India Part II

Okay, now for India. First of all, please read my previous blog as well as this one because it means a lot to me. Secondly, I know my memory is getting a little fuzzy in terms of travel details so if you have any questions just email me!

Day four of India was fairly tame. Most of the students had decided to sleep in and forgo the morning tours and so our group had maybe twenty people at most. The day started with a visit to the Baha’i Lotus temple. It was an amazing temple that (believe it or not) is the most visited building in the world with over 4.5 million visitors per year. We were lucky enough to arrive just before the services began and our group was lucky enough to hear religious services for multiple religions in a fifteen minute period. It was amazing to see all those different groups come together under one roof. After visiting the Lotus Temple we went to a Sikh Gurudwara (Bangla Sahib). This was a very interesting experience for me because we went through the entire ceremony with local Sikhs and those who had made a pilgrimage to the gurudwara. I ate the food they gave me which symbolizes god and enlightenment and I dipped my feet in the holy water that would cure all ills. I covered my hair and walked with no shoes and felt like I was no longer a tourist, but a part of India. We left the gurudwara and headed to the capitol buildings for a brief glance at Indian government. The buildings were beautiful in a western style, but after everything I had seen, they were nothing special. There was only one building in the governmental part of Delhi that held any real draw for me.

At the “Palatial Birla House” on Albuquerque Road I followed raised footprints though a garden path to the spot where Mohandas Karmchand Gandhi was assassinated. I cannot describe how this felt. Gandhi was one of the people that I idolized growing up. He stood for his beliefs no matter what the consequences were. I watched all the movies about his life and read stories about the changes he made. I was never able to understand how someone was able to stand up and shoot him in cold blood. Visiting his Delhi home was absolutely amazing. I walked through his garden where he would have nightly public walks. I saw his home, filled with only the barest necessities, and his room, untouched since the day of his death. Throughout the grounds of the house there are amazing flowers and signs with messages of peace and non-violence. I do not have that many photos of Birla House because I felt the need to be there in the moment instead of seeing it all through a camera lens. I cried a few tears of joy because I was there. I was standing in the same place that he had stood over fifty years ago. If I had any life changing moment in India, this would be it. The Taj Mahal, paupers on the street, and Hindu temples could have nowhere near such a huge affect on me. I grew up knowing that “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” and it meant more to me than I can say to be standing in Gandhi’s garden. Thank you Mom and Dad!

That evening we flew back to Chennai. My final day in India was spent wandering from place to place in Chennai. I did some last minute shopping, went to an internet café (had some really good waffles there too!) and visited a few more temples. It was a fairly calm day and it was nice to just relax and not feel the pressure of doing touristy things. I was exhausted that night when the ship departed from India, but I was glad that I had been there. India was filled with extremes. There was extreme wealth and poverty, extreme natural beauty and pollution, and even extreme culture and exploitation. It was amazing and someday I would like to visit again.

Social Stratification

Here is a small blog rant and then I promise to write part two of India. So for the last two weeks SAS has been running the Shipboard Drive in which we donate money that goes towards scholarships, new gym equipment and so on. Well this year the Shipboard Drive is a competition between the seas (hallway groups kind of like dorms) and the winning sea will get a pizza party. This didn’t really bother me because I knew my sea wouldn’t win and what’s one pizza party in the grand scheme of things? Well now the competition has changed and the first seas to reach 100% participation in the drive will be the first seas off the ship in Fort Lauderdale. This is absolutely despicable in my opinion. Not only are they asking us to pay the program in order to leave the ship and see our families, but they are ignoring the huge financial schism between the seas. For example, my sea (Baltic) is mostly economy cabins, quad cabins, and triple cabins. These are the three cheapest cabins you can get on the ship. Additionally, most of my neighbors either have scholarships or work study programs because it is impossible to afford the program without them. We are the sea that is worried about not having cab money to get to the airport once we reach Fort Lauderdale. So yes, as a matter of fact we are losing the in the Shipboard Drive with 53% participation. Then take a look at the Bering Sea. They are all normal and suite style cabins with larger windows and some even have little sitting rooms. These are the students who can afford to spend $50 on a quesadilla at the Students of Service Auction (really did happen). These are the people that buy burgers every day at the grill instead of suffering through ship food with the rest of us. They, of course, are at 90% participation. There is a huge financial gap between “us” and “them”. And so all I can say is:

Dear Institute for Shipboard Education, I am paying $20,000 for one semester because you refused to give me a scholarship. I have loved traveling the world, but if you expect me to pay another cent just to disembark and see my family, you need to think again. I hope that you are proud of the way you have divided the ship into the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Well done.

