Hurricane and Halloween!

The past couple of weeks have been a whole lot of fun!  I had been doing great and my wheelchair was gathering dust after two weeks of disuse.  Good times!   I also have been getting to know people in the dorms and in my program a lot more.

First order of business is how flipping excited I am that my boys won the World Series!  I fell asleep before the end of the game (yes I'm a granny who goes to bed at 9:00) but I woke up to a spectacular text from my Dad telling me they won.  There was much rejoicing.  And I carved this at my dorm pumpkin carving event.  Because I love the Giants.  A lot.

Gooo Giants!!!!

I started celebrating Halloween early with an OT party on Saturday.   It just reinforced how much I love the people in my program!  I went at a honey bee and was pretty proud of my last minute costume.  I went shopping for a few hours earlier that day (no wheelchair! yay midodrine!) AND made the costume AND had fun at the party all in one single day!

OT Halloween Party.  We are so flipping adorable!  

Le Honey Bee Costume (with messy room in the background)

  Then the excitement didn't stop as I spent Sunday battening down the hatches for hurricane Sandy!  It was my first hurricane so I was beyond excited!  Classes, and therefore TWO midterms, were canceled on Monday so I got to spend the whole day watching the storm and discovering tumblr.  Before the storm hit though, I was sure to make a hurricane emergency kit:

That would be: flip flops, charged phone, water, glow sticks, waterproof cameral case and video camera in waterproof case, a large and awesome book, a useless umbrella, lip gloss, and my sonic screwdriver.  

    The storm turned out to  be just ok on the excitement level though.  I'm sure those in NYC will have a different story, but I felt perfectly safe and cozy inside.

The expectation:

 The reality:

  The only bad part of the storm was that the low pressure royally screwed with my body.  I collapsed on the stairs trying to get to lunch that day and have been utilizing freddy the wheelchair ever since.  I'm hoping this is all due to the storm, because I also have headaches again and that does not bode well for my surgery free future.

Anyway, then it was Halloween!  I dressed up in my second awesome costume for anatomy lab.

I then promptly had a really horrible shaky time and spent most of lab doing my best seizure impression and then wanting to nap.  At the tail end of the lab, I started to feel better and we had some Halloween fun.  And made up dance moves to go with the muscles in the hands.  Because that's how we roll.

Halloween, anatomy lab style!

Meet George.  George is a special skeleton.  His arm is on backwards and his scapula goes up to his chin. Now George has a mustache so he is a sir.

Also, freddy dressed up for Halloween.  :0)

 Time to get ready for Friday service learning at the Boys and Girls Club.  Always the highlight of my week!  Last week the kids played Quiddich!  

Japan! (Day 1)

   I usually try to look on the bright side, but my first day in Japan can't really be described as anything but horrible.   It was one of those days where things just weren't going to go right.  I guess that happens even when on an epic voyage of fun.

   The problem started when I had to disembark the ship two hours before my field program and then wait around completely bored.  I'm not sure exactly why, but I think it had something to do with people expecting customs to take way longer than it did.  The customs line was a little long, but it only took about twenty minutes.

   Part way through the process, I got that dreaded ripply feeling in my legs which meant an impending weakness/convulsion episode.  I managed to get through the line and to the place where I would meet my group in the port building before I started the full blown shaking.  I think it was particularly bad because I tried so hard to not shake during the customs process.  I was flopping around on the floor, as I tend to do now and then, and the worst part was that I think half the ship saw me.  I couldn't get back on the ship to go lay down because of some customs rule so I had to stay right where everyone was gathering.  Someone was nice enough to get me some sugar filled drink and a few people sat by me to keep me company which was nice.  I am proud that I did a fairly good job of making sure people didn't freak out.  I know the shaking looks way worse than it feels and it does not feel so good.  The sugary drink worked and after an hour and a half I started to be able to relax the twitching in my muscles.  As usual for a shaky time episode, I was completely exhausted after it was over.  I wanted to curl up and sleep, but I had field program I had to go on for a class.  

   Maybe the field program wasn't that bad and I was just in a bad mood.  Maybe.  But I remember it as driving two and a half hours to walk around an inaccessible zen garden that was more gravel than garden.  Not to mention that there was no opportunity to get money or food so I was starving.  Some parts of the place that the field program was was actually pretty, but we didn't spend time in those places.  Instead we all crowded into tiny buildings and were supposed to sit and look at piles of gravel and contemplate art or something.  I was SO not in the mood!  

  Anyway, here are some pictures of the pretty parts we were rushed through.

