.

I met up with my friends later to get dinner and we ended up walking to this German restaurant on the waterfront. It was a strange sight to see African waiters and waitresses dressed in lederhosen. There were like two things on the menu that didn’t have sausage haha. But don’t worry, I found those two things very quickly. This reminds me, in Africa ketchup does not taste like normal ketchup. It’s sweeter and almost has like a nutmeg or cinnamon flavor to it. There was this funny live performer singing all of these American songs that we sang along to.

DAY 2: CAGE SHARK DIVING!!!!!
Before we started the shark diving adventure, Sara, Ali, and I had to take advantage of the coffee shops available so we got a really nice breakfast and coffee before we left. This was a whole day thing…we met the bus at 10am and were surprised to find another large group going with us to make a total of about 30 people (all from Semester at Sea of course). The drive out to meet the boat was 2 ½ hours!!!! But the good thing about that is that we got a tour of parts of South Africa that we probably wouldn’t have visited. South Africa has much more greenery and mountains than I expected. It is a beautiful country! Anyway, we got to the offices for the diving and got a good breakfast. I started to get nervous while we were watching the videos from previous trips. We passed the sign “Great White Capital of the World” on our way to the boat! On a side note, we have been hearing that the waves around the cape are worse than anything that we’ll sail through. That is because two oceans come together (Atlantic and Indian) and because it is so far south, waves can travel all the way around the world allowing them get huge! Trust me…we were in small boat and they even said it was a pretty calm day but the waves were massive! Tons of people got sea sick and were puking over the side of the boat especially when we were finally stopped at our diving destination on the water.

They put the “chum” (or bait) in the water on a line with a buoy. The first group got in and we all watched for the sharks to come. It didn’t take long before we saw the first GREAT WHITE SHARK!!! That’s when I started getting super excited! I just wanted to be in the cage! The cage is set up on the side of the boat and there is enough head room to hang out above water waiting for the shark to come. Then when they yell, you take a deep breath and dive down to see the shark. Before I got in, a shark snuck up from right below the chum and no one saw it coming until it launched out of the water with the chum in it’s mouth! When I was in the cage, the shark activity had calmed down a bit. But at one point a cute little seal came up and was twirling by our cage. The guide said he probably thought we looked like seals in our wetsuits haha. But then all of a sudden the seal pooped and bolted….because a shark was coming after it!!!! Don’t worry, the seal pooping is on the video I got! Haha! I can’t believe I was sharing the water with Great White Sharks!! It was such a rush! On the way back we got to see a couple Southern Right Whales. (LONG LIVE THE POD!!! LULULULU) The camera man was saying that people never get to see what we saw because it’s illegal to get within 300 meters of whales. But the whales came to our boat…less than 50 meters away!

DAY 3: Sara and I set out on an adventure. We walked to where we thought there was a market but ended up at this super cute little coffee shop/food store called Melissa’s Food Shop. Both of our breakfasts had bacon and typically we had found that everywhere we went didn’t make the bacon very crispy. So we asked for extra crispy bacon…which translated like EXTRA bacon. Haha! As we were walking out, this old man asked us where we were from and we started chatting. We asked about how to get to Long Street and he told us. But then he and his wife were leaving at the same time and his wife offered to give us a ride to Long Street! They were so nice! One thing I’ve appreciated about the people that I’ve met from these different countries and especially in Cape Town is their interest in our enjoyment of the area. I can tell that they are very proud of their city and want visitors to see all it has to offer. So we went to a market called Green Square Market right off of Long Street. We saw a lot of the same stuff as in Namibia and unfortunately realized that we got ripped off on a lot of things we got in Namibia. That’s what we get for being American I guess. We headed back to the ship before we negotiated a cab ride to the wine lands about 30 minutes away. All Sara and I knew was to go to a city called Stellenbosch and there were supposed to be wineries. So our cab driver just dropped us off in front of this café. We wanted to look for a place to book a tour but it was already late in the day (like 2pm) to book a tour, and we didn’t have a clue where to find an agency. So by a twist of fate, we introduced ourselves to a man who looked like a tour guide. Sure enough, he was and within 20 minutes we jumped in the van halfway through his tour. There was a family of Swedes and a couple from Belgium. We only stopped at one winery for a tasting but it was such a beautiful day up in the wine lands that they had the tasting outside. One of my favorites was a blend of a chardonnay with a pinot noir. The best of both worlds in my opinion!

