Over and out...

Thanks for reading my posts on this voyage.  Tonight I go to some jazz places (on Good Friday!!), tomorrow I go to wine country in the morning, then get off the ship (not boat) to check into a hotel.  On the 31, I fly out at 8 pm and arrive at DTW slightly after noon on April 1. 

If you have the stamina, please read my last post below! 

Can you find the fluffy penguins?

They are kids losing their soft blue fluff 'cuz their growing up and getting ready to leave the nest!

Waddling African Penguin

Stunnning water and rock and sky

Can you find the house on the way to the point?

Cape Point

Lighthouse to guide ships around the tip of Africa

Baboon by the side of the road....

My last post!!--March 29

March 28

The good thing about a collapsible cane is that you can take it with you in case you need it. Today I did not have to unfold it when I went to the Cape of Good Hope where the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. I took the funicular up to the overlook of the Cape Point, and I was happy to pay the extra 50 Rand (about $5.). We went all the way down to Cape Point—the most southern tip of the African continent—to have our picture taken as a group and people from other tour buses were doing the same. If you've been reading this blog, you know that the ship was rocking pretty well the last few days before we came into Cape Town—it seems that CT is the most dangerous port to come into in the world.

Baboons roam throughout this area, and some houses have security and baboon-proof trash cans to protect against them as they know how to open doors, clean out cupboards, and generally make a mess. In addition to them, we saw a “hyrax” which is a small animal that has to eat all day in other to keep it's body temperature up. It's so small that eagles can eat them, they take turns being the guard while others are eating. Here's a wonderfully weird thing: because the eagles attack them when there is bright sun, the hyrax developed another eye lid so it can look into the sun and watch for eagles!! Kind of like built-in permanent sunglasses to use when they need them!

We went past an ostrich farm which is apparently good “eating” with practically no fat in the meat.

I'll pass on that. When the road was close to the sea, giant “kelp” forests were visible which is full a nursery for small fish. There were also fur seals and, although I didn't see them, sharks in the water.

By the way, do you know why they think the whales are getting stranded on the beach? Scientists think they are becoming deaf from explosions in the water. They have extremely sensitive hearing because they listen for each other's communication.

Next, we went to Boulders Beach—a sheltered cover between Simon's Town and Cape Town where there is a colony of African Black-Footed Penguins. When I saw the Fairy Penguins off the coast of Australia, I remember that they went out to feed during the day and came back to feed the baby chicks at night. We sat in the darkness and waiting until they came trooping past, and we could hear the babies calling for them in hunger. Apparently, the African Penguins do it in more of a cooperative way, in that some leave to feed and some stay to protect the chicks and the eggs.

Speaking of gasoline prices—the government raises the price about every month. The announce what the new gas price will be a week before it goes into effect. How much is gas, you might wonder. Currently, gas is $1.50 US for one liter of gas. There are 3.7 liters in one gallon of gas. I think they call this a word problem, and I'll leave it at that!

FYI—Megan will be 43 years old on the 31^st. Hey, I thought that was my age....Happy Birthday, Megan!  That's the day I fly home!!

And, Happy Easter all!

Mandela

Without this man saying "Put away the guns," when he got out of 27 years of prison, there would have been much violence.  Mandela is now 94 years old and in the hospital with a lung infection. 

Tutu and Nana (only one is a statue!)

There are four statues in "Freedom Square" near the waterfront area. 

Post for March 27

March 27

What's slower than Nana's walk? Nana walking with a cane!

Today I gave my ticket to a student for my booked trip to the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust—a peace and reconcilation effort—went horizontal for a couple of hours, put my collapsable cane together and took it to the mall on the waterfront where you see mostly WHITE people shopping and mostly BLACK people working. They had several Easter egg hunt places, and it looked just like the US.

This is government housing being built in the townships

There is electricity inside the shacks

Four girls

People mostly live outside the shacks that are their homes.

Nahti blows the foam off the very freshly made beer

Although brewing and selling beer is illegal, it is permitted anyway.  This is because unemployment is so high, and people need a way to make some money.  Two women run this beer shed where people sit around the outside walls in rows and tell stories.

