Neptune Day!

As of yesterday, September 26, 2009, I am no longer a pollywog but rather I am a shellback. What? In plain English, we crossed the equator! Long-standing naval traditions in the U.S., Britain and elsewhere commemorate one’s first crossing of the equator with a very special ceremony. Semester at Sea’s own version of this line-crossing tradition was no exception. Our Captain, King Neptune was painted all green, wore nothing but a Speedo and a grass skirt, and carried a pitchfork like the one held by Ariel’s father in The Little Mermaid. Those students, faculty and staff who had never crossed the equator were “summoned” to the pool deck to appear before King Neptune, undergo “torture,” and finally be dubbed shellbacks. I partook in the ceremony, including getting imitation fish guts (aka a corn syrup, salt water and food coloring mixture) dumped on my head, jumping into the pool, and kissing a dead fish. Another tradition is to shave one’s head upon crossing the equator, but I opted out of this part for obvious reasons…since my name is already often mistaken for a boy’s, I don’t need a boy’s haircut, too ☺ Despite the silliness of the morning, crossing the equator by ship is something that few people can say they’ve done…I will soon have a certificate as proof that I did! I’ll have to compare it with my Grandpa Ron’s certificate, as he told me that he still has his from many years ago! Rumor has it that not only did we cross the equator, but we crossed at exactly the point where the Prime Meridian and the equator intersect…I have not been able to verify this yet, though. Either way, greetings from the other half of the world!

Obamania in Ghana?!

As our voyage continues, it becomes harder and harder to capture and summarize my experiences. The further we sail from home, the more eye opening and indescribable each moment becomes. Ghana was so different from anywhere or anything I’ve ever been or seen. Since it was Semester at Sea’s first visit to the country, we were not given a very detailed picture or what to expect before we arrived. The four days that we spent docked in Tema (near the capital city of Accra) certainly exceeded any expectations I may have had! Although colonized by the British (Ghana gained its independence in 1957), roaming the streets or driving down the country’s numerous dirt roads, it’s hard to see the lasting effects. Nearly everyone speaks English as a result of British rule, but it oftentimes felt as if people were speaking a foreign language. In some ways, it appeared that the country had not been touched by Western civilization – the dirt roads, the women carrying everything from pineapples to plastic bags of drinking water atop their heads, the outdoor bars with plastic chairs and tables, goats and chickens along the street and the telephone wires attached to tree trunks rather than metal poles to name a few. However, while spending a day outside of the city, we saw a young child whose cell phone’s ring tone was a popular Akon song in the U.S. It’s truly amazing to see what fragments of Western culture hold up in a society with such a rich traditional culture of its own.

Remember how excited everyone got this summer when the Obama family vacationed on Martha’s Vineyard? Well the Ghanaians have taken their infatuation with President Obama to a whole new level. Forget about the shirts that Vineyarders sold in August – Obama has billboards in Accra, U.S. flags and traditional Ghanaian garb with his face imprinted, soccer jerseys, key chains, bumper stickers and the list goes on. The friendly faces that we met all over Ghana were thrilled to have visitors from the U.S., and very eager to tell us time and time again just how much they love Obama. I think Obama has more popular support in Africa than in his own country!

What we did

On Tuesday, our first day in Ghana, we explored the city of Accra for the afternoon. On our shuttle ride from Tema to Accra, we saw the following being sold by people on the streets: water, plantain chips, ties, full-size flags, bed linens, baby toys, poster maps of Africa, jewelry, cuff links, newspapers, and more…Ghanaians can never have an excuse for showing up to a party empty handed with all of the crap they can buy en route! We also saw several signs for the Ghana Marathon, which we only missed by two days – too bad! I’m not sure I would have held up in the heat though…very different from the icy streets of Philadelphia last November!

We visited a market where locals shop for food, clothes, and pirated DVDs (Ghana does not have copyright laws like the U.S., so they can sell ANYTHING – we saw Lost Season 5 for sale, for example. A friend of mine bought a copy of the Hangover, and to our surprise it actually worked!). I swear that I saw some of the clothes that I’ve donated to Goodwill over the years for sale there! That night, my friends and I met up with my long-time friend Ezra, who is spending the semester in Ghana. Ezra and I have known each other for upwards of 15 years at this point, but we haven’t seen each other in probably 3 or 4 years – it was wild to see him halfway around the world when we only like about 30 minutes away from each other back home! He and Annie, both studying abroad in Ghana and traveled to Israel with me in 2005, showed us around Osu, a newer district of Accra.

