Assumptions

When I first established this blog site, I made several assumptions. The first assumption was of the technical nature, that I would be able to access the internet easily, without waiting and at any time of the day. Why not? This is how things work at home. The second assumption was that I would have enormous free-time, able to reflect and write aimlessly about my musings and experiences.  After all, how busy could a job as a glorified Resident Assistant actually be? The third assumption, is that I would be able to make sense of what I was experiencing and then write philosophically about all I was seeing and doing.

However, by the third day of this voyage somewhere upon our arrival in Dominica. I discovered what reality onboard the MV Explorer would mean.  It meant that only 50 individuals were allowed to access to the internet at a given moment. That internet service aboard a large ship was spotty at best and dependent on weather, the roughness/calmness of the sea, the number of students doing research, the hour of the day and the condition of our equipment.

 Assumption number two was put to the test as well. Within the first few days we learned that being a “LLC” meant many things including mom, security guard, detective, problem-solver, programmer, secretary, big sister and on call 24 hours a day. Within the first month, I had organized and arranged three major events that on land would have been months of work, that on a ship transpire over the course of a few days and at times hours.  I found that the first two and a half months were much busier than I thought they would be. The pace has settled out and now we seem to have more balance between our time, student time and work time. 

Perhaps of all my assumptions, assumption number three was the biggest. I did not anticipate how hard it would be to find the words to describe my experiences.  Originally, I had thought a blog would be a linear process.  Experience a country, write about a country, answer a few questions about country, go to a new country, repeat the process. But in Ghana I found myself in standing in the dungeons of the Cape Coast Slave Castle standing in the door of no return. Where slaves were divided from family members, stripped of their identity, put on ships not as humans but rather as a commodity to be sold.  In that moment, I had and have no idea how to explain what that experience was like for me. To stand in the doorway of no return as a white person, with a camera and the resources to be at the castle of my own freewill was surreal at best. To experience, the darkness of the dungeons, imagine walking through a pitch-black corridor in shackles, to walk through this doorway in the middle of the night. Walk over uneven rocks, reefs and terrain without any knowledge of where you were going. Get on a ship, where you had to lie down on your back and wait. Wait for the boat to move, for someone to tell you your fate. I am not sure how to make sense of this cruelty. And to know, that this cruelty happened because of the greed, power and beliefs of some countries and explorers and the greed of some Africans. And to know, that while I stand in the doorway of past slavery, Ghana remains one of the largest users of child slavery in the production of cocoa. In fact, to this day children are taken from neighboring countries brought to Ghana for the sole purpose of harvesting cocoa beans for sale to large chocolate companies like Hershey’s. 

The nature of this trip is that you have experiences that shake the core of what you believe or know and then you have these other experiences such as sleeping on a luxury ship while someone you just met sleeps in their dirt floor and corrugated tin home. Quite honestly, it’s just a bit to get your head around much less write about.

So for the last 5 weeks, I’ll post as I can access the intranet and make sense of things. Take Care - Julie

Ghana

A roadside stand and village outside of Takoradi, Ghana

 A village between Takoradi and Cape Coast. The front home is painted by Vodofone (local phone company). Vodofone and other business will paint homes with their logo and pay the homeowner a minimal rental fee as well.  TV antennas symbolize that this is a community with resources. Teachers and government workers (the middle class) live in this community.

 Inside the slave castle of Cape Coast. The darkened door in the middle (the door of no return) is where slaves departed the castle in the middle of the night and were loaded onto boats to make the journey across the Atlantic Ocean to South America.

Handmade fishing boats located outside of the Cape Coast Slave Castle along the coast. Boats are handbuilt, carved and painted symbolizing a families boat. Designs include old African images and salutes to the Ghana Soccer Team the Black Stars and everything in between.

Ghana

Ghana is red clay dirt, packed down so hard that only a thin layer of dust is uncovered when the wind blows. The ground is covered with foot trails that run between structures made of sheet metal and wood. Structures that Americans would call shanties and that would be condemned and considered unliveable in most US cities. These structures serve as businesses, homes, schools and churches and are the essence of a Ghanaian village.

Ghana is noise that ricochets with laughter from small children dressed in colorful school uniforms slowly strolling to and from schools as they whisper secrets to one another. Ghana is filled with the chatter of independent business people bargaining prices in open-air markets, the beeps of taxi horns reminding walkers to get out of the way, the phonetic pace of street vendors shouting at you in order to sell their wares carefully balanced in large bowls or trays upon their heads.