Barbequed sheep's head is a favorite!

Pathway to the shacks

Bank of township toilets

There are rows of toilets to be used by residents in the township that were installed by the government.  Also, faucets for water to be hauled to the shacks are placed nearby.

Band and hip hop??

Bedroom for one family in hostel (read today's post)

Shared kitche in hostel (please read today's post

Twelve women students are taught how to make and decorate molded pottery

Nahti, the guide, and Nana, the "mama"

Nahti is a fabulous guide who grew up in the townships.  His story is inspiring, and he provided us the opportunity to go into the shacks and hostels and experience the sense of community present.

The Philani Development Center was established by a Swedish medical doctor and her husband, a South African.  A workforce identifies underweight children, provides education for the mothers, and also training for the mothers to be able to make some money for their families.  It has seven centers throughout the townships.

Women are provided training to weave items

Women are provided training to make items to sell

March 27 Post

On Tuesday, I participated in something quite new—poverty tourism. The two words just don't seem to be quite right, especially since South Africa is the richests country in Africa. I learned a lot by having the “shacks” and “hostels” from Nahti, the tour guide, when we visited Khayalitsha, the second largest township in South Africa where over 500,000 people live. Nahti is a member of the “first free” generation, and his generation has a big role to play. The parents of his generation said, “Liberation first, then education” so much importance is placed on children attending school.

Nahti grew up in a hostel which is shared housing by four families. The way it works is that each family has private bedrooms, but they share the “toilet” and kitchen. During the 1920s and 1930s, there was a big push by the government to get blacks closer to towns and out of the country, so it built many hostels.

Nahti said the families decide what time the door of the hostel will be locked. If you are not in by that time, you have to sleep somewhere else. He talked about the strong sense of community among the population, and that they are working very hard within the townships to make their situation better.

Nahti feels a responsibility to his family—as do most people living in the townships. Because he has a job now, he is able to help his extended family, but he hopes to move out of the family home soon. When he marries, he will be expected to pay a dowry to his future wife's family. For a young woman with an education, he will need more money.

I walked so much yesterday, I had to give my ticket away for today's excursion.  "One speed Nana" walked way too far in the townships.

In addition to the government built hostels, shacks have been built by people in the townships that are made of metal and wood. Mostly young people live in these as they begin to have families and they want more privacy. The government is going to build five BILLION houses to replace the shacks, and there is a long waiting list.

As people improve their lives, they might get a better house, but many feel a responsibility to stay in the township. Another reason, is “They live here because their family has always lived here. We work very hard to be happy and focus on the positive.”

At "castle" British brick addition to yellow Dutch wall

Tea and scones in the Company Garden

Coming into the port of Cape Town

Table Mountain overlooks the entire city.  (Read small info previous post)

March 26 very brief note!

All people are from Africa and migrated in several directions.

First the Dutch came here to put a "watering hole" on the route to India for the spice trade for the Dutch East India Company beginning in 1652.   Water flows down in rivers from Table Mountian, so it was a perfect spot.  Then, they built  the "Castle of Good Hope" in 1666 with rocks--I think it looks more like a fortress.  Then, of course, the British thought they needed it.  But, when the Brits came they took over the "castle" and built onto it.

 

March 25 post

Palm Sunday with The Arch

Tonight I went to the Palm Sunday Service in the “Union” on rocking deck six. All the seats were full, and since everyone thought The Arch had it under control, obviously no one from the ship had planned with him. Arch was holding onto one of the pillars and the curtains behind him swayed back and forth with a regular rhythem.

When it came time to serve communion to 500 or so people, Arch broke the bread and said, “I need help!” So mostly young females flocked to the front to pass the chunks of bread around.

Then, it came to the wine. “Could we have some glasses?” Arch said to the back of the union where some of the ship's crew stood. “How many?” one yelled back. “I don't know, six, seven, eight....”

Soon the Dean came walking fast with six or seven glasses in his hand and put them on the table where The Arch was presiding. Then, more followed with the assistant dean.....Arch started to pour the wine. “Could I have more wine?” To which the crew replied, “How many bottles?”