The next day, we awoke bright and early to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity Ghana. One of the most important lessons we learned while in Ghana is the lack of appropriate estimation of time – what our bus driver told us might be a two-hour ride turned into 4 hours through some of the bumpiest, unpaved roads I’ve ever seen! Although travel took up most of our day, we did make some good progress on one of the houses in the community. I like to think of myself as a pretty hardy, fairly strong gal – I quickly learned that I am not cut out for the African heat, OR manual labor. We spent our time there mortaring the bricks for the foundation of a small home (which will take 2 weeks to complete), eating lunch prepared by inhabitants of the community, playing with some of the kids, and sweating profusely! On our long drive back, we stopped off at a cocoa farm, one of Ghana’s main exports. After a long day of travel and hard work, we stayed near the ship and explored Tema instead of venturing back to Accra.

I spent much of the day Thursday propping up the Ghanaian economy by buying gifts and souvenirs! My favorite stop of the day was at a store called Global Mamas, an organization that helps female entrepreneurs open small businesses throughout Africa. Not only were the handmade crafts unique, but what better gifts to bring home than those whose proceeds go to help better the lives of African women? We also tasted plantain chips from the local grocery store and drank water from plastic bags like the locals do!

On our final day in Ghana, we visited the Osu Children’s Home, a very chilling experience. The Home provides housing, food and education for nearly 250 children aged infant to 23. We did some painting and cleaning there, and visited with the young children who were not off at local public schools for the day. The children were so eager for attention from us…there are so many of them that it is clearly too hard for each to be held and receive individual attention daily. It was truly heartbreaking to see them cry when we had to leave. After lunch, we returned to donate Semester at Sea t-shirts and school supplies to them. We were able to walk through the nursery, where there were dozens of babies in cribs. It is very hard to put this day into more words, but it was definitely one of the saddest things I’ve ever seen.

What we ate

As Ezra and Annie shared with us on the first night, Ghanaian food is nothing to write home about. They don’t have many special dishes, but chicken, rice and fish are the staples of their diet. Plantains in all forms are available everywhere on the streets. We actually had really good Chinese food in Ghana! The best thing I ate in Ghana was a pineapple that I bought on the street…it certainly rivaled our favorite fruit cart in Philadelphia! After the kind lady peeled and cut it up for me, I tasted the sweetest pineapples I’ve ever eaten! Too bad they wouldn’t pass through customs to bring some home…

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Ghana is one of those places that I would LOVE to visit again to see how it is different in the future. It seems to be on the verge of enduring a multitude of changes, as it is one of the more advanced African nations. Hopefully my Malarone pills and my 98.99% DEET insect repellant did the trick to ward off Malaria! Ghana was great, and I can’t wait for our next stop: Capetown, South Africa!

Check out my photos!

Here is a link to a few photos that I've been able to upload...Enjoy!

Highlights from Semester at Sea!

Morocco: We’re not in Kansas anymore!

Salaam Alaykum! Since arriving in Casablanca, Morocco on Thursday, the longest that I have remained in one place was on a 4+ hour train ride. I have seen, smelt, tasted, felt and heard so many diverse, new, interesting things– we packed so much into these past few days!

On the day that we arrived, it was very dreary and raining in Casablanca. Although the port itself is very commercial and not picturesque, the city itself has some interesting sights, most notably the Hassan II Mosque, completed in 1997. As soon as our passports had been stamped and we were cleared to exit the ship, a group of 8 of us headed to the train station to catch a train to Fes. Luckily we had a French speaker in the group, because French is as ubiquitous in Morocco as Arabic due to the long reign of France as Morocco’s colonial ruler. Our first class train ticket cost a mere $20 for a ride about equivalent to Boston – New York. Unfortunately, first class in Morocco is about equivalent to the Fung Wah bus, also $20. Enough said.

FES
On the train, we met a man who worked for the Moroccan Tourist Bureau who was full of wisdom, and suggested that we hire an official tour guide to show us around Fes. As we did not know where we were staying, nor much more about the city than we read in our Lonely Planet guide, we thought this was good advice. And it sure was…without the guide that we met at the train station, we would have had a thoroughly disappointing visit to Fes. Amni Sayid, Arabic for “Uncle Sayid,” led us through the windy, crowded streets of the medina to the beautiful Riad Hala – where we stayed for 200 Dh (approx. $25) for the night, including one of the best breakfast meals I’ve ever had. Riads are houses that are run as hotels, similar to a U.S. “Bed and Breakfast.” Don Fes, as we dubbed our fearless leader, brought us to a wonderful Moroccan dinner and then on a tour of the city. He seemed to know everyone we passed on the street, from children to donkey cart-pushers – and helped himself to everyone’s food as the Ramadan fast ended for the day. He brought us to see several artisan souks (markets) including carpets, leather goods, metals, textiles (where a man wrapped my head in a traditional Moroccan turban) and spices. Fes, home to over 400 mosques and a dozen synagogues, was a charming, fast-paced, authentic Moroccan experience. Don Fes showed us so much of the city that would have been closed to us as unknowing tourists, especially by bringing us around until after midnight, when we likely would have been too afraid to wander by ourselves.