Ghana is color that bleeds from the rust covered tin roofs providing shelters for homes, markets and businesses. Bright, bold, wood block printed fabric sewn into women’s clothing for everyday events. Orangish-red shiny tomatoes piled high in bushel baskets stacked high on tables in the market. The red and white colors of coca-cola and vodofone logos that are plastered across the sides of businesses and homes. The clear blue of the Atlantic Ocean that carries fisherman to their livelihood, provides hours of entertainment for families at the beach and serves as a haunting remainder of how humans were exported from this spot hundreds of years before.

Ghana is a country filled with polarities. Ghana provides over 60% of the world’s supply of cocoa. Cocoa beans are harvested primarily by young children who are bought and stolen from the country of Burkina Faso as slaves in order to meet the worlds demand for cheap chocolate. Reminders of the slave trade remain a part of everyday life, yet the people of Ghana do not dwell on their history rather they are hopeful for their future. Ghana has mind-blowing poverty and yet Ghana continues to be one of the most stable and growing African countries.

Ghana is in your face, colorful, loud, chaotic, aggressive, assertive, desperate, disparate, peaceful, hopeful and demanding of your time, money and love.

Brazil

 Graffiti in Manaus, Brazil of a jungle scene.

 Small village along the Amazon. Houses only accessible via foot or riverway.

 Canoeing in the floating jungle of the Rio Negro and offshoot of the Amazon River.

Arrival in Brazil

I have rewritten this entry about 10 times. Trying to figure out how to say something witty, profound and unique about Brazil. My lack of success has meant that I am writing about Brazil upon departing from Ghana. I now find that my memories of events are already fuzzy. That the book knowledge I had learned from numerous pre-port lectures is beginning to wane. What I am left with is, my feelings, sordid memories and confusion about the complexities of poverty, globalization, and my own beliefs.

Recently, Brazil has been receiving positive attention from the World. From the fascination with their most recent and successful president affectionately known as “Lulu”, to Brazil’s successful application and award as hosts for both the World Cup and the future summer Olympics. It is a country with growing economic prosperity. However, there has also been a great deal of negative attention given to Brazil regarding the state of their Favela’s (inner-cities), issues of education, and of course the deforestation of the Amazon.  It is in the management of these polarities of economic growth and poverty, development and conservation that is at the crux of Brazil’s future.

We saw this polarity as we arrived in Manaus, Brazil on a Sunday. I found Manaus to be similar to Milwaukee….an old industrial town trying to reinvent itself in order to keep pace with the future. And while Manaus has many of the attributes of a mid-size city it is surrounded by jungle and farmland making it one of the main stays of employment within the area. Everyday we saw hundreds of individuals getting off water taxis to go to work, shop for items, see the doctor, and then return at night to the same water taxis for the long journey up the Amazon to their villages and homes. The Amazon River has several functions within this area. It is a superhighway for commerce and shipping, it is a resource for food and water in rural Amazonian villages, it is main system of transportation for others and it is an economic machine that draws tourism supporting employment for many Brazilians.

Like many who visit Brazil, our adventures in Brazil focused on the Amazon River basin and Jungle. The first day of our arrival we perused the market, went to the refurbished opera house and heard a local symphony featuring the works of Beethoven and Schubert. We spent the remainder of the day arranging a trip further into the jungle. We found a local hostel and made arrangements through a small eco-friendly tour operator called Amazon Antonio Jungle Tours. It turns out the owner, Antonio, a soft spoken, humble man has reworked how tourism can work in the Amazon. He own more than 300 acres of jungle, hires only locals from the bush, has built an eco-friendly sustainable hostel and creates a non-touristy way to see the jungle, explore the rivers and better understand the people and culture that resides in the bush of the jungle.  We had the opportunity to camp in the jungle, fish for piranhas, explore the floating jungles via canoes and spent enormous time talking with our friend and guide Francisco.