All were served with the ship bobbing up and down, and “left overs” brought down to the front. When Arch realized that way too much wine had been poured and blessed, he said, “I need help!” Again, four or five young females came forth and drank it all up.

 

It's been great to be in the same space with him since February 20.  Arch has more than his share of prizes--Nobel Peace Prize among the many--and he is one of the most joyful people I had ever met.

He and I get off in Cape Town, but he will go to his home immediately, while I will see the sights, then board a plane on March 31 (Megan's birthday!)

Happy Birthday, Marla and Elisabeth

March 24 Post

There is a certain roar on a ship with

1000 people on it.

Well, it's not a roar at first

but after two weeks or so

of group conversation

certainly never one-on-one

my ears began to ring.

At lunch, I thought John said

“Could we have much depth on the ship?”

“Yes, and more width too.” I replied.

“No, I meant debt—how much student debt is on the ship?

You know, to pay for the tuition.”

I misheard him. That happens a lot.

Mary Gail sat beside me at the third party table last night

and slowly, and V-E-R-Y clearly so all might hear, said

“I think we need to be mindful

that these birthday cakes cost $30.

Perhaps we should pitch in some money toward it.”

I hoped no one else heard her

since she was saying it to Marla, one of the birthday people.

We usually can't hear each other,

but just in case Marla might have heard, I covered it

and said, “Oh, they already have a budget for cakes.”

I didn't kick Mary Gail under the table.

This morning at breakfast Yolanda told me

she thought I was lucky because I'm leaving the ship

as it pulls out of Cape Town.

One of the reasons she wants to go home is because of the noise.

I acknowledged it is loud.

“I know it's loud in here,” (meaning the cafeteria)

“No! It's the toilets! The toilets!

I can't stand the noise!”

I hadn't thought of that but she's right.

They're loud.

Sunset

Nighty night

March 23

Megan* and I first met when we sat next to each other the evening of my first “excursion” in Burma. It was a long table located somewhere in a dimly lit garden. This was after we, along with more on the bus, the Shwedagon Pagoda, and everyone had dirty feet—a must for walking around from Buddha to Buddha.

I now know that Megan attends Concordia University in Wisconsin. That evening, with her splendidly woven, French-braided hair, she looked fresh from a Norman Rockwell painting of a girl milking a cow in a spotless barn with a kitten sitting in the doorway. (To me, Megan was a girl who just came from a pagoda in Burma.) Alright, I should have picked up enough in my first sighting of Megan to know that this young woman who had just tiptoed out of Dodge, was mid-way through this voyage including Japan, China, Vietnam, Cambodia and Singapore, had not yet pushed beyond the boundaries of her upbringing. I immediately noticed that she chewed the inside of her mouth.

Megan is a psychology and communications major and will graduate next year. She works in the education abroad office on her campus and saw the SAS brochure, made a U Tube video appealing for funds to go, and collected enough money to pay for her trip. Megan told me she was a Christian, and I rattled on about the Jesus Seminar—theologians, historical Jesus, etc. etc.. She listened, bit the side of her mouth, and finally said, “Can I ask you something?” “Sure, what is it?” “Why would you want to look into that?”

I've been around Megan now in various contexts as she continues to bite the inside of her mouth. She was on the cultural tour in Mauritius where we visited two Hindu temples, Catholic Church, Chinese pagoda, and Muslim mosque. Megan is also in the religion class I attend, and I was stunned when she asked the question, “What do Muslims think about the Bible?” This was after the teacher already talked about Islam considering Jesus to be one of the prophets (“Peace be upon His name”—which is what Muslims say following saying the name of Jesus.)

Megan CHOSE to go to a meditation retreat in India to learn how to meditate with others in a monastery. When it came time to meditate, she thought it might be evil, so she started reciting verses of the Bible in her head.

Last night I sat with her at dinner and she told me that SAS has encouraged her to see people as “more multi-dimensional than in her small community where everyone is the same.” “What are you going to do with that when you get home?” I asked. “I think I might go into Milwaukee.”

I think Megan is a courageous young women who is working to understand a bigger world than that of monochromatic origin. I hope she continues to learn and be open to more ideas and views of others, and I applaud her curiousity.