Love, Kendra Hartwell—Baltic Sea 3116

Hopefully my message will get across because we have been told that they read our blogs to see if we have done anything against the rules. Still, I would appreciate it if any of you would be willing to call Semester at Sea and let them know what you think of the situation. All of the contact information is at http://www.semesteratsea.org

Thanks!

Kendra

India Part 1

As a small disclaimer I need to mention that at this point countries and temples are blurring together and so I might mix up my historic sites in my Asia blogs. Anyway, here goes India!

In the days before we arrived in India, everyone was getting excited and ready to have a life changing moment. We were all told that India would make us laugh and cry and that we would never be the same again. Well, to tell the truth I did not have another South Africa moment. There was not a single instant that changed me; however, I do know that I am different. I have seen extreme poverty next to extravagant wealth. I have seen a begging child break character once to smile before returning to asking for money. I saw beautiful sites surrounded by extreme pollution and horrible smells. It broke my heart and made me wish that I could do something real with my life that will make a difference.

I spent my first day in Chennai with several friends. My trip to the Taj Mahal was not leaving until the afternoon and so I went into town with my friends Jill and Caroline. We had our first experience of rickshaw scamming when we were told that the place we wished to go was closed. Instead we were taken to a small luxury goods store that none of us could afford. We browsed, bought a few things, and finally demanded that our driver take us to the place we originally wanted to go. Well our destination was a bookstore that had two locations in Chennai. Naturally he took us to the wrong one that happened to be more difficult to get to. When we finally arrived at the right store, Jill and I had to head back to the ship and prepare for our next adventure.

That night I flew with 40 students to New Delhi. I have to admit that I was a little nervous about flying in a foreign country, but my fears were unfounded. Airport security was top-notch and the flight included those fabulous TVs on the back of each seat and a full meal that they called a “snack”. After arriving at our hotel we were greeted with flowers and cold tea. Colored rice on the ground stated “Welcome Semester at Sea”. Dinner was at a traditional Indian restaurant where several friends and I promptly ignored all health advisories and ate the most delicious vanilla ice cream in the world! Never fear, we survived.

We woke up extremely early in the morning to take a train to Agra. The train station was filled with mutilated children who would drag themselves over to you and ask for food. Our group finally had something to give and leftovers from box breakfasts were spread throughout the station. I felt that I was making a difference even if it was only a hard-boiled egg and yogurt. After arriving in Agra we took a bus to the hotel before continuing to several sites of interest. Signs on the road told me to “Be Happy, You’re in Agra!”. Our tour guide told us that Agra is one of the worst cities in India and that the only redeeming quality comes in the form of historical monuments.

That afternoon my group visited the ancient city of Fatehpur Sikri which served as the nation’s capital from 1571-1583. In 1583 it was abandoned for “reasons that remain unclear”. One thing that has come from my world traveling is that I now see a Doctor Who episode in every historical site. Therefore my belief is that aliens attempted to take over India during this period of time and the Doctor had to come to the rescue! Anyway, the Mughal emperor Akbar had twelve legitimate children and something like ninety illegitimate children. Fatehpur Sikri had buildings that were built for several of the more important wives in the architecture of their homeland. It made the city very interesting because Muslim architecture was mixed in with Hindu temples and Chinese pagodas. That night we went back to the hotel and some people went off to a Jain festival. I chose to stay in the hotel and rest up for the morning Taj Mahal trip.

