My grandgirls, Lindsay Jane and Sydney Kay, were able to enjoy my adventure in 2013 with Semester at Sea (SAS), but now I have an adventure of a different kind with Jackson Trippers in sunny California in the middle of winter in 2015!
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Post for Feb 28
I know that we “retired” people
have a hard time knowing what day it is since we sleep in until 10
am, watch the soaps, and eat bon-bons all day. (LJ & SK—you
know that that isn't true! I made that joke for your dad!) Life on
this ship has four ways to keep track of time: (1) sailing days (2)
port days. If we're sailing, there are (3) A days and (4) B days.
When we're sailing, certain classes and activities happen on A days
and different ones on B days. For enrolled college students,
different classes are taught on different days. For everyone on
board, “Global Lens” classes are scheduled according to A & B
days as well, and everybody can attend them. In the evening there's
at least two classes for everyone to attend if they wish. For LLL
there is a class or meeting everyday at 4 pm—although they go by
“maritime time” which is 16:00. Most everyone who is on the ship
uses maritime time, but since I'm only a “partial” voyager, I
just convert it in my head.
Although this is a ship, it is
definitely not a cruise ship with fine dining and white table
clothes. This is more like a dorm with dorm food. Since I really
don't cook fancy stuff—or barely cook at all—it suits me fine.
But, I can think of a couple of women at the wellness center who most
likely would find this unacceptable. The two women I'm thinking of
go on cruises especially for the food, choose the cruise for the
chef, and generally don't leave the ship when it's in port.
Today is Feb 28, and I went to a small
village named, Thanlyin, a place that served as base for a 17th
century Portuguese adventurer. Once we left the bus, we were
literally “carted” around as two passengers in the back of a cart
pulled by a “driver” and small horse. Thank goodness for
“Bryson” from California who helped me get into and out of the
cart. Of course, Bryson said he had my back—make that back end.
At one point some of the horses got out of line, and we rear-ended
(REALLY) each other! The village was pretty basic with a small
Pagoda, monastery, and market. I didn't go into the monastery
because I didn't want to take my compression stockings and shoes!
Outside the monastery, women showed us how to make as kind of face
paste using wood cut from a special tree that has to be “at least
35 years old” and water. They grind the wood into a flat surface
and mix water to the “juice” of the wood. Mostly women and
children put this on their faces to help protect from sunburn, and I
also think they use it as a kind of decoration. Looks kind of
tribal. Of course, there were skinny dogs sleeping everywhere .
We stopped at a pre-school that has only mats on the floor with a few posters on the wall and is supported by the monks across the street. We visited a class of about thirty 3-5 year olds dressed in uniforms with the sunscreen paste on their faces. LJ & SK—Can you find yourselves? There is a new primary school near it, but it didn't yet look occupied. The market was large with clothes, plastic house wares, and food—lots of dried fish—and beetle leaves. Beetle leaves are sliced and diced,then rolled into a ball that people chew. It is like an “energy” chew and keeps people going. We were bicycled back to the bus in a long line with smiling locals standing by on the road. I'm quite sure we looked pretty silly but we waved at each other.
This trip is really different for me. I'm not used to going on “tours” on the bus, but here I am. I'm used to working with folks and being able to ask questions and this isn't the case now. In a sense, I'm learning less about the places than I'm used to. However, there are just terrific people on the ship, and I like talking with them to learn about their lives. I've spent quite a bit of time with Sven and Elizabeth who are originally from Denmark. Sven came to the US to go to college and loved it. He went back to Denmark and married his “sweetheart” to settle in the US. He was a skilled carpenter and built a lot of very large houses mostly in California. He grew tired of building mansions for two people, so he quit doing that, sold their home, and he and Elizabeth went to an old copper mining town in the mountains of the state of Washington that was abandoned after the price dropped in mining copper. Someone in the Lutheran Church bought it for $1. and people began renovating the town for a retreat center. They were there for five years, and their son graduated from high school in the mountains in a program funded for remote places! After that, Sven built another home. I think they're at least 75 years old, and Elizabeth told me that they have many friends in their 40s who worked with them on the renovation. The center is being renovated more and isn't functioning now for awhile, but I'm going to look up “Holden Retreat” when I get home. Preservation in the mountains!!