*Megan is the name!

Some sea olympic team banners

More banners

The progress of the sea olympics

March 22 post

Today is the day of the sea olympics (and also a “study day”--but what does that matter?) Various team are competing and having contests like the limbo, “eastern” squatting, backward spelling. Adriatic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea, etc. etc., and some staff have formed a team called Luna Sea.

Then there are the young white girls now brown working on their tans in a competition of their own. Boy, do I remember those days, although I never looked as good as they do! I considered pointing to the bruises on my arms from sun damaged skin thinned from tanning many years. I thought about reviewing the wrinkles around my mouth and eyes, and lines down my cheeks, so they could see what will happen to them in 50 years. But, hey, it wouldn't matter, and plus, we are on higher seas now.

The ship is rocking much more now than it was, and I realize I should have done those “core exercises” I was intending to do. We LLL are walking more and more like sailors who drank too much. So, I feel like I'm in a sea olympics of my own here just doing what's absolutely necessary, and thinking of all those adventurers looking for spice routes, new land, freedom, or just what exactly was over the horizon. How did all those people sail out quite literally out into the unknown? I'm not talking about learning about differences here—I'm talking about not knowing what was next! I have a two person cabin to myself with a toilet, sink, shower, small fridge, TV, and I can't imagine anyone else in here—let along sleeping on a wooden plank next to a bunch of smelly people along with the rats. So making it down the hall to join in the sea olympics is not on my schedule today.

Also, to do that would mean I'd have to ignore my crowd fatigue. Living on a ship with 999 other people means that you are in groups all the time if you're not in your cabin. Really, staying in your cabin, unless you are absolutely sick with traveler's sickness (code word here), is not why most grown-ups pay money to the Institute of Shipboard Education! However, there comes a time when you just cannot make a decision about where to stand or sit because you're in a crowd. And, when crowd fatigue happens, especially when the ship is rocking, it's best to stay in your cabin. I hope tomorrow the sea is calmer and so am I.

Great name for this ship!!

March 21 last call for comments and questions

We'll be pulling into Cape Town on March 25.  If I've missed a question or comments you've made, sorry.....Could you repost it here?  Or, if you have been holding back, thinking and not posting, here's your chance.  Don't worry about offending me!

LJ & SK--This means both of you too!

March 21 post

The ship will dock in Cape Town, South Africa, on March 25. There are opportunities to learn about South Africa's history of apartheid movement when the blacks—the majority of the population—began to object to the economic and social oppression of the whites—the minority of the population. One of the heroes in this effort is Nelson Mandela, a black leader who helped organize the African National Congress (ANC) to end the oppression. Blacks had to carry “passbooks” with them, and any white could ask any black to see the book—the failure to produce the passbook would led to punishment. So, blacks lived in crowded townships and were not free to move about as they wanted.

Mandela was sent to a prison Robins Island to silence him for the work he was doing organizing blacks to gain their freedom. While he was in jail, his wife, Winnie Mandela, worked with the ANC to keep his name alive because he was the face of the struggle for the blacks. The clenched black fist became the symbol to tell blacks to continue to work together to gain their freedom. The music of the blacks held their spirits together, and sometimes there was such a crowd of singers and dancers, the white police were frightened by loudness of the sea of people demonstrating before them.

Nelson Mandela was in solitary confinement much of the time but worked in a quarry digging rock out. He was allowed to receive only one letter every six months. One of the techniques of protest Mandela used was to walk more slowly that the whites wanted as he went to and from the quarry. Years of being in the glare of the white rock and sun caused damage to his eyesight. During this time, the ANC became militant, and the white government realized that they had to talk with Mandela in prison and the ANC to make a deal about the demands of the blacks in order to avoid a civil war (LJ & SK—I know you know about the civil war between the south and north in the US when Abraham Lincoln was president.)

Prior to 1994 and freedome for the blacks, The Arch was Archbishop of Johannesburg, but he had to have a passbook to to travel around. His wife's passbook said it was okay for her to travel since she was married to the Archbishop.