The only fun part of the trip was stopping at a cherry blossom festival for five minutes on the way back.  Hurried is better than nothing.  The blossoms really were very pretty.  I was glad to get an up close view of them.  

Then it was rushing back to the bus and a long, hungry, and tired drive back to the ship.  The unfortunate endeavor had taken all flipping day.

Luckily, back on the ship, my friends were there to cheer me up.  (After I ate) We broke out  my collection of funny pictures and laughed until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.  

I was glad to put that day behind me.  

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!

South Africa, back in Cape Town

    As far as epicness goes, today was almost as epic as it gets!  I fulfilled my #1 lifetime goal of petting a cheetah!   (Yep, that's right!  Petting a cheetah came before world peace and winning a nobel prize in my priorities.)  But that came this afternoon.  This morning I was up at 7:30 after 11 hours of sleep.  So yes, I went to bed really early last night and it was worth it!  I wasted some time mucking about on the ship and then headed to the Waterfront (shopping area) once Alyssa (roomie) woke up.  I was really proud of myself that I decided not to bring a wheelchair.  Yesterday was such a rotten day in terms of blood pressure and today, with being able to take midodrine, I was fine.  :0)  I got some things for future orphanage visits and found air popped popcorn at the grocery store!  I'm really addicted to popcorn and I haven't had it in weeks.   I also found some Kinder eggs at the grocery store and bought a bunch for some of the professor's kids who have never tried them.  (I was horrified when I found out that they didn't even know what they were!  I had no choice but to educate them in the wonders of Kinder.)

  As we were shopping, I started to feel a bit tired but not too bad.  Then I noticed I was slurring my speech and having trouble swallowing.  I stopped, turned to Alyssa and said, "Don't freak out, but I'm about to have one of those weakness spells.  I will probably keep slurring my words, and I will have trouble walking and will shake.  I've been told it looks scary, but don't worry, I'm fine."  She took it like  a boss, shrugged, and said, "Ok, just let me know if you need anything."  Within a few minutes I was pretty weak and doing my uncoordinated "zombie walk."  I had trouble holding my shopping bags, so Alyssa had to help me which was awesome of her.  People were staying, but not picture taking today.  haha  I did start to get worried about how I would get back though as I was rapidly loosing my ability to walk and had no chair.  I managed to make it to a taxi and they took us back to the dock.  It was still a ways to the ship (and up 5 flights of stairs!) so Alyssa ran ahead and got my wheelchair for me.  Then I could get to the base of the stairs, but there was no way I could get up.  I was starving and had a field program to go to in 20 minutes so I was a bit stressed.  After conferring Alyssa and I decided that she would go talk to the staff and ask if she could bring me out some peanut butter and bread since I couldn't get on the ship go eat lunch.  There was much confusion, but in the end she was able to get some for me and bring it down.  That girl seriously deserves a metal!  As I was waiting I got lots of erm...attention from people.  I guess I looked pretty bad because people kept trying to call the doctor.  haha  It all turned out well though.  I ate the peanut butter bread, got on the bus using my arms to get up the stairs and started to feel better during the drive.  Like always, I was exhausted after the weakness spell was done, so I dozed a bit on the way to the cheetah place.  By the time we got there I was feeling SO much better.  Only a little week, and the adrenaline from an imminent cheetah encounter took care of the sleepiness.  I still brought my wheelchair, but hardly used it.

The place we went was really interesting.  It was a winery/cheetah breeding and education program/meerkat rescue/bird rescue/dog training center.  I'll start with the dogs because they are the first ones we saw.  They were part of a really neat program where they were trained and then given to farmers to chase cheetahs away from livestock.  Since cheetahs are non-confrontational, they just run away as soon as the dog barks.  That way the farmer had a safe herd and didn't have to shoot the cheetah.  I thought that was genius!    The dogs were absolutely beautiful too.

Then came the cheetahs!  We poked around the enclosures and then Hemingway, our cheetah ambassador came to meet us.  It was 100% apparent that this was not a domesticated animal.  The handlers had to be very attentive to his signals to make sure he didn't get spooked and attack or run us over.  We had to approach from his back in groups of 1-2 and only pet him on his side.  No sudden movements or loud noises.  This was serious business.  

(I think it's clear who is leading who here.)

