Tibet to Shanghai

  Another long day of traveling.  I really don't know how I still continued to function at this point.  Traveling in a wheelchair in some of these airports was exceedingly difficult.  There were all of these rules that made no sense to me.  For example, I checked in for the first flight and was told to bring my wheelchair to the gate.  Then in security, the lady said I had to go back and check it and it would cost money.  The life long learners who "adopted" me were such a big help running back and forth through the airport so I could get to the flight on time.

  We had a several hour layover at one of the airports and that was another challenge.  Only one wheelchair was ordered for our group, but two of us needed one.  (One of the life long learners had gotten severe altitude sickness and was still recovering.)  I gave him the chair and told the lady pushing his chair that I needed one too.  That wee-otch looked me up and down, curled her lip, and haughtily walked away.  I was really mad.  I could tell she was judging me because of my age and she had no right to do that.  Plus she seemed like she had a giant stick up her butt even on a good day.  

  I made it in from the plane to security and asked again for a wheelchair.  The lady at security said there was only one in the whole airport.  I politely told her that I highly doubted that and I would be sitting beside her station until someone found me a chair.  There were many an annoyed look exchanged but I finally did get a chair.  I really hate being annoying like that, but sometimes I have no choice.  It's not like I could crawl through the airport (at least not without good kneepads).  

  We arrived back at the boat in the evening and had some time to take in the crazy awesome city lights.

Helloooooo Mauritius!

    I wanted to kiss the ground when we got into Mauritius!  I we only had four hours there, but I felt more lucky for that precious time than disappointed that we didn't have the whole day. After all, we almost didn't get to go there!

    

    

   MAuritius had several striking features I noticed right off the boat.  Just like a typical island paradise, the mountains were extremely green and the water perfectly blue. 

 There was also one particular mountain that stood out for it's resemblance to a thumb.  

   The smell was also quite striking.  The port smelled like the usual industrial nastiness, but once in town, it smelled like spices and the ocean.  The buildings were a mix of styles. I particularly liked the ones made of dark stone.  Many of the museums, banks, and other important buildings were made out of this stone.  

I spend most of the time walking around the downtown market area.  The market was small but there was lots to see.  There was SO many fresh fruit, vegetables, and spices.  You could get a whole pineapple peeled and ready to eat on a stick for about a dollar.  

This was the entrance to the indoor portion of the market.

There were also live animals (for pets, not food) and crafts in the upstairs and outdoor portions of the market.  

And some powdered dye for Holi.  A bunch of students got some and had quite a party up on the 7th deck on Holi (that's a Hindu holiday).  I was so bummed that I missed that until the next day's announcement asked those students to report to the dean's office.  :0o

BEfore we headed back to the ship, we ventured to the Waterfront Area.  This had nice stores (too expensive for me!), restaurants, and a huge craft market.  I was able to get lots of goodies for people back home there and everything was 100% hand made, usually by the vendor.  

A FRIENDS restaurant!  Cool!

This next picture I like because you an see the water drop statue in the middle.  The statue commemorates a demonstration where hundreds to thousands of people turned out to show their commitment to peace and ridding the world of inhumane conditions such as slavery and poverty.  

To get back to the ship, we took a water taxi which was really fun.  Getting myself on and off the water taxi was quite a challenge!  My legs are not strong enough to be jumping onto boats and whatnot.  I had lots of help though!  One of the professors even lifted me up like a toddler to get over a big gap between the boat and the dock.  It was quite embarrassing, but beat falling into the water.  haha

There were some great fews of the shore and the ship from the taxi as well.

Anyone know what those globes are on the boat?

Cape Town (Day 6) Operation Hunger

   Volunteering with Operation Hunger was an amazing experience!  It was a long, difficult day and worth every extra heartbeat.  For a little background about Operation Hunger, it was started in 1980 a an organization that gave out food to populations at risk for malnutrition.  Through their work, they realized that additional programs such as health education and sustainable agricultural projects were needed.  Now the organization battles hunger in South Africa on many fronts.  In 1992, Clement, the regional coordinator for the Western Cape started working with Semester at Sea and we have had a wonderful relationship ever since.  I was especially excited when I learned this because the previous service projects I have participated in seem so fleeting and only addressed the surface of larger problems.  SAS's long term relationship with Operation Hunger meant that the two programs had grown together and were better able to fulfill each other's needs. 