As I reflect on my experiences in Brazil here are just a few of the items I discovered/relearned and realized:

• American pop culture is exported in ways I never imagined. I watched a bad Jennifer Love Hewitt film translated into Portuguese on a bus on the way back from a remote village in the Amazon. I saw more pictures of Brittney Spears on newsstands than I see in the United States.
• Fresh caught grilled fish is always tasty no matter where you are, even piranha.
• Coke tastes better when made with real sugar vs. high fructose corn syrup.
• Paddling a canoe holds the same wonderment in the amazon as it does in Wisconsin. The boats are bigger, paddles are heavier, and seats are harder.
• Progress without education isn’t always positive. By introducing refrigerators to remote regions of the Amazon, there is no longer a need for individuals to fish on a daily basis, radically changing how individuals spend their time. Leading some individuals to feel a loss of purpose, as their time has not been filled with other duties or tasks. Most people want to feel useful.
• A strong educational system is essential to develop a middle class. A strong  middle class is essential to stabilize and grow a society. Creating a strong middle class is complex with challenges, issues and polarities that I never imagined.

 

 And while I could continue the above list for probably pages, I am still learning what I learned. After 5 days in the Amazon, 7 days at sea and then 5 days in Ghana I am still processing. I imagine the complete list of “stuff I am learning on this trip” will continue for years and years.

That said, way to go Pack! Pictures will come shortly, technical problems continue......

Life on the Ship

 Our Team (Sunny, Faith, Amy, Alissa, Al, Raja, Daniel and Me)

Our Ship the MV Explorer

Life on the Ship

As of yesterday, we have been aboard the MV explorer for almost a month.  Which means, we’ve begun to settle into a routine living and working aboard a ship with 700 other people. Life on the ship is somewhat similar to a college dorm, summer camp, a never ending meeting and at times a bad ferry ride all at the same time.

Our ship is 7 decks tall, for a cruise ship 7 decks is small. In comparison, Ships like Princess and Norwegian Cruise tower over us at 14 – 16 decks tall. Undergraduate students reside on decks 2,3, and 4. Lifelong learners (folks ages 25 – 87) reside on decks 4 and 5. While Faculty and administration reside on decks 4, 5 and 7.  Amy and I share a room on Deck 4 have responsibilities for about 55 – 60 undergraduate students each. Our room is about the size of a large dorm room. We have a small bathroom and shower connected to our room. We have small table we refer to as our studio, a desk we refer to as the office and shelf filled with books we refer to as the library. It’s sparse, but livable and comfortable. And surprisingly, as of today, I still don’t really miss all my stuff.

Our daily ship routine is centered around three set meals. Breakfast is serve buffet style every morning 7:30 – 8:30 p.m., lunch 11:45 – 1:30 and dinner is 5:30 – 7:30. Work, socializing, planning, meetings, interacting with students, interacting with colleagues all seems to blend together and typically starts with breakfast and ends at 11:30 p.m. or so, depending on how many times I have to remind students to be quiet. When I was hired, the original job description was a combination of residence hall director, special events coordinator and security. To date, that seems somewhat correct, but the line “other duties as assigned” certainly fits in this roll. I am a part of a team of 8 living learning coordinators and in a typical day we work with students to plan educational and recreational activities, our duties include: test proctors, alcohol service night security, facilitators of activities, workshops and events, support for students with issues related to alcohol, drugs, sex, mental health and homesickness. We provide logistical support for students regarding questions like….how do I call home? Do you know how to set  up e-mail or access the web? How do I get sea urchins spines out of my foot? Do you think this is a jelly fish sting? My roommate is sleeping in a room with a boy, where am I supposed to go?  How drunk is too drunk?  Are you sure I can't bring alcohol on the ship? In essence we try to provide information and support in a way that is fun, educational and effective.

To date in conjunction with students and faculty we have organized over 50 workshops, hosted embassy dignitaries from Brazil, planned and implemented a talent show and dance for 600 students, run a basketball tournament for over 20 teams, planned and run a shipboard Olympics for over 700 people, shown over 20 films. Things that would take months or weeks of committee work, is accomplished in days or hours by interested individuals regardless of title or role. It has been a true example of collaboration for the greater good.

So now that we are underway, getting our groove on, and some major events are out of the way....I hope to post to this blog on a more regular basis. 

Go Pack Go!

Dominica

Pictures above (Storefront in Roseau, Dominica and view of coast)

Upon leaving the Bahamas on January 12, 2011 roughly 4 short days later we arrived in the Caribbean Islands on the island of Dominica.