Finally it was the day that I was the most excited for. I had a chance to visit the Taj Mahal! It was one of those things that I had been excited to see since I was extremely young. Just last year it was decided by the Indian government that the Taj will be closing to the public in the near future so that preservation work on the monument can begin. The Taj Mahal is a mausoleum that was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan over the course of twenty years from 1632-1653. The Taj was a tribute of love to Shah Jahan’s wife Mumtaz Mahal. The Wikipedia summary of the story goes like this: “In her dying breath, Mumtaz Mahal urged Shah Jahan to build a mausoleum for her that the world has never seen before. Shah Jahan granted his wife's wish, and construction of the Taj Mahal began in 1632, one year after her death. The court chronicles of Shah Jahan's grief illustrate the love story traditionally held as an inspiration for Taj Mahal”. My first site of the Taj was stunning. It was like the mausoleum glowed in the sunlight. We were given under two hours to wander through the gardens and see the sights. I cannot really find the words to describe walking through the area surrounding the Taj Mahal and taking the usual tourist photos. Despite the extreme pollution just a mile away, the gardens were beautiful and the fountains were clean. I only spent about five minutes inside the actual mausoleum before deciding that the outside was much more spectacular. Finally it was time to leave and move on to the next place, but someday I will go back and spend an entire day wandering around the grounds of the Taj Mahal.

Later that day my group went to the Agra Fort where Shah Jahan was kept under house arrest by his oldest son. Considering how beautiful the Fort was, I can’t imagine that house arrest would be that terrible an experience. From the Agra Fort there is a beautiful view of the Taj Mahal and the surrounding pollution of Agra. Although I enjoyed visiting the Fort and learning its history, I wish I could have spent that time at the Taj Mahal instead of changing location.

That afternoon the amazing day was completed with a trip to the Mother Teresa Orphanage in Agra. The full title of the orphanage includes something about home for the “sick and destitute”, but right now I am feeling lazy and don’t want to look up the official information. I had hoped that this would be another experience like my South Africa Operation Hunger trip, but unfortunately it did not meet expectations. Despite my small disappointment I truly enjoyed playing with the children. On my wall is a page out of a coloring book that I helped one of the orphans color in. When he was finished he wrote his name in Hindi on it and made me write mine also. Then he showed it to all of his friends and gave it to me with a smile and a hug. The hardest part of this trip was not seeing all the children, but seeing the care given to the mentally ill. I say “care” because it is the only word I can think of. It was more like a prison with the patients locked behind bars. They were alone and many of them were bound so that they would not physically harm themselves. It was heartbreaking to see people living like this and to know that their care would have been much worse if they were not in the orphanage. I spoke with one of the sisters about the problems they face every day and she told me that even though life is difficult there are little blessings every day that make everything worth it in the end.

This is the end to my India blog part one. I will write about my last two days tomorrow, but I thought it might help to split it in half! Enjoy!

Mom Love

I would like for everyone in the United States to call my mom today and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

 

Mom, I love you very much and I wish that I could be home to give you a hug, a kiss, and a homemade card.  I hope that your day is beautiful and full of joy!

 

Love, Kendra

 

P.S.  Sorry I have been such a bad blogger lately.  India news coming soon!

Cape Town, South Africa

My blogs about South Africa and India will probably be the two most complicated to write. It is extremely difficult for me to really share my experiences and how they affected me, but I will do my best. South Africa was a different experience for SASers from the start. For one thing, the port was non-industrial and had a huge mall within walking distance from the ship. For another, this was the first country where our logistical pre-port left me terrified! In past ports we had been warned of petty crime and occasional riots. For South Africa we were told of past student rapings, violent crimes, and some political upheaval. This was not my experience.

My first day in South Africa was spent on Robben Island where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned. Robben Island is a fairly unique experience because they have former political prisoners work as the tour guides. The ferry to Robben Island was filled with tourists and we were given an informational video on the prison. Our tour included the village, the leprosy cemetery, and the prison itself. I was able to see Nelson Mandela’s prison cell and the lime quarry where he worked. I also got to see penguins! After getting back to the ship, my roommate Hannah and I got dressed up for a night on the town! We chose to go to Mama Africa to meet up with some friends and try some authentic African cuisine. And so what did we eat? Crocodile, springbok, kudu, and ostrich! My personal favorites were the crocodile and the springbok, although the ostrich was pretty damn good! We also had some delicious vegetable samosas! Mama Africa had an amazing band come in later that night which was a lot of fun! Hannah and our friend Jillian were given a chance to dance with the lead singer which created one of the funniest videos of the voyage thus far! After Mama Africa we met up with some more friends and went to a few more clubs before calling it a night.