It was getting late but the guide wanted to show us one more wine region called Franschhoek. It was the cutest little town I’ve ever seen. We got a chance to take a stroll through it. And on another twist of fate, we ran into a very lively group of friends while looking for a bathroom. I think they were closing the restaurant we were walking by and opening a new one somewhere else. So we signed a tablecloth and went to the bathroom. But by the time we came out, they had already brought a round of drinks for everyone! Haha! They were very interested in where we came from and why we were visiting South Africa. We had to meet up with our group so we couldn’t chat for long but I was so happy that we met them! We had the tour group drop us off at a winery called Spier because we were planning to have dinner there. On the way, we stopped to see some zebras and other exotic animals. We had left a note for Carla (my roomie) and everyone else to meet us there for dinner but we weren’t sure if they would be able to make it. Unfortunately they never did, so Sara and I had our own little dinner date. Spier winery is incredible! They have a place you can cheetahs and play with baby cheetahs (but it’s really sad because I’ve heard they heavily drug the cheetahs before letting them out). We didn’t see the cheetahs but we explored the premises a bit before we went to their restaurant called Moyo. Moyo is probably the most memorable restaurant I’ve ever been to. We ate in a tree house, our faces were painted, we had live entertainment at our table as well as a big performance by the buffet…yes I said buffet. The food was incredible!!!!! We could go back for as much as we wanted! I tried springbok (kind of like an elk or deer) and ostrich! There were a bunch of other traditional dishes that we tried as well. I didn’t have a single bite that I didn’t like. Sara and I split a bottle of local wine and with the buffet it ended up being $36 each (including tax and tip)! A dinner and experience like this at home would have been at least $100 each…probably a lot more. That was a long and exciting day that began with no plans at all. One thing I’ve been learning is how to live without plans. I don’t even have a planner. That’s a first for me. I already know how to plan, and that’s why I have to learn how not to plan because that’s when the most exciting things happen.

DAY 4: The next day, like most days in Cape Town, began with a trip to a coffee shop. But once Sara and I got back, it was time for a trip we’ve both been looking forward to for a long time…the Cape Malay Cooking Safari! I guess this supplements my lack of Food Network in about 7 weeks (but who’s counting?). We broke up into smaller groups of 10 and then the first thing we did was visit a very old spice market. It smelled fantastic! I got to put my culinary knowledge to the test trying to guess spices with just one whiff. The area we were in was a Muslim community and we happened to be there during Ramadan and so everyone was fasting. Luckily the fast ended that next day because they saw the moon come out (marking the end of Ramadan). But the lady cooking couldn’t even taste what she was making us because of fasting! That’s dedication! Before we got to the lady’s bright green house, we stopped in a butchery where all of the meat was slaughtered in a certain way and already prayed over so that was where everyone in the community got their meat. The woman’s house was right across the street. We greeted her by saying “Salam” as we walked into her house. The table was already set and there was a demonstration area set up as well. She was nervous because she had only done this a few times before. But she got more comfortable as it went on. Had you asked me the day before, I would have told you that I don’t like curry, but now that has all changed. She made a chicken curry with some of the spices from the spice market. We also the bread that they use to eat the curry with (no utensils are used). There were a couple other deep fried creations that we learned to make as well. I have the recipes so I’ll see if I can help recreate the amazing meal we had. The woman was so sweet and happy that we enjoyed the meal.

