Japan! (Day 3 Part 1)

   Transit day between Kobe and Yokohama was a strange sort of day.  There were so few people on the ship because most students had decided to travel independently to the next port.  Andrea and I had our sleepover and spend the day trying not to fall over as we were doing our homework.  (Rough seas.)  Since it was the anniversary of the Titanic sinking we watched a bit of the movie (probably the worst thing to do if we wanted to honor the victims) and took pictures of us on the deck in Titanic movie style (ok that is the worst thing we could have done.)  Not much else to say about that.

   I woke up in Yokohama having no idea what I was going to do that day.  I had been signed up for a home stay but I guess some of the families backed out so a few of us got bumped from the trip.  Everyone else I knew was on their own field programs.  Luckily, I met up with Andrea at breakfast and she had found someone who was also looking for a travel buddy for the day.  

   We got ready and then headed out with no idea where we were going (as all good adventures start.)  I got a map from a tourist office and we decided to head one direction to end up at a park.  Along the way we found a different park with some beautiful cherry blossom viewing.  There was also a mini-garden show going on which was cool to browse.  

    Having done the park thing, we turned back from the shore to head into the city.  We found a doll museum and I knew my mom would never forgive me if I had skipped that.  :0)  It was pretty cool.  There were dolls there from all different times in history all over the world.  I saw several dolls that my grandmas, mom, or I had growing up.  

I thought this one was a little scary actually.

NOT a Samantha doll as I had thought.  It's a Jennifer doll.  

Another rather creepy looking doll.

A Shirley Temple Doll!  (Queue "When I grow up.")

(Above) A friendship doll ceremony.  (Below) Friendship dolls.  Best idea ever!  :0)

Oh and I found some yummy maple candy.

    Our next goal was to find a mall.  We never quite made it to the big mall, but we did find a small one.  Things were pretty much way to expensive, but it was still fun looking around.  There were some beautiful fabrics and designs that would be totally worth all that money if I had had that much to spare.  We found a dollar store (really a $1.20 for us) and I picked up some snacks and, randomly, an eyelash curler.  I had always wanted one despite the fact that they kind of freaked me out and I was in Japan so.....(BTW I tried to use it tonight and I blinked while it was clamped and that led to ouch.  Maybe I'm not quite old enough to use one yet.)  

    At that point we were both pretty darn hungry.  I was being enthusiastic (difficult) because I absolutely wanted to have sushi and all the places we could find were western food.  Bleh.  Finally we found a grocery store in the basement which had an excellent sushi choice.  And don't worry, I made sure not to eat any endangered species.  :0)

    We took our lunch to the park outside of the baseball stadium to eat since it is considered obscene to eat in public here.  I was even hesitant to eat in the park, but lots of other people were eating lunch there, so I figured it was ok.  The sushi was SO good!  And the setting was beautiful!  There were huge tulip gardens all over the park and big trees sheltering the area.  We weren't the only ones enjoying the sights.  There was a street fair going on to celebrate the blooming of the tulips and cherry blossoms.  It was really cool but we didn't have time to really explore since the person I was with wasn't feeling well.

  

Beijing! (Part 1)

   I welcomed the day with an amazing buffet breakfast.  The buffet had anything anyone could wish for for breakfast in the U.S. or China.  I don't think China is necessarily known for their baked goods, but oh my goodness, they should be!

  The schedule for the day was full of amazing sights including Tianamen Square and The Great Wall.  Our fist stop was to Tianamen Square.  As expected, our guides told us a lot of information about how this was the biggest square in the world and what all the surrounding buildings were, but there was no mention of the protests and massacres that also happened there.  Once again, I found myself taking up that duality of thought.  PArt of me was impressed by the scope, architecture, and cleanliness of the square and part of me was haunted by what happened here.  

   There were three main groups of people in the square.  There were tourists.  Lots of tourists.  Guides were leading groups around with flags on a long pole, shouting information in many different languages.  Following the tourist on the food chain were the people selling gems such as a Mao watch and military hats.  I found a stray dollar in my pocket and gratefully bought some gloves as it was quite cold.  At the top of that food chain, the military was a strong presence in the square.  We weren't really supposed to take pictures of them, but that wasn't strongly enforced as you can see.

Giant LCD TV!  

Across the square, we entered the Forbidden City.  I never quite got why it was called that.  Being in a wheelchair makes hearing guides in crowds pretty challenging.  I did catch that when it was used by the Emperor, it was rather closed off and only certain people could enter.  

The architecture was beautiful!  The walls, roofs, and paths were intricately carved and painted.  It was a little difficult to get around in the chair, but my meds kicked in part way though so I handled the stairs ok.  :0)

People could rub these for good luck.  

My favorite part of the city was the Emperor's Garden.  It has really aesthetically pleasing trees and interesting rock formations.  The path through the garden was inlaid with tiny stones that were meant to give your feet a massage when walked over with bare feet.

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!