Dominica is not to be confused with the Dominican Republic. Confusion among the two is such a common occurrence, that mail meant for Dominica often goes to the Dominican Republic.  Dominica was originally inhabited by the Carib people and was rediscovered by Columbus on a Sunday (Domingo in Spanish thus the island’s name) in 1493.   Since it was rediscovered, the French and British spent time feuding over who was in charge. Eventually, the British won. For a significant period of time both the British and their slaves resided in Dominica. Eventually, the Dominican people won their freedom from the British and today most island residents are descendents of the slaves from that era. Today, roughly 70,000 people reside in Dominica with roughly 3,000-6,000 native Caribs and 11 centenarians (according to our cab driver).

So enough of the general book knowledge, we arrived early in the morning to the town of Roseau on January 16, 2011. At roughly 8:30 a.m., 700 Americans disembarked a large ship and descended on this tiny town that was primarily shuttered up on Sunday. We walked across the street from our port to the visitor center. Got the basic information, and unknowingly set off a debate between two cab drivers as Amy bartered pricing. Fortunately, we ended up with a great guy named Charles. Charles took us into the rainforest for a little hiking one day and the next day over to Champagne Reef for a little snorkeling. While the activities were fun, beautiful and amazing as evidenced by the pictures, the conversation I had with Charles regarding the European, American and Chinese influences on the Dominican economy, culture and way of life were what made the largest impact. Within the first 10 minutes of meeting Charles he shared that while his family was all from Dominica originally, many of his siblings had moved to the United States, he preferred to stay in Dominica. He talked with great pride about the number of centenarians, noting that stress in Dominica was different than that in the US.  He also shared his concern about how the  short-term thinking by his country’s administration was leading to the proliferation of chain businesses.  These businesses seemed to be running smaller independent businesses out of business. He questioned the wisdom of accepting money from Europe and Chinese dollars into the Dominican economy. He expressed that these larger countries didn’t share the same values of Dominicans and were creating challenges for maintaining the Dominican way of life. He raised questions about the intent of these large countries. He wondered why large countries would invest so much money on helping build roads, stadiums for cricket, providing business loans? He wondered if the desire was to take over Dominica? He wondered why businesses like KFC, Subway and Pizza Hut were even needed? Simultaneously, he noted that individuals eating and harvesting local fruits such as mangoes and bananas was on the decline. Instead local foods were being replaced with fast food and Cheetos. In listening to Charles talk with both concern and passion for his country, it struck me how similar we all are. This isn’t meant to be a declaration against large economic super powers and the need for world peace. But rather a reflection on how similar our lives are across the globe that in essence, many of us get up, go about our day, and try to make our best way forward to provide for ourselves, our families and in that process we hold high hopes for our collective futures.

Transitions

Transitions

We’ve been planning, packing, preparing for the past several months for this trip. So in essence I’ve been in that place, between the present and the future for most of the fall and early winter. It’s been a hectic few months and while I would like to say I’ve handled it with grace and calm it has been much more demanding than I had imaged. Somehow because we were traveling around the world each issue took on a different level of intensity than say, a weeklong trip to northern Wisconsin. On January 3, 2011 my leave of absence from work began and the transition for our trip ramped up. On January 6, 2011 we packed up our house, dealt with last minute arrangements, managed a few last minute logistical debacles, dropped off our dog, said goodbye to my brother, sister-in-law and nieces. On January 7 we flew from Milwaukee to Orlando, Florida and continued dealing with those last minute debacles. On January 8, 2011 we attended a wedding in Florida and on January 9, 2011 we made the final departure and said goodbye to Amy’s family and flew to the Bahamas. 

We arrived in the Bahamas caught a cab to the port wandered with our luggage through the port, checking our luggage, checking our passports and finding ourselves on the pier in front of our home for the next four months, the MV Explorer. We walked up the gangway, found the way to our room, found our luggage and started to unpack. Within the hour we made our way to the opening reception and a new transition began.  I had spent so much time focusing on just getting to this point, I hadn’t really thought much about what would happen once I got to the ship, what life would be like and what I would be doing for work.