Answer to the question posted on the
blog about the water jugs and drinking from them. Some people
have said that the water is actually for pouring over a Buddha on
your birthday. Others have said they are kind of a watering hole for
the community. No ladels or anything nearby. Sometimes there is a
cup. As I said, it's hard to clarify on these tours....I do know
FOR SURE that going to a Pagoda or monastery on your birthday to give
gifts is a big deal. Unlike us, people give gifts, not receive them
on their birthday. But, for this year,
Megan, you're off the hook—so go ahead and cash in those gift
cards!
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
This is a statue of Aung San who...
is a hero in this country because was an independence leader after Britian gave Burma it's independence. You might think of him as George Washington. His daughter, Aung San Suu Kyi, founded the National League of Democracy, who was under "house arrest" (BIG time out) for many years. She now is free and working toward more democracy with the government. You might think of the as Rosa Parks who stood for equality. I bet you already know about Rosa!
Drinking fountains on the street
The head of the reclining Shwe Tha Lyaung Buddha
Read Feb 27 post....This was built in the year 994 AD!
Post for Feb 27
Weather while here: OVER 100 degrees!
On Monday, the 25th, after
mysterious issues about coming into the port of Yangon or
Rangoon—whatever we choose to call it, we “docked” about 4:30
pm. The river is brown with silt and the ship sat low in the port.
Those of us who had signed up for a day tour of Yangon, took it at
night. We saw the buildings built by the British in downtown Yangon
that are—guess what—adaptively reused! Burma or Myanmar—whatever
we choose to call it, is 80% Buddhist and there are small amounts of
Muslims and Christians. On a rather major corner—let's call it
Yangon, there was the blond Jesus and a clock on the front of
Immanuel Baptist Church.
But, let me say that the Swedagon
Pagoda has it beat by a mile. This is covered in gold and just
shimmered like gold because it is. There were Buddhas of all sizes
everywhere. Even Buddhas with neon lights radiating from the head.
Apparently, this is where the Buddha achieved enlightenment, so this
Pagoda is serious Buddha business. When the Buddha achieved
enlightenment, he could see everything clearly and at one with God.
As it goes in the story, the big dome (or stupa) contains hair from
Buddha. Then there were various sizes of the stupas surrounding the
big one. Families were walking clockwise around the square of domes
gloriously lit up, and it was very quiet and peaceful. The young
woman with whom I sat on the bus was leaving to go to a monastery the
next morning to learn how to meditate. I asked her to find out why
there are so many Buddhas, but I suspect that people have donated
money to have them built—thinking that they will get good marks for
doing that.
I saw most men wearing the long skirt
that is tied in the front, and the females wear the same skirt on the
side. The women wear blouses and the men wear shirts. I saw monks
walking with even more fabric around their bodies as it comes up and
over their shoulder with no shirt underneath.
On Tuesday, I went on a tour to Bago—an
ancient city. (Well, really, the whole country is ancient!) In
Bago, I went to a Buddhist monastery where Buddhists are taught.
Every Buddhist male (almost all the boys in the country) are required
to be a monk for awhile. I don't mean the government requires it,
it's the Buddhist tradition that does. Girls can choose to go into
a monetary for girls, but they are not required to do so. The young
monks are educated in the teachings of Buddha but not anything else.
Buddha taught people how to live a good life (think of the Ten
Commandments plus more) and the practices to be good called “The
Way of the Buddha.” As I said before, one of the practices is to
treat the elders (Nanas) well, and I certainly have felt that.
People make sure I don't fall down the steps in the Pagodas and
monasteries. The age card really works here!
If a man wants to become a monk as a
profession, he has to study in a monastery for many years before he
is a certified head monk. It takes a long time to be able to go to
another monastery and have responsibility for teaching others.
When we visited the Kay Kwat Wain Monastery in Bago (built in the 13th century) where the monks had just finished eating, but there was one table left. I was told that for about one dollar I could have my picture taken near them. I was told to sit so I wouldn't be higher than them, but the best I could do was lower myself a bit. If I sat as low as the monks were, it would have been an ugly scene getting up. I'm sure people would have helped me, but too much drama!! Remember that the community supports the monastery by putting food in their bowls when they stand outside the monastery in the morning, but we arrived too late to “see” that.