The Arch was very active during this time and meeting with leaders around the world trying to get the governments to take a stand against the South African white government. He said that the student protests in Berkeley demanding that business from US corporations be withdrawn from South Africa was very helpful in encouraging the white government to conclude they had to change their policies toward blacks. During the discussions among the government, Mandela and ANC, it was agreed that there would be an election and that no revenge by either side would take place. Mandela walked out of prison after 27 years. He was elected the first president for the new South Africa. The Arch said that Mandela went to prison an angry man, grew to understand the position of “the other” (someone of a different view), and came out of prison to lead the country saying we must walk the path of forgiveness and not the path of revenge. Mandela still is alive, but we've been told he is not in good health.

As usual, an “interport student” came on board in Mauritius. You may remember that I've talked about this before in getting ready for Burma and India. Karey Burns is 18 years old and lives on the outskirts of Cape Town. She will be going to college next year and grown up in the “new” South Africa. Since apartheid ended in 1994, Karey has learned about it all her school life in integrated schools. She's tired of it, ya. (Karey's speech was dotted with “ya” after a statement but not like the Canadians and Upers.) As she goes to forward with her education, she is worried about getting a job after school.

In order to move blacks forward and upward in society, they are given preference job hiring. The “levels” of society from top to bottom are: white, Indians (from India), colored (mixed race), blacks. Since Karey is white, she's worried that it will be more difficult to get a job, since the other levels of equate capability and diplomas will be hired before she would. Due to this, many white are leaving South Africa in order to get jobs. Karey feels like her generation is being punished for something they weren't a part of.

Yet, according to Arch, South Africa is now one of the most unequal countries in the world. Great wealth and mansions exist alongside patched-together shacks of poverty. Schools are integrated with children of all colors, yet the schools in townships where mostly blacks live, are of poor quality without proper toilet facilities. Arch said, although his country is better than it was, the inequity of conditions is a huge burden on the hearts of those who worked for the new South Africa.

When South Africa hosted the Soccer World Cup in 2010, there was no crime for two months. The Arch asks, “If we could do that?”...and his voice fades off into a whisper and his eyes close.

His wife joined him in Mauritius, and they will both get off the ship to go home together.  What an honor it has been to have Arch on board.

March 20 post

I have met some really interesting travelers—both college kids and adults—and I'm glad I joined this voyage for awhile. I hadn't traveled outside the US since 2009 when I went to Malawi and Kenya. I remember I worried then about my gimpy left foot before the trip, but the injections held me through the five weeks of travel. I walked much more in Africa than I am able to now. I was afraid to come on this trip, because I had to cancel the 2012 trip to Liberia for health reasons.

Everyone is on a journey, but maybe they don't know it until they board the ship. This trip has been affirmed my ability to travel for at least a few more years.  I was afraid it was over, but I jumped to that conclusion too soon.

What I've known for a long time is that you have to get outside your comfort zone to experience new things. Or, it's a chicken and egg thing—those who are open to new experiences will leave the safety of what they know. (LJ & SK, I am so proud of you for trying new things!!)

An example of this is a woman named Sherry who told me she was a very shy person when she boarded the ship in San Diego in January. For the first several weeks she was sea sick and stayed in her cabin. Once she felt better, Sherry was determined to get out and experience the journey. If you've been following this blog, you know that some people on board shaved their heads if it was the first time they've crossed the equator (Neptune Day, March 15). Sherry didn't want to shave her head (no kidding...), but she went to the hair salon and had her hair died red. I saw her the following day and told her that I loved red hair, loved having red hair, and loved her red hair. Sherry said she was confused, because the voyage allowed her to come out of her cabin, enjoy mixing with others, state her views, reach out, and now she was a redhead!

There are many couples on the ship—both LLL and faculty/staff and spouses. Although I've wished that I had a life partner, I noticed a disadvantage to having one, at least on this ship. LLL couples seem to be couples all the time—breakfast, lunch, dinner, happy hour, port excursions, probably even classes, etc. The same is not true for faulty/staff and spouses, since the former have responsibilities and the spouses have time to spare. I know that compromises have to be made in couple hood, but I wonder how much of the togetherness might really be about staying in the comfort zone. Your thoughts?