On January 11, 2011 we received our orientation, getting a tour of the ship, discovering the policies and procedures we were responsible for enforcing, and figuring out what it meant to be the Living Learning Coordinator for sports and involvement. At a more basic level I tried to figure out when meals were served, how and if I could access the internet, where and when I did laundry, and other menial life needs. And while I still didn’t have this figured out, the students showed up and the ship set sail at 8:00 p.m.

As I looked out at the Caribbean Ocean and saw nothing but water in all four directions, things became very clear. The word community took on a whole new meaning, the phrase “responsible for students” was more significant and sobering and the idea of “making it work” began to have life and death ramifications.  I have worked in the world of experiential education, residential camps and community education since I was 21. I have been responsible for leading other people’s children into the wilderness, out of state on field trips, but nothing has felt as sobering as taking over 600+ undergraduate students across the world. And while I am in part responsible for grown adults they are in essence other people’s children. The need and desire to return all students healthy and safely to San Diego has become a humbling responsibility. We are a self-contained unit complete with dining hall, academic facilities, basketball court, doctors, mental health staff, wellness center and a computer lab. This means we are home for students. Which means inevitably a safety net as students travel. We are the parental reminders to make positive, healthy choices. We are the builders of community and that community has a more significant role in supporting one another than in any other community I’ve helped foster.

So since January 3, 2011, I’ve been transitioning. Transitioning as I travel across the US to the MV Explorer. Transitioning as I adapt to a new way of living my everyday life. Transitioning professionally as I rethink what my new employer and community expect and need from me. Transitioning as I refine my skills as I work directly with students. Transitioning as I refine and adjust my assumptions, preconceptions, and thinking. And so, I begin once again, knowing that for the next four months I will be in transition.

And so it begins....

 It begins at the dining room table

About 6 months ago, Amy and I received a unique offer to serve as staff members for a program through the University of Virginia called Semester at Sea.  After a bit of debate, I asked for a leave of absence from work and it was graciously approved.

And so the adventure begins, as a kid from a suburb of Milwaukee nicknamed "flamingo" by her high school basketball team, about to travel across the globe over the next four months. We will begin our travels in the Bahamas and then onto Dominica, Brazil, Ghana, South Africa, Mauritius, India, Singapore, Vietnam, China, Japan, Hawaii and ending in San Diego.  I have to admit, that my 14 year old basketball playin' self would never have imagined this opportunity. While, many of you may have traveled to these countries multiple times. I will be leaving North America for the first time in my life. This has led me to sit in front of stacks guidebooks and surf numerous travel sites for hours at a time, trying to map out what it is Amy and I want to do with the opportunity to be in these countries.  I have begun to develop an itinerary, but I have developed a bigger list of interests than the time we have allotted.

As I have shared information our upcoming adventure with family and friends, I have had many interesting responses ranging from, "I'm envious" to "You and Amy are nuts". However, a common theme in every conversation has been an overarching sense of curiosity. We all wonder about the lives of others. We wonder about the truth in stereotypes, we wonder about safety, we wonder about how other governments function or don't function.  And also it seems, at a very human level, we wonder how much we are like our neighbors and how are we different.

I had been planning to write a blog from the onset, but knew I didn't want it to be just another travel log filled with places I had eaten and my American tourist pictures. While I am sure interesting to my Mom and Dad, it seemed well.....boring and just a wee bit trite. Also, I imagine my musings might not be interesting to anyone beyond my immediate family.  So on Friday, I had a thought. My co-workers were very nice and took me out for a traditional Wisconsin send off complete with cheese curds and micro-brew beer.  By the end of the evening I had a lengthy list of questions of items they were curious about and a few requests for specific pictures. Due to our conversation, I felt as if my own thinking about our travels had grown. In essence, I thought, I could be a surrogate researcher able to provide at least one perspective to various questions.  And so my thought was to turn this into an interactive blog with a humble hope that it might have some minimal ability to foster understanding between all of us and the greater world.

So here's what I propose, I'll post a few fun facts about the country, give you a sense of our itinerary and in return you send me questions you have about the place, the people,  requests for photos or possible destinations you would suggest and even post assumptions you hold to see where those assumptions may be rooted. Amy and I will do our best to answer questions, post photos and be responsive to your curiosity. Best case scenario....we get a really dynamic, interactive blog happenin' here.  Worst case scenario.....you get a travel log blog complete with postings about my meals and tourist pics. Either way let's take a trip together. As the flamingo travels. - julie