We also visited the Shwe Tha Lyaung
reclining Buddha—thought to be the oldest one in the world. It was
built in 994 AD from bricks and cement. Apparently, there are a lot
of reclining Buddhas, and the direction in which they are pointing
means different things. I don't know anything more about that,
except that the one we visited meant that he was truly resting. Yes,
this is real gold, and I found the jeweled feet to be particularly
interesting! There was an area in front of the Buddha where people
could kneel and bend down to worship with their hands pressed
together pointing up. Just as in the Pagoda, people brought flowers
with them when they came.
We also went to the Shwe Maw Daw
Pagoda, and since you have to take off your shoes and socks, I found
out what it's like to visit during the day. HOT FEET! I walked
carefully from shadow to shadow because the platform that is built to
walk among the many Buddhas is scorching.
I saw many stupas in the countryside.
Our guide, Tann Tann, said that every small community wants it's own
stupa or pagoda and monastery. By the way, even though Tann Tann
studied English all the way through university, she had a heavy
accent that made it difficult to follow her. She also speaks Spanish
and is a tour guide when tourists come from Spain to escape the heat
in the summer since it is cooler in Burma then. Tourism is a booming
business now, and it's important to know that the Chinese have built
many roads and bridges for this country. (Hey—remember China is a
close neighbor, right? Did you find it on the map?)
It is a long drive from Yangon to the ship, so I had a chance to watch the Myanmar/Burmese world go by out the window of the bus. Other than the terrain, it looks very much like the other developing countries I've visited: broken cement, plastic litter, shacks with small store fronts selling a few items, people busy talking and living outside, bicycle and motor bike transportation, dogs all over that belong to the community and no one in particular, western-like advertising billboards that seem brighter that usual, dirt so dry that it's dust, broken down cars and trucks alongside the road with few traffic lights. Until recently, there have been no new cars and trucks in the country for 20 years. Mostly, I see Toyota's and Honda's—Detroit had better start marketing here! I would say that that it is easier to sense the kindness of the people, quieter, and the pace is slower without people rushing. People along the road wave at the bus and most of us wave back.
Since I was pretty tired from Monday
and Tuesday, I've taken today (Wed) to relax and write this piece. I had
lunch with an interesting young woman from California who just
graduated from high school. She's taking her first college courses
on the ship and calling this her “gap” year. Her grandparents
were born and raised in Hawaii, and her first name is “Melia”...
of course, I said to her what everyone else says, “Hey, that's
Obama's eldest daughter's name!” Makes sense, since they both have
Hawaiian heritage.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Docking in Burma today--Feb 25
Feb 25 Getting ready to go into port
in Burma (LJ & SK—Have you found in on the map yet??)
Today we will dock in Burma (or Myanmar) later than we were supposed to. Apparently, there is a dredging operation near Yangon (or Rangoon) due to silt filling it in and also something about tides making timing everything. Burma is about the size of Texas with 60 million people. How many people live in Texas? About 70% live in the rural areas and there are more than one hundred languages! That's even more than Texans have! But, Burmese is the official language and not one of mine....
This will be my last post for awhile
since the government blocks out Internet. Apparently, this happened
in China earlier in the trip.
After World War 2, the local people
didn't want to be part of Britain anymore, and there was a struggle
for independence. One of the famous leaders of that struggle was
Aung San, and he was killed by the ruling military only six months
before the country became independent in 1948. His daughter, Aung
San Suu Kyi, promoted democracy too, and she was placed under “house
arrest” in 1989. Even though she was under house arrest, she still
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 for leading the effort for
democratic change. Aung San Suu Kyi is now a part of the new
government that will go forward with a democratic process. Both
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and President Obama have been here
since the reforms have begun to take place.
Almost 90% of the population are
Buddhists, and if you want to get ahead in the government and
military, you better be one—even though the government officially
says there is freedom of religion. Buddhism believes in “karma”,
a force generated by one's actions in the present life. They believe
good deeds bring good fortune and evil bring bad fortune. Being
considerate of others is a general attitude in Burma—especially
pointing out mistakes made by Nana's and other seniors. In fact,
most people bow slightly when they walk past the seniors (or the
elders) as they call them. Sounds good to me.