Day two was by far my favorite day of the voyage thus far. A group of about forty students boarded a bus headed to an Operation Hunger service visit without really knowing what to expect. Our first stop was a Xhosa shanty town where only about three community members spoke English. Our work center was the Green Park community center; an ironic name considering that only trash and dirt surrounded us. The assignment was to weigh and measure all of the community children and to plant seedlings in a small garden next to the building. At first both university students and shanty children were awkward and did not know what to say. Finally we were able to break through the language barrier with digital photos and the high five! I have a theory that Semester at Sea will bring two main things to children around the world, smiles and high fives!

As the more industrious students weighed the kids, I started playing ball with one little girl who was maybe five years old at the oldest. By playing ball I mean that she would throw a tiny red ball into my hands and I would toss it back to her. I almost felt like she enjoyed missing the ball more than catching it because when she missed it she would have to run around after it! I could spend all day talking about that one little girl! When she finally grew tired of her toy (which took quite a while), she and I went outside to see how the planting was going. I left her with one of the other students while I quickly went to get my camera. When I returned I had my personal life-changing moment. I walked in the gate and saw her standing alone by the door looking somewhat worried and confused. She turned to look at me and suddenly I knew what to do. I knelt down and held my arms wide open and she ran straight to me! As I held her I understood the power of unconditional love. It didn’t matter that we couldn’t understand each other, or that we had only met several hours before. At that moment I was the mother and she was the child and there was nothing else. Sadly our time at Green Park had to end and I said goodbye with tears in my eyes. We had done good work to help a community in need, but I felt that I was the one who received a real benefit.

This moment was not the end to the day and our Operation Hunger trip continued to a soup kitchen in an English-speaking township where we fed anyone who needed food. I did not have another epiphany, but it made me feel good knowing that my actions in the world were making a difference in the lives of others. Our trip concluded with all the students pooling together approximately $250 to buy toys for the children of Green Park and our trip leader telling us that she had seen forty students who would someday make amazing parents. At the end of the day I was feeling fairly morose and I did not know what to do with myself. Most of my friends were on safari and I was still having trouble digesting everything I had seen and done. It was at this moment that Clive from deck 6 Garden Lounge told me that things would get better. I went to a bookstore and out for coffee with my favorite professor, who had also been the trip leader for Operation Hunger. Clive was right, things did get better!

On the third day in Cape Town, I was somewhat unsure what I was going to do. I wanted to go up to Table Mountain, but I wasn’t sure about climbing it. At breakfast I ran into Joan Knecht who is our ship nurse and she invited me to take the cable car with her, Shirl (a LLC), and Bob (an adult passenger). Needless to say, I was the youngest person in our group, but it was still a lot of fun! The cable car revolves, giving passengers a 360 view of the mountain ascent! It also took about two minutes as opposed to the two hour hike! Once on top of the mountain we wandered for a bit, cameras in hand, before taking a lunch break and the cable car back down. We still had some time to kill so we decided to go to the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden which is reputed to be one of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world. I felt that it was a beautiful picnic spot and had some amazing statues, but overall the gardens were not that impressive. It was still a fun place to be for $2! We headed back to the ship in the early afternoon and I got ready for an exciting dinner out. By which I mean dinner alone with a good book at a sushi bar. It turned out to be just what I needed! Living in close quarters with about 1000 people does not give many chances for quiet or peace. It was great to go somewhere by myself and just relax with a book.