As I waited my turn to pet Hemingway, my heart started beating rapidly, and not because of dysautonomia.  When I was nine years old, I couldn't think of anything better than petting a cheetah and not much had changed since then.  And I was about to experience this for myself!  His coat was amazingly soft.  I knew cheetahs coats were soft from my years or obsessively researching them in grade school, but it was even softer than I imagined.  He was panting due to the heat, but otherwise very relaxed.  As I was petting him, he turned his head and looked right at me.  It was a moment.  :0)  I was one of the lucky ones to get to pet him twice before he decided he had enough of these tedious humans and dragged his keeper back to his enclosure.    Truly the best of experiences.  There really aren't even words to describe how amazing this was for me.

I thought anything else would be ending on a low note, but the other things we moved on to after saying goodbye to Hemingway were actually really fun as well.  We toured the birds of prey enclosures and ended up in a small seating area for a bird presentation.  This was nothing like I had seen in zoos back home.  The birds were really friendly and came to visit each of us so we could pet them and take a closer look.  I guess if birds are hand raised, they see themselves as more human than bird.  After the presentation, we had some time to tour the bird facilities and interact with some of their ambassador birds.  There were some birds (including a baby!) chilling on posts where we could pet them.  They really enjoyed it and made cute cooing noises and would turn their head to be scratched in the right place, just like a dog.  Someone had an ipod so we held up one of the headphones, put on Airplanes and he started rocking out!  Some owls are really sensitive to beats and they enjoy dancing.  I wish I could upload the video to show you!  I also stopped by an owl enclosure to have some of the owls land on me.  

Birds open their mouths to cool off.

(This unhappy camper was brought in today after being hit by a car.  Luckily, he only had a minor concussion and after a few hours of observation, he was slated to be released.)

Humans are genetically engineered to find this guy irresistible adorable.  

"I am not amused."

Everyone else then went wine tasting but as I can't drink and am from California where I can go wine tasting all the time, I opted to stay with the animals.  I'm sure no one is surprised there.  I hung out with the owls more and then went back to the cheetahs of course.  I watched the 9 month old sister cheetahs play for a while which was really cool.  In some ways they act just like house cats, but it is still very obvious that there are differences too.

   I reluctantly left them playing to head back to the bus.  I was supposed to meet up with the group there at 4:30 and it was 4:20.  But on the way, I was distracted by a craft center and just had to look.  And then there was a guy all set up to make pottery and I had to watch. And then he said I could make a pot so I just had to put on the apron and make one.  I was really nervous about being late, but I thought that this was something I always wanted to do, and it was worth the dock time if I was late.  I'm so glad I decided to break the rules a little for this one!  Jimmy, the pottery guy (with no relation to my sphincter of odi), showed me how to make the pot and helped guide my hands when it started to get a bit lop-sided.  He was very patient with me as a new student.  The feel of the wet clay spinning beneath my hands was new and interesting.   I could feel every part of how I was shaping the pot.  I definitely need to take this up once I get home!  Once I was done with the basic shape, Jimmy helped me make a lip to the pot and decorate it.  For my first pot, I was extremely happy with how it turned out!  I'm a little sad that it probably won't make it all the way home as I won't be able to fire it but this was more about the experience for me.  I washed the gobs of clay off of my hands (and arms) and took a closer look at my masterpiece.  Usually, the pot has to set for at least thirty minutes before it can be removed from the spinning wheel, but since I was in a hurry, Jimmy let me take the mini spinning plate with me so I didn't have to ruin the pot.  I can't even begin to describe how cool this guy was.  After I made my pot, he started helping a timid little boy and was so wonderful with him as he taught the kid how to make his pot.  He was one of many people who I knew for only a few minutes, but will remember for a long time to come.  

  I hurried back to he bus with my heart pounding because I was 12 minutes late.  I felt horrible for making everyone wait, but I had no regrets.  :0)  When I got to the bus it turned out that everyone was even later than I was, so I was the first one back!  What a relief!  

   Normally this busy and weak-spelly day would have been too much for me.  However today, I got back from the field program and went right back out with my friends for more fun!  I used the chair, but still felt very accomplished.  Hannah showed me this awesome restaurant that had burgers to die for.  The one I ordered had fried egg, bacon, and cheese on it.  SOOOO yummy!  I even almost ate the whole thing despite my shrunken stomach!  Then there was some shopping and story swapping with some other SASers we met up with as we waited for the shuttle back to the boat.  IT was quite an awesome day and now I can't wait to sleep and be ready for my last day in Cape Town tomorrow!

Om nom nom nom!

And also, Hannah and I met at the zoo in the Bahamas and we were looking back at pictures at dinner and we are wearing the exact same outfits as then!  Weird!