A young woman, Pann, talked to the LLL
and told us that every young person of the Buddhist tradition,
remember this is almost everyone, has to become an nun or monk
sometime during their growing up. It can be for any amount of time,
but it means that they go into the monastery and have to get food for
the day before noon by standing outside depending on people to put
food in the bowl to feed those in the pulmonary. When people put the
food in the bowl, they should not touch the bowl. Pann did this for
a week when she was seven years old! SK—You ready for this??
LJ—You still have time! It's kind of like going to camp with no
food served....BTW--When Obama came to Burma, the streets were so packed, Pann had to watch it on TV. She took a picture of the TV in order to get a picture of him!
Pann said primary school is free, but
you need to pay for high school and beyond. Both Burmese and English
are required in school, but you can take other languages as well.
Pann graduated from college majoring in English and now works for a
tourist company. Tourism is beginning to be a thing here because the
country has finally opened up. Pann wants to create and own a
company that is her's only. She and her father live in the same
neighborhood as her grandparents, but they don't live with them.
Although dressing like we do in the US
is common in the cities, many who live in the rural areas still dress
in the traditional style—men wear an ankle-length, wraparound
sarong tied in the front, shirt, round-neck jacket, and flip flops.
The women wear and blouse with the sarong tied on the side, In the
countryside, farmers wear the conical hat (like the doll from Vietnam
LJ has) and go barefoot.
Most people eat with their right hand,
but forks and spoons are used in the cities. Each person gets a
plate of rice or noodles (LJ & SK—does this sound great?) and
chooses from a variety of food in the middle of the table. Nana's
and other elders are encouraged to eat first! Using the left hand by
itself is considered impolite...(Must be tough on the lefties here).
Burma is an extremely safe country except for the snakes. We were advised to wear closed-toe shoes! No problem for me!
Saturday, February 23, 2013
The Arch and Me
Isn't "The Arch" cute? He has the most amazing way of speaking. It's not so much what he says, but the way her says it. He definitely doesn't speak rapidly like young folks of today! Plus, he's the only adult on the ship who is shorter than me! The Arch led the movement in South African for peace and reconciliation between the blacks and whites in the country. I believe he will have a lot to say about that as we are going into Cape Town, South Africa. (LJ & SK--Can you fiind South Africa on the map? Hint--it's at the tip of Africa.)
"super trees in Singapore"
As I said earlier, there is a HUGE effort in Singapore for landscapping, in part for environmental purposes. These "super trees" are metal structures with oxygen coming out the top, and the plants around the structure grow very fast and cover it in about one month.
Post for Feb 23
Feb. 23
The Arch and Wade
A teacher on board (named Wade) died
suddenly in Shanghai, China of a massive heart attack before I came
on board. I read about it on the SAS website, and I learned that his
widow came back on board in Singapore with her brother to finish out
the voyage. This is her family, so to speak.
Because the teacher was well known,
both as a teacher on board for many years, and as a teacher to the
current students, there was a memorial service for him today at 5:30
pm. The Arch led the service, then the ship made a figure eight in
the water, which is also the sign for infinity (forever and ever). At
the conclusion of the memorial service , The Arch said to the people
present, say “Amen and Alleluia,” and the 500 or so mumbled it.
To which The Arch said, “Well, that wasn't very enthusiastic, was
it? I want some umph behind it. ” So everyone shouted louder
with umph. He's a pretty funny guy, that Arch.
Although I stood on the deck for
awhile, I didn't see the roses that were thrown overboard, but I
certainly did see the red sun setting below the horizon of the ocean.
Yes, it was special and bit rocky on deck while the ship was making
a sideways 8 for infinity.
post of Feb 22
Even though I'm not a full time
voyager, as a partial LLL (lifelong learner) I am able to sit in on
many learning opportunities. In fact, I don't know HOW full time
voyagers who take classes are able to manage! I am always hussling
to get from one activity to the next. Due to my arthritis, I'm now
taking the elevator and I'm getting over feeling guilty about that!