My fourth day in South Africa was delicious! Yes! It was time for Kendra’s COOKING SAFARI!!! One of the things I miss most about home is my kitchen. It might be small and impossible to maneuver in, but it is still a kitchen! There is nothing better on a stressful day of class than going home and baking brownies, or cheesecake, or bread. Even in the dorms I at least had a kitchenette downstairs! Our day of cooking started with an explanation of Cape Malay culture and how the Indian influence is evident in the food. After this we visited the stores that our cooking teacher had shopped at for our class supplies. The main store was the spice shop where there was an overwhelming medley of smells in the air! We were taught about each spice and what it does to flavor a dish. When our spice adventure concluded we continued to our host’s home. Our host was a wonderful woman who had volunteered to work with us students despite her husband’s surprise home renovation which left her missing half a kitchen. Under her tutelage we learned how to fold samosas, cook up “chilli bites”, make chicken curry, and make a special kind of bread (similar to naan). Once everything was cooked our group sat down for a fabulous meal in which we had a chance to speak to our host and guide about their lives as Muslims in Cape Town. The rest of the day was spent wandering around the V & A waterfront with friends.

The final day in Cape Town was bittersweet. Most of what I did was hunt down souvenirs for family and friends and attempt to find something for myself that follows my global kitchen equipment theme. I ended up getting a metal teapot with traditional paintings on it to go with my Spanish mug, Moroccan tea cups, and Namibian salad tossers! Leaving South Africa was extremely hard for me because I felt like I belonged there. I found a place that I could make a difference and you never know, maybe someday I will go back and see what good I can do!

Spelling Bees and Snorkeling

As most people are forced to realize, technology is not always a friend. In my case it has become the frustrating enemy! What happened, you might ask. Well, long story short, my laptop has left this mortal coil. It is no longer with us. The funeral will be held on Tuesday. With it go my Namibia and South Africa) blogs and about half of a paper for History of U.S. Immigration. I will try to re-write the blogs (and paper, but they may not be in order. For starters I am going to do Mauritius and the Sea Olympics!

Mauritius was beautiful! It reminded me a lot of Hawaii except that it didn’t have nearly as many flowers. Since we only had one day in Mauritius I chose to spend it on a catamaran! Snorkeling equipment was provided and I spent the majority of the day with my head underwater. The water was amazingly clear and we could see a ton of fish at the first site! Sadly, my mask was leaking and the pretty fish were not worth salty eyes so I spent most of my time there just swimming around. After about an hour we all got back on our catamaran and went to another area of the bay. And then it was time for lunch! This was one of the most amazing meals I have had on this trip! We had barbequed chicken skewers, barbequed swordfish, garlic bread, and mashed potatoes. After eating (and waiting twenty minutes!) I went back into the water to see more fish with a non-leaking snorkel mask. There were fewer fish at this part of the bay, but I still was able to see glowing squid and some other small fish swimming around. I forgot how much I love snorkeling. It is just me, my breathing and the water. It was so peaceful and it reminded me of meditating. Hopefully I will have a chance to do it again in either Thailand or Hawaii!

After snorkeling we returned to the ship for more barbeque (of a lesser quality) in anticipation of Sea Olympics! Now in order to understand Sea Olympics I need to explain how the MV Explorer is organized. Similar to dorms with floors and RAs, SAS has seas with living learning coordinators. The seas include the Red Sea, Bering Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Baltic Sea (yay ninjas!), and Adriatic Sea. The professors, lifelong learners, and family voyagers are all in the Odyssey. Now the seas were required to participate in events such as wheelbarrow race, spelling bee, synchronized swimming, and potato sculpting. I was only participating in the synchronized swimming (although I wish I had done spelling bee).

Now here is a small (large) rant. I stayed after at the meeting to sign up for events to see if the spelling bee was still open. About four other people were asking about various things and the leaders were assigning things that had no contestants yet. Suddenly I hear “spelling bee” and before I can jump at the chance a (CU) jock goes “Oh I’ll do it!”. I turn to him to ask if he was a good speller and he replied “Oh yeah…sure”. I repeated the question letting him know that I was really good at spelling and would love to compete. Finally I gave up and left. Round one of the spelling bee the Baltic Sea was eliminated on “celery” spelled “cellary”. Hell hath no fury like Kendra when epic stupidity strikes! I have nothing against poor spellers (I love you Dad!), but I do have issues with people who ruin the chances of others on a whim. Needless to say the Baltic Sea came in second to last place in the Olympics overall with medals in Sudoku and Twister. Synchronized swimming was a lot of fun though and there were parts of the day I did have fun, but those of you who know my competitive attitude will understand how the spelling bee broke my spirit!