A comfy spot on the porch (read Mar 19 info post)

Approaching Gov Laboudonnaise renovated "chateau"

I knew that cow was somewhere

"regular" Hindu temple

Tamil Hindu Temple

Nana pigs out again--this time on Indian food

translation: St. Mary's --read post for history

Drying the washcloths at the Mosque

Washing before entering the prayer room in the Mosque

Mosque

Inside Chinese Buddhist pagoda

Yolanda Nash and Nana

Yolanda was born in Guatamala and married a US diplomate, but she now lives in northern California.  She is a part time nanny and helps with her "family" on the ship.  We enjoy chatting with each other and were happy to be on the same "tour" together.

Beautiful dancers greet us--tourism is growing

March 19 Post

Mauritius has a very diverse population with 70% following the Hindu faith and 20-25% of the Catholic Christian faith. The Islam tradition is also represented here. The French brought the Catholic faith, and since the British brought slaves from India (their colony at the time), the Hindu tradition was established. Some of the first people to come to Mauritius were Arabs, and with them came the Islam (Muslim) tradition. There is intermarriage, and the result is a wonderful milk chocolate skin with tolerance for differences.

Yesterday I went on a “cultural” tour with a small group starting off with a stop to an octagonal Chinese pagoda filled with burning incense. On the way to front door, we spotted a very old tortoise (well, we assumed he was old). Mary Gail, from Alaska, wondered how he entered the walled grounds, and someone said , “Well, we drove in and parked didn't we?” Read for the other classic Mary Gail comment later. There were incinerators where evil thoughts were burned as we approached the front.

Next, we visited (well, I viewed from the bottom) Marie Reine de la Paix Church on Signal Mountain which was a place of prayer by a priest during WW2 to spare Mauritius from the fighting. It was built in 1940 and overlooks the capital, Port Louis. Only priests can enter the sanctuary and a service is held every Sunday with the congregation sitting on lawn chairs around the church. Pope John celebrated mass there, so it was a big deal for this little island with probably a lot of lawn chairs!

Jummah-Mosque was started by some Arab Muslim merchants in 1852 and eventually covered an entire square block. When we entered, we saw the washing stations for feet, hands and faces used by those entering for prayer, and eventually saw the washcloths hanging out to dry on the second floor. A 150 year old almond tree grows on the ground in a central place.

The Hindu Temple was built in 1850 and had some colorful creatures around but the buildings have mostly a red and white color theme. The Hindus believe in one god, but many special god were created for special purposes because the thought is that humans need to prayer for special needs. I think of it like the Catholic Church having special saints to pray to for special help, but these Hindu gods can look pretty weird. My goodness, the painting and sculpture is very ornate! BTW—a image of a cow is always somewhere around. (Remember the living white cow beside the street in my India section?)

An offshoot of Hinduism is Tamil that the gives the son of the main regular Hindu god the top position. These temples are VERY colorful and and ornately decorated. We visited the Tamil Temple Kaylasson that was built in 1854.

We are lunch at the Indian restaurant that was air conditioned. The cool air felt refreshing!

Our last stop on the tour was not a place of worship but an extraordinary French “chateau” with large landscapes all around it. It was built by the French governor of Mauritius in 1850, and eventually privately owned by the same family for many years. Cyclones occasionally devastate the island and one year it affected the chateau. Noticing that the place needed serious care, the remaining family undertook a campaign to restore it to it's original condition. This is a preservationist's dream, and it is now a museum.

 

The funniest thing that happened on this leg of the trip was that I found a very clean bathroom before we were to get on the bus. I was so excited about the cleanliness of the place, I was going to tell everyone about it—except that I couldn't unlock the stall no matter which way I turned the lock. I heard some voices outside the building, so I began knocking on the solid, heavy door and yelling, “Help! I can't unlock the door! Please tell Jeannette!” (She was our tour liaison, and I didn't want her to wonder why I wasn't on the bus.) Soon people began talking in different languages outside the door, then someone in English telling me to try unlocking again.....Finally, my fellow travelers were all outside the door saying: “Try again! Get a bigger key! Someone needs the master key! Hang on, we're looking everywhere!” Then, Mary Gail suggested I crawl underneath the door—there was only a quarter of an inch to the floor. She also suggested, they get a ladder for me to climb up and then they'd lift me down—there was a maximum of 18 inches from the top of the door to the ceiling! Finally, after many keys, someone found the right one and the door flew open to see me using the toilet as a chair and dripping in sweat. I was freed from my entrapment, and a manger gave me a cold washcloth for my face. I'm sure the story is being told around the ship!