I sat in on a psychology class taught
by Charlie Morris who was emphasizing the importance of genes and
inherited traits. He talked a lot about the twin studies and
adoption studies, etc. Charlie's idea is: If you treat your
children the same, you are treating them unfairly. Which means
everyone who comes into the world is unique. I certainly knew that
from my own children!!
Here's something else that caught my
attention: 85% of all crimes in the world are committed by 18-20
year old males, and all evidence is that the genetic predisposition
for crime goes back to the father. Even in the worse slums (think
Detroit), 95% of the people living there don't commit crimes.
Also, about developing alzheimers late
in life: If you're doing something good for your heart, it's good
for your brain. Oh, my....I haven't been able to jog in the pool
yet, and I can't work out in the gym!!
In the afternoon, I listened to a
young woman from the Upper Pennisula in Michigan who has lived in
Bhutan which is a tiny place northwest of Burma. (She's from
Municing and, of course, her name is “Maki”) LJ & SK find
Burma on the map/globe between India and China/Thailand above the Bay
of Bengal....The government has a policy of promoting GHP (instead of
GNP) which stands for gross national happiness!!
These are one-on-one interviews for a questionaire of 30 pages.
That doesn't seem a good way to promote happiness to me...
The religious
tradition of Buddism is everywhere in daily life in Bhutan, and people wear the
“Buddist” outfit during the day and prayer flags are hung
everywhere. After supper, the young people come out into the
streets in jeans.
There have been
four kings since 1907, and now the government is elected by the
people. The democracy is only five years old, and many of the
older people still want the king to tell them what to do. There
are 60 million people in Burma with 19 different languages. Not
only that, but over half of the population are under 25 years old.
Plus, there are more boys than there are girls!
In some forms of
Buddism, people make long hikes to temples at the top of a mountain
to make themselves better people by placing something there as an
offering. Perhaps they've done something about which they feel
guilty. Some even climb through narrow rocks and come out the other
end feeling like they are a better person.
By the way, in
case you wondered, the national sport is archery.
In the evening,
I listened to Archbishop Desmond Tutu. He's the top guy in the
Anglican Church (think not Catholic and not Presbyterian—in
between)...He praised the students on the ship who volunteered at an
orphanage when they were in Vietnam and tol them how wonderful they
were. People on the ship call him “Arch”, and I had my picture
taken with him. He told a funny story: He was in the Netherlands
(look at the map in Europe, SK & LJ) and a 400 year old school
was being renamed after him. “Arch” said a little girl came up
to him and asked if he was as old as the school. He is MUCH
shorter than I am!!Friday, February 22, 2013
Feb 21
Thursday, Feb 21
Today I went with about 20 other LLL on
a guided tour of “Singpore—a city in a garden”. While we were
gathering, I was chatting with the others and got quite a shock. I
learned that they are good friends of Bruce and Marilyn Konkler—long
and big time friends of Megan and mine! They live in the same town
as the Konklers in Wisconsin.
About the tour—we wenet to the
largest display of tropical orchids in the WORLD. It was a very
large, cozy garden, and great for taking pictures. We also went to
Hort Park which has large landscapes and a cement walkway that would
take you 4 or 5 hours to walk.The tour guide really didn't focus on
the gardens so much as general information about the nature of
today's government and society in Singapore. It's a country &
city run by many rules, for instance, people can't chew gum—anywhere.
This has been true for over 20 years, so that children don't know
what gum is. Children are raised to work hard and be obidient, and
that has created a society with people who work 14 – 16 hours a day
to get ahead. However, because people, in general, a tired and don't
cook at home. Instead, they have five days either catered or pick up
food on the street, so they don't need much of a kitchen. Also, it
is cheaper to eat out than cook at home!
Most people live in apartments that are
purchased, however, some have inherited houses from their families.
In this case, they are taxed 3% on the value of their home per year,
so it's hard to be an owner of a home. In the case of those who make
less than $20,000 a year, they rent an apartment for very low rent.
It is illegal to be homeless in Singapore. The government knows how
much is in everyone's bank account, and it is believed that families
should take care of the unfortunate members. They send family
members a bill to help take care of family members that have had hard
luck.
In fact, the government knows so much
about the financial affairs of citizens that people don't have to do
their income taxes. They are simply sent a bill when it is time to
pay taxes. Take that, you accountants!!