Sara and I met up with our friend Ali and we decided to do some shopping. It was Sara’s last chance to shop in Cape Town before she left for her safari the next morning. So we got in a cab and he ended up convincing us to go to the biggest mall in Africa: Canal Walk. We didn’t want to lose him so we had our new friend Marcus walk around with us in the mall. He was this little guy and he would walk a little ways behind us. We were trying to find a place to wax eyebrows so he started asking around to help us find a place. He was so nice! We didn’t buy much but I did discover that my new favorite candy is Astros. Seriously they’re awesome. We learned a lot about Marcus’ family and his thoughts on the coup that just happened with their government. That night Ali, Sara, Mark and I all went out to a really nice sushi dinner right on the waterfront. It made me excited to go to Japan! I don’t know if I said already, but I got into a one-night homestay in Kobe, Japan. I really want them to teach me how to make sushi!!

On a side note…I’m doing a homestay in India as well. And we have inter-port students from each country (except Namibia) and I met the two from India the other night on the ship. I told them about my homestay in Erode (a long way from Chennai) and the first thing they said is that no one will speak English and that it’s a very rural area. Rural India should be really interesting! Also to keep you informed, there was a rumor that because of all the bombings in tourist areas lately in India (like in Dehli) we would not go to India and go to Thailand instead. We’ve been informed that that is not true. If something major happens (which apparently bombings in tourist areas aren’t major) in the next 11 day then we will change routes.

DAY 5: The weather had been getting worse but I still hadn’t been to the top of Table Mountain. It’s really cool to hike but because of the cloudy sky, it was better just to take a cable car to the top. So Ali and I went to the top of Table Mountain. It was so strange because it felt like we were floating in a cloud. Every once in a while the clouds would break and we would get an incredible view of the coast. I was just happy that we were on the top and we can now say we’ve done it!

After the mountain, we shopped a bit on Long Street. There were some really cool boutiques. There was one with super cute clothes and bags and you could see the person with a sewing machine in the back. In another store, we met the designer’s mom because she came in to check on the store. She was so nice and helped us pick out clothes that “did something for us.” Haha! Then we stopped by this hotel I had heard about called Daddy Long Legs. It’s this really unique art gallery hotel so each room is designed differently with some sort of artistic theme. I had been staying on the ship every night and I wanted to have a fun place to stay downtown for my birthday so I got a couple rooms (very well priced and I got a student discount!!!) for my friends and I. We had a pretty relaxing rest of the day. It was nice not to be on a safari because even though I didn’t want to leave, I felt like I had a lot of time to see the area. That night Ali, Spencer, and I went to a restaurant just to get free wireless internet but my stupid computer died after an hour!

DAY 6: For classes we have to do certain field programs and I had signed up for one that was to go see the Amy Biehl Foundation. I didn’t know about it until I got on the ship but I don’t know if other people would have known but I’ll give you the short story just in case. Basically Amy Biehl was an American student who was passionate about making the world a better place. In particular she was interested in the terrible apartheid in South Africa. So she went to study in Cape Town. Two days before she was to leave to go back to America, she was driving some of her black friends home to a township, got stopped by protesters, and because she was white, she was stoned to death on the side of the road. Four years after her death, under the Truth and Reconciliation Act, her murders applied for amnesty. To everyone’s surprise, Amy’s parents came to the hearing and granted both men amnesty and they were freed. Now, both of these men work for the Amy Biehl Foundation started by her parents to help prevent violence and improve education in townships. They do this by creating after school activities and supplementing education systems with the arts that they lack like choir, dance, and band. We got to see some of the kids perform for us. They all have incredible talent, it was bittersweet to see such poverty in the townships but then to see these children smiling, singing, and playing like normal kids. I wish we could have had more interaction with the children but because it was there spring break, only some of the kids were there just to perform and then be taken home. We went to another area, a much nicer area, for lunch at a restaurant which was more like a woman’s house that she was able to expand by working two jobs. She told us that she works as a nurse at night and that she had not been to sleep yet when we showed up in the afternoon because she had been preparing our food. The food was very authentic and really good.