  On the service visit, we were able to help in several different ways.  The first half of the day (after a tour and introduction) was spent doing one of three things; cooking in the soup kitchen, breaking ground for a new garden, and assisting the videographer and photographer film and photograph the community.  I was really excited to be asked to assist the photographer (he has been helping me with my photo skills while at sea) but had forgotten that I used a wheelchair sometimes so I actually couldn't go.  It was REALLY disappointing for me because it was kind of an honor to be hand-picked by him and then I couldn't do it.  I pouted a little and then decided to give myself over to my new task which would be gardening.  One may think that photography is a better suited activity for someone using a wheelchair than farming, but I am actually quite handy with a hoe and rake in my chair, and quite unable to take photos while wheeling myself.  

   I knew that it may be a challenge to convince people that I could help just as well as anyone else, so I made sure to present myself in a non-helpless manner.  I wheeled right up to the back of the truck we were unloading and picked out a hoe before anyone could tell me I could just sit and watch.  The ground that was going to become a large garden looked nothing of the sort when we began.  It was a sandy and rocky plot with lots of weeds and litter.  That quickly changed though.  Those of us who had gardened before (or pretended to know what we were doing in my case) got to work turning up the soil and hacking out the weeds.  I worked out a pretty good system where I would sit and use my knee as a lever for the hoe.  I was having another pretty bad weakness spell, so I needed all the help from physics I could get.  I would make sure the area right around me was perfect and then wheel the chair back a few feet and work on the new area.  Once the hoeing was done, I went back through with a big rake to get the large weeds and rocks out and then back again on my hands and knees to get the more stubborn weeds out.  I stood up for some raking with the smaller toothed rake to make sure everything was level and looking pretty.  Other people went around and poured water over the newly turned dirt and planted seeds in the wet soil.  I took a rest, talked with Clement about the History of Operation Hunger, and then got back to work with the hoe to better define the bed I was working on.  I was slower than most people, but I had fun and felt good about it still.  I had been really missing gardening while on the boat so it was nice to much about in the soil for a few hours.  I was really happy that no one tried to coddle me or prevent me from doing work.  Everyone just accepted that I would be working right a long with them.  The garden will eventually be taken over by the community as a sustainable way to produce food.  

  We drove to a large gas station for lunch where I had fun talking with people and having another delicious peanut butter milkshake from Whimpy's (a fast food chain).  I didn't really understand why so many of the other customers were staring at me in the gas station/fast food restaurant until I saw myself walking in the reflection of a window.  I look pretty darn awkward during a weakness spell!  I may need to rename the "zombie walk" to be my "spaz walk."  haha  

   After lunch we headed to the soup kitchen to help out with Operation Hunger's bi-annual data collection.  (It is bi-annual because SAS students are needed to help staff them and we come to Cape Town twice a year.)  My friend Josh and I secured a spot at the weighing station.  We weighted the kids and wrote their weight on their lower arm which would be recorded with their arm circumference and height by one of the Operation Hunger workers.  IT was extremely fun and chaotic.  I absolutely loved working with the kids in this setting.  I got to squeeze in some high fives and tickles even in the hectic process.  Some of the younger kids were a little scared and unsure, but Josh an did a good job of turning their whimpers into giggles, I think.  The data we collected would show which kids were at-risk for malnutrition.  Those kids would have follow up visits to their houses where nutritional education, medical care, and food donations would be provided if necessary.  

  After all the data was collected, the kids got to fill their bowls they brought from home with some vegetable stew the soup kitchen had prepared.  For some of the kids, it would be the only meal they had that day.  This showed in some of the kids who barely had any arm for me to write their weight on and had swollen bellies from lack of protein.  Most of the kids were of a healthy weight, but those who were not broke my heart.  I was hungry by the time we had lunch that day.  I can't imagine being a little kid and having hunger be a constant part of life.  Clement said that more than anything, he hopes that we will remember the community when we get back home and have the ability to send funds and supplies.  I know there is no way I can forget the organization or the community.

  I handed out some stickers and saucer poppers to the kids who hung around to eat which was really fun.  I had dozens of little hands all around me waiting to be decorated by the neon smiley face stickers I brought.  I was so busy with that, that I was almost late to the bus...again.  One of the Operation Hunger workers had to come fetch me and show me that everyone else was already on the bus.  Oops.  I gave some last high fives and showed some of the older ones my wheelchair and then got on the bus to go back to the ship.  I think it goes without saying that I didn't want to leave.

Bye Bye South Africa!  I will definitely miss you and be back soon!