South Africa!

South Africa is by far my most favorite country! I will try and return to this country first! I have done so many incredible things in South Africa and yet, I still have so much more that I need to do! The days coming up to South Africa were really inspiring, we learned about apartheid, Nelson Mandela, and even watched Invictus. I am always surprised with how little I know about the world, just like how I had no idea about the Cambodian genocides I had no idea the seriousness of apartheid in South Africa. We also learned the story of Amy Biehl and how she was a white college student trying to stop apartheid, but ended up getting killed by people thinking she was an oppressor. We learned the story of her parents who forgave the killers and supported the truth and reconciliation process headed by Desmund Tutu (who by the way is sailing the ENTIRE Fall 2010 voyage, so jealous!). Amy Biehl's parents started a foundation to help get children off the streets in the townships, and they even hired 2 of Amy Biehl's killers to help out. We also learned how South Africa is the Rainbow Nation and how they are trying to make blacks and whites equal

Day 1

We FINALLY got our first famous speaker to come in. We usually get these consulate people just tell us about the country, even though we already learned about the safety precautions we need to take in the countries and all about the culture in something we have called logistical and cultural pre-port lectures. It was a breath of fresh air to have something different. Who was this famous person? Linda Biehl, Amy Biehl's mother! She told us her story and how she felt as a mother. It was a very inspiring story! I stayed after her lecture to talk to her personally a little, and she even gave me a hug when I left. It was completely amazing seeing and listening to her.

The location of our port is the best we have had so far, it was right on the waterfront which is pretty much a big shopping area.We were close to everything, unlike our ports in India. We could even see Table Mountain from our ship! We then hired a driver to take us around to see South Africa. He took us to many places, including the Cape of Good Hope which is the southern most tip of Africa. We had a miscommunication with our driver there because we wanted to climb the Cape of Good Hope to take a picture, but he thought we meant that we wanted to hike to Cape Point. So when we came back down, our driver wasn't there, we then did a pretty long hike to Cape Point, which is where the Indian Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. It was some amazing views from these points. We saw plenty of wildlife here, including baboons and ostriches. Our driver then took us to Boulder Beach, which is a beach covered in penguins. I wished I had a tuxedo shirt like, Taylor does from back in Gainesville, so I could take a picture with the penguins with it on. We also saw the World Cup stadium and attempted to go up Table Mountain, but the winds were too strong. At night I ate some ostrich steak, it was soooo good!

Day 2

We did a community service project with an organization called Operation Hunger. We went to a township called Los Angeles and were able to see how the people lived. We were with the poorest of the poor and the living conditions were just terrible. There were live wires running along the ground so that each shack could have electricity. The people, however, were the nicest people I have ever met. We were there to see if the children were malnourished and then to feed them. We had to weigh each and every child of the township and find out their age to determine how many of the children were malnourished. We weighed the children in the dirt roads. At one point, someone was trying to roll start their car, the car started but then turned off and started rolling down the hill, right where we were weighing the children. I noticed the car and yelled for people to get out of the road, only some of the children heard because their english isn't the best. My cousin was weighing a child at a time and grabbed him and ran out of the way, I pushed another kid out of the way and jumped in front of the car to stop it before it could hit any of the children. It was a pretty scary moment, but luckily no one was injured.

Weighing the children did not take that long, so we got to hang out with them and play with them for a while. They were completely fascinated with our cameras. They would take the cameras and take so many pictures, and they were good pictures too! They took over 300 pictures with my camera! I also played some soccer with them, even though I am not that good. I also do not know what it was about me, but the children would always try to see how many of them I could carry. It started with them feeling how strong my arms were, and then they latched on to my arm because they wanted me to lift them. Whenever I would try to walk anywhere, I would have 2 children latched on to each arm, one child on each leg, one sitting on my shoulders, one I am holding in my arms, and another trying to get a piggy back ride. It was exhausting! At one point I was trying to get a break and listen to the guy talk a little more about Operation Hunger and what we could do to help. The children picked me out of the crowd and tried to dog pile on top of me and they would try to keep me on the ground! We also got to help distribute food to the children and watched some of them dance, it was a program to keep the children off the streets. It was so exhausting and I was so sore afterwards, but it was one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my entire life.

Some interesting facts on malnourishment in the townships. Boys are more malnourished than the girls and the girls actually tend to be over nourished. This is because the girls in these townships are taught to stay in the house and cook and clean, which they eat when they cook. The boys are always outside playing. Also, the children tend to be malnourished when the parents do not have jobs. This is because when a parent has a job they are never home to feed their children. I am definitely coming back to this township with Operation Hunger again to help out.

Day 3

We went on a day safari in the Aquila game drive. My group asked the funniest questions to our jeep driver, but we all had a good time and laugh out of it. I got to see "the big 5" in the safari, which includes the elephant, the lion, the leopard, the water buffalo, and the rhino. The leopard and the lion that we saw were in cages, so it wasn't a true safari out in the true wild, but it was still awesome because we also got to see hippos, ostriches, and zebras. Next time I am in South Africa, I want to do a several day safari in Kruger or another park.

At night we ate at a place called Mama Africa with amazing live music. I order the Game Mix Grill, which included Springbok, Kudu, Crocodile, and Ostrich, it was delicious! For desert, I had something called a banana flam, which was allot like a banana foster and just as good.

Day 4

CAGE DIVING WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS!!!!!! It was so awesome! We went to Gansbaii, which has the highest density of Great White Sharks in the world, and you could definitely tell because we saw 7 different white sharks on our trip, and boy were they massive! I was so excited and asked so many good questions that our guide thought I was a marine biologist and said she would recommend me for an internship with their conservation and research efforts. The water was cold, but it was hard to tell because of the adrenaline and the wet suits that we wore. I had a shark ram the cage right in front of me and I could see all of its teeth! This is by far the coolest thing I have ever done and I am seriously thinking of coming back as a volunteer (not an intern since I am an engineer and not a biologist) for two weeks, because I could cage dive every day.

This was also our last night in Cape Town so we hit up the clubs on Long Street and had an amazing time. We went to one local bar for a little bit, met some really cool locals who taught us an African Cheer, and we got their information and they said next time we come to South Africa that I could stay with her and her family. The people of South Africa are so nice!

Day 5

We woke up early to try and hike table mountain. The winds were way too intense and the guides begged us not to hike the mountain. So then we attempted to go to the wine lands and go wine tasting but then found out that it was way too far. Then we tried to go scuba diving at the aquarium, but as soon as we got there the lady was on the phone booking the last reservation for the day! So instead we went to a market, got a picture of us riding a dolphin and getting chased by a shark (oh yea, this happened). Then we went to a restaurant on Long Street and pretty much hung out there for 3 hours. I had probably the most unhealthy food called a Banobacon, it was a banana wrapped in bacon, deep fried and drizzled with maple syrup. It was still very good, even though I felt like I was about to get a heart attack. We then did some shopping at the mall, even though I am not a fan of shopping. We returned to the ship and got ready to depart. Only, the winds and seas were too rough and they closed the port! So our ship could not depart until late into the next day but we weren't allowed of the ship! We even had classes while in port, it was so cruel to have my most favorite port right outside the window and we were stuck in class not allowed off the ship!

I can't believe we only have 2 more ports left! This voyage has gone by so fast! Ghana is next!