That night Archbishop Desmond Tutu came on board the ship!!! He had sailed with a voyage in the past and I remembered reading all about it on the Semester at Sea website. But I felt so lucky that he could come speak to us that day. He was so charismatic and everything he said sounded so wise. He would laugh at his own jokes and kind of skip around every once in a while. He was a little guy and so goofy! He was especially inspiring to our generation because he said he was energized just being surrounded by all of us and he has so much faith in the power that we hold. He gave an example of Berkley students whose protest ended up changing a presidential decision. My memorable and wise quote he closed with was this: “You will never win the war on terrorism as long as there are people in the world who are desperate.” I tried to tape it on my camera but it isn’t loading on my computer so I’m a little upset. After Tutu spoke, the killers of Amy Biehl came on the ship and spoke for a while about their experiences growing up under apartheid and about their lives now. I was only able to see part of what they had to say. But it really is no surprise why they had so much anger built up against the other white. It is just so tragic to think that if they knew what Amy Biehl stood for, they would have been on the same team.

Anyway, that night was the night I celebrated my birthday! Most of my friends were gone on safaris (Sara, Carla, Mark, and Josh), but I went out with some other good friends, Ali, Trevor, Karly, Emily, and Spencer. We checked into the Daddy Long Legs hotel and our rooms were soooo cool! One had small black and white photos all over the wall that made a bigger picture of a face. The other was my favorite…it had pictures of sunsets all over the wall! It looked awesome!

We went to this restaurant called Cape to Cuba. Trevor and Karly had been earlier in the week and made good friends with the manager so he was excited to see them again and definitely gave us special treatment! The first thing he brought me was these HUGE pink feathery wings to put on! Then he brought us a bottle of champagne which came with a bunch of oysters! I tried oysters for the first time…they weren’t that bad, but I don’t think I’d ever order something like that. The food was great and we had a really good strawberry coconut mojito. He reserved a table for us in this secret upstairs bar/lounge! It was set up like a library and I’m assuming it was supposed to be a cigar smoking room. I felt like we were VIPs! After a little while we decided it was time to go out. So we went to this place called Hemisphere that was a bar on top of a skyscraper building. It was pretty much full of all Semester at Sea kids so that was kind of a bummer but fun to see some more friends. We danced and looked out at the city…it was really cool. And then afterwards we just went back to our lovely hotel. It was a great way to celebrate my bday! I definitely was missing my family and friends from home though. It never really felt like my birthday I think because instead of people just knowing that my birthday was October 2nd, I had to tell everyone.

DAY 7: The last day in Cape Town! I did NOT want to leave! Everyone was really sad to leave, especially because the long stretch to India means midterms and papers. There wasn’t much left to do besides stock up on snacks and run other little errands. It was a pretty lazy day. Dinner on the ship was so sad because it was back to bad ship food. But it was good to see my friends who had just gotten back from their safaris. My friends had ordered me a cake on the ship and I was so surprised when they brought it to our table! They’re so thoughtful! We went outside as we were pulling out of the port to see us leave. While outside the voice came on and told us to secure our belongings as quickly as possible. I hurried to my room and before I could get there, the boat was already rocking like crazy! We had been hearing that going around the cape was really rocky, but I didn’t know it would be so soon! I had a group project due the next day so I had to meet with them but everyone was getting sea sick so it was a quick meeting. I decided just to go to sleep before I could get sick and just wake up early to do my work. I woke up a few times to the intense rocking. It was crazy! Luckily in the morning, it was much better. The captain has chosen to stay fairly close to the shore to avoid intense waves. Apparently we got lucky the night we left with only 8-10 foot swells and we were expecting 15 foot swells. I’m glad we were lucky.

BACK ON THE SHIP:
There’s a lot of work to be done in this big stretch. I’m not looking forward to midterms and papers. My presentation went well yesterday but the stabilizers are on and so it would get really loud during our presentation at some points. We have some fun things going on over this stretch too. We have Sea Olympics where each Sea competes in different events. We’re divided into seas depending on where our rooms are. I’m in the Arabian Sea. Our sea has a social with the faculty tonight in the fancy faculty lounge.