March 17 on the reason you don't want to be a Dodo

Tomorrow we visit Mauritius for a day. Apparently, SAS used to visit at least one overnight, but some students made some “bad choices” and so SAS is no longer welcome that long. Nonetheless, I'm looking forward to it since I think it's going to be glorious. Mauritius was “discovered” by the Portuguese in 1507 who found no people there, but it was the ONLY home of the Dodo bird. Then the Dutch, then the French, and finally it became a republic within the British Commonwealth in 1992. Over the years, the natural forest was cut down to plant sugar cane, and now tourism has become big business. The language spoken is English and sort of a French kind of language called “Creole.” The Dodo bird couldn't fly, became very fat—weighing up to 50 pounds—and were killed by people to eat. In addition to being food for people, the rats that came on the ships that landed here, ate the eggs of the bird, so now there are none.

One of the important things the Dodo did was eat the seeds of a special tree on the islands. After going through their digestive system, the seeds would drop and take root. After the Dodos were no longer around, new trees stopped sprouting. People were worried that the trees would become extinct too. Somebody figured out the connection between the Dodo birds and the “preparation” of the seeds for taking root. Now they put the seeds from the trees into a rock tumbler and new trees are beginning to take root!

LJ & SK—can you find an image of the Dodo bird? There are only sketches from very old skeletons and what people think they looked like. Some people used to use the phrase, “You're such a Dodo.” That wasn't exactly a compliment!

I am really anxious to go on the “cultural tour” because I think we will see some of the large sugar cane plantation home previously owned by the French and British. Some people I know are going to the beautiful beaches and snorkeling. I remember I did that on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia but that was 13 years ago!

For my friend, Lynn Meadows

March 16

Even though I'm able to access my yahoo email account on the ship, I don't because it counts against my 30 minutes of “free” Internet time. If I use the semesteratsea address, it's truly free: janet.bernath.sp13@semesteratsea.org . I use my 30 minutes of Internet time to upload whatever I've written for the day and some of the pictures I've taken—yes, it takes about 30 minutes to upload stuff on the ship!

Today I checked my yahoo email because I have my travel arrangements in my yahoo email folder. I'm beginning to think about getting off the boat and on to a plane March 31^st. I'm not in a hurry to do that, I just wanted to review the arrangements I made before I left. I have to pat myself on the back to say that I did a good job in January! Most of the students are still figuring out what they will do when they disembark in Barcelona, but they're young and I'm not!

While I was checking my yahoo email, I learned of the death of a friend of mine, Lynn Meadows. Lynn and I met on the corner of South Main and South Street in front of the Post Office standing in protest to the occupation of Iraq. We both had houses to sell and ushered together at Hill Auditorium (until I determined my knee could no longer withstand the 45 degree angle of the aisle), so we had connections on various levels. Lynn had several of the “corner” people over to her daughter's house in January for a delicious soup supper while she was “house sitting” in Chelsea. The week I was leaving for this trip, I heard she was staying at her daughter's house because she was too sick to live alone. What a shock that was, and I'm sorry that I only had time to call her for a chat. I am forgiving myself on this one, because I could have said, I'll call her when I get back.

This ocean is flat and calm now and goes on forever, and it reminds me how wide and deep God's love is. We cannot wait to see the ocean to know that—we must be the ocean of compassion for each other. This means showing each other hat we care for one another—not just those who are like us—we must get out of our comfort zones—reach out to people who live differently—and dare to love “the other” who is unknown to us. As The Arch says, “We are all family.”

I'm guessing that those who gaze back at our earth have an even more profound sense of God or Divine or Infinite..

Where we were

Nana meets Neptune

Bald boys who just crossed the equator