The government also sets up a
retirement account for the citizens. However, now people have to
work until they are 80 years old! Man, do I feel like a slacker!!
The government wants people to have more children—currently, there
are 1.2 children per family, but people don't want to have more.
Why? Because they are too tired from working long hours!!
Gardens and landscapping is very important in Singapore. For over 20 years, land is being “reclaimed” from the sea. Dirt is brought in from Burma and Vietnam to build up the reclaimed spaces. Some years back, people farmed and ate what they raised, but then the government built high rises and housing. All the food in imported into Singapore—nothing to eat is grown here. Because people had forgotten where food comes from, a demonstration farm was created to teach people about food.
Most of Singapore's economy is built around shipping and tourism. There is an enormous amount of land reclaimation and building near the port. Cranes are everywhere and the ships have to dodge them.
Tonight an American couple who live in
Singapore said that Singapore is an example of how good government
can change society. It is a young country, 49 years old, and was a
third world country in 1965. It's a mesh of Malay, Chinese, and
English cultures, and the government takes safety seriously. In
other words, society is more important than the individual.
Feb 20 post
Feb 20, 2013
These past few days reminded me of when
I was waiting to go to college when everyone else had left already.
And, actually, my “cabin” is like a very tiny version of my dorm
room. When I began putting my clothes away, I realized I was being
very precise. I'm never this precise about my surroundings, but one
has to be when in such a tiny space! How do two people live in this
space? It's a good thing I have a room to myself!
I met quite a few Lifelong Learners
(LLL), although a number of them were not on the ship as “we are in
port”...as we say. I saw Desmond Tutu sitting at the next table
with some students two tables over. Most all of the LLL said the
trip had exceeded their expections—that it had been life changing.
I don't want to sound “been there, done that” at all. According
to one woman, “I'm overwhelmed by the poverty. It is vast and goes
on and on.”
One undergrad was pointed out to me who
has made some “bad choices” and wasn't allowed to get off the
ship. It's called “dock time” like time out for college kids.
Before each port entry, students (including LLL) are told about the
rules of the society into which they are entering. Apparently, you
can get arrested for chewing gum on the subway in Singapore. In
Japan, there are no public trash cans. I remember that they were
having trouble with small bombs being thrown in trash cans some time
ago. So, the government banned public trash cans to eliminate the
problem. You carry your trash in Japan.
I can't send email now, since they are
working on the whatever you call that disk.
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
A very long time to be observing in an airport!
On the BBC TV last night, I heard an interesting phrase, "Let's unpick this a bit"...To unpick it, I'd say that I'm so glad I've traveled before! Mistakes are made when there are time changes (confused thinking), hotels can be difficult to book and unbook, Semester at Sea in Virginia forgets to send needed information to you....like your cabin number, or what berth number the ship will be in etc. etc. I'm glad I know enough to ask questions, keep my cool, and stick with it. I've spent three days surrounded by interesting people in the hotel and occasionally walking out into the airport. (see above). At least I no longer have "jet lag" and feel pretty good.
It is the time of the "Chinese New Year" and that's not on one day only but over a period of quite a few days. Last night I felt like I was the only "westerner" in the place and saw only Asians. There are differences, of course, in Asian faces, but mine definitely looked very different from everyone else! Then, at breakfast this morning, the Americans arrived! I sat next to one fellow who was putting on a "workshop" about industry---whatever! It's seems that Demming and quality control are still alive and I'm not as "out of date" as I thought I might be.
This will be my last post from the airport!
Monday, February 18, 2013
And, I thought Midland was too far!
This morning at breakfast I met a young man from New Zealand who was eating by himself....It's easy to meet people that way! His wife was upstairs in their room with their three year old daughter who was still sleeping. It seems that his family was going back "home" to NZ for a visit. They live in London, England, where his wife has a job, and he works part time (read that "online") and he takes care of their daughter. That's quite a distance to go for a visit!
I'm waiting to find out what "berth" my ship comes in tomorrow. That gives new meaning to the phrase--waiting for my ship to come in!
Airports are such international places!
I'm waiting to find out what "berth" my ship comes in tomorrow. That gives new meaning to the phrase--waiting for my ship to come in!
Airports are such international places!
Snoozing in Singapore
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