Well, there you go! One semi-coherent blog entry with a complimentary rant! Now I feel like sleeping for weeks. India left me physically and emotionally drained and I need some time to absorb everything I have seen and done in the last few days. No class tomorrow so I will try to write out entries for Namibia and South Africa! Happy Purim everybody!

Crew Appreciation

Since I am being fairly lazy tonight I felt like I should write another blog post. Today’s topic is the crew of the MV Explorer! I have been planning this post for a while and I don’t think anything I can say can really do justice to the hard working people on this ship.

My three favorite crew members are Achilles (who Hannah and I called Edga for the longest time)r, Joseph, and Clive. Achilles is my cabin steward and is one of the nicest people on this ship. For the first few weeks the idea of having someone come into my room and clean every day was intimidating. The fact that he would fold my pajamas and place Mr. Beeps my stuffed bear at the head of my bed was also somewhat foreign. However, his hard work is not unappreciated! Every morning my roommate Hannah wakes up before I do and goes to breakfast. When Edgar sees her leave he knows that I will be leaving in about thirty minutes for class. After I (finally) drag myself from bed and go outside he is waiting there patiently with a smile and a “Good morning Kendra, how are you today?”. He never complains about picking up our dirty towels and always brightens the gloomy days!

I ought to preface my stories about the dining hall staff with an explanation that I often eat lunches alone. Most of my friends have class on an opposite schedule than I do so more often than not I will be seen alone on deck 6 staring morosely into my PB &J. Joseph works in the Garden Lounge dining hall on deck 6. Every day you can here him singing while he clears plates and cleans tables. For a long time I only enjoyed his music from a distance, but one day he came up to me while I was sitting alone and started up a conversation. We talked about the different countries and how hard it is to be away from family for such a long time. We also talked about how little I ate and he asked if there was anything in particular that I liked. I replied that I love the ship’s iced tea and every day since then he will bring me a pitcher of iced tea to fill my water bottle. Whenever I sit alone he will take time out of his busy day to come and talk to me. I know that many other students feel uplifted by his singing and I wonder if he understands how much we rely on his cheerfulness to brighten our days.

Clive was the first crew member that I really had a conversation with. The day before we arrived in Spain I was sitting alone in the main dining hall on deck 5 doing homework when Clive comes over and says “I am Clive, where are you from?”. We had a great conversation about life and family. Several days later I was eating lunch with a friend and we told Clive about our parents’concerns regarding the white slave trade in Morocco. Clive promised that if we went missing, he would lead the search party for us. Simply knowing that someone was looking out for us made me feel much more comfortable about Casablanca and Moroccan adventures. Today I created another Clive story. Most of my friends and my roommate are on safari and I was feeling lonely and somewhat pitiful so I called home. I love calling home, but inevitably I will cry and wish more than anything that I could see my parents! After the phone call I went up to eat dinner and mope. No moping allowed! I had been sitting outside for about five minutes when Clive comes up and says “I was going to stand in your sunshine, but it looks like someone already stole it from you”. I told him that I was feeling homesick and he said “Don’t think about going home. Think about bringing home to you and sharing your life with everyone you meet. And I promise that your day will get better”. He was right and soon my favorite professor and her sixteen year old daughter came and sat with me and we ate while marveling in the beauty of Table Mountain. They later invited me to go to a bookstore and out for coffee with them. And so I am now sitting in my room with three brand new books ($5) and a smile on my face.

There are so many hardworking people on this ship and, although I have only brushed the surface of their lives, I am extremely grateful to know them. Even tonight I met a new crew member at the piano bar who is from Turkey and was telling me all about the beauties of Istanbul. I wish I could fully express the amazing things done by the people working on the MV Explorer, but words cannot do it justice. Besides, I have three new books to read (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Tempted Champions, Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Wisdom of War, and bizarre looking book called Jude: Level 1. Am I a dork? Hell yeah!). And so goodnight everyone! I plan to go to bed early knowing that there is an amazing crew taking care of every student on this ship!