EVENING WITH A MOROCCAN FAMILY
On Friday, I came back to Casablanca to attend an evening organized by Semester at Sea. Several families from the George Washington Academy in Casablanca warmly welcomed some 40 Semester at Sea students into their homes to share an evening of Moroccan food and culture. Although we’re only two weeks into the semester, I can confidently say that this will be one of the most memorable nights of the entire program. Three friends and I were graciously taken in by the Batista family, an eye doctor and a jeweler. Their ten-year-old son, Yah’ya, spoke impeccable English, and was very interested in the United States because he hopes to attend medical school there one day. He has three younger siblings, two sisters who are attending a Spanish school, and a younger brother who is only two years old. Needless to say, there were at least four languages being tossed around the entire evening. As the sun went down, we were treated to a delicious meal that we assumed was dinner – boy were we wrong. We had TWO meals that evening – usually I would have been thrilled, but I did not pace myself during the first meal. In between, they brought us to Casablanca’s old Medina, and bought us traditional Moroccan outfits and slippers as a gift. We spent the evening attempting to converse (with various language barriers) about education, politics, Morocco, and popular culture – in between the massive amounts of food, of course! Compared with the majority of the Moroccans whom I had seen previously and after this evening, the Batista’s were very well off. This was one of the many contrasts in Moroccan culture – about 50% of the population is illiterate, while this family could read in four languages (and they’re beginning to learn Chinese, too). We stayed with them until 2:30 in the morning…which was amazing because they likely woke up around 4:30 to eat breakfast before the sun rose and the fast began again.

MARRAKECH
On Saturday morning, I woke up feeling a bit queasy and still very full from the night before. I came to find out that almost everyone that I had traveled with to Fes had spent the night battling stomach issues as a result of something that we had all eaten. Luckily, I made it out with nothing more than swallowing a few Pepto Bismal tablets. But, I was down several companions for a visit to Marrakech. Luckily, I had other friends that I met up with upon arriving there. Compared to Fes and Casablanca, Marrakech is a cosmopolitan oasis. We attended a spectacular Moroccan circus-like performance last night, the likes of which could only be found perhaps at Morocco in Epcot! We took a short camel ride, and then visited the Djeema el-fna, a famous market in Marrakech. Greeted by snake charmers (with whom we had a small run-in), henna artists and monkey keepers, we were immediately overwhelmed. There were very interesting souvenirs to shop for, and definitely no lack of excitement to be had!

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What we ate
For all of you who have been to or have heard me talk about Marrakesh, the restaurant in Philadelphia, I’m sure you’re dying to know how it compares to the real thing! I must say that it is a fairly authentic dining experience! But nothing compares to a Moroccan feast IN Morocco. All of the cooked salads at the beginning of the meal were delicious. I tasted many Moroccan delicacies, including harira – a thick tomato soup, bastilla - a flaky pastry filled with egg and chicken and covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon, lamb tangine, cous cous and several wonderful pastries.

The mint tea, served everywhere from restaurants to carpet sellers, is truly unreal. It often contains actual mint leaves and lots of sugar…and it’s delicious regardless of how hot the air temperature may be.

Ramadan
We are so lucky to be visiting a Muslim country during the month-long observance of Ramadan. Having the experience of fasting for one day each year, I have such an appreciation for the daily fast, although the rules are slightly different. Muslims awaken early for breakfast before the sun rises, and fast until about 7 when the sun sets again. On the train ride back from Marrakech, we shared a compartment with two men observing Ramadan, who dug into their meals as soon as their phone alarms went off signaling it was okay to eat. People were roaming through the train offering pastries and food that they brought from home – certainly not something you would likely encounter on an Amtrak train back in the states! What amazes me is that Muslims who are fasting continue about their normal business each day during the fast...I can barely make it through an afternoon of cooking for Break Fast on Yom Kippur!

The Hammam
Today I had one of the oddest experiences of my entire life. I cannot think of a better way to describe a hammam than a cross between a luxurious spa and a community bathhouse. Hammams are traditional Moroccan bathhouses, and offer several traditional services. It is certainly not for anyone who embarrasses easily – I sat entirely naked (except for my underwear) while I enjoyed the steam room, a traditional gommmage – exfoliation, bath (including shampoo), and relaxing massage. Two women pampered me for over an hour, and they were not afraid to touch nearly every inch of my body. The exfoliation process ended in the loss of at least an entire layer of dead skin – it looked like a human-sized snake had shed its skin! Although a bit uncomfortable both physically and mentally, it was a truly unique Moroccan experience.

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The French (and European in general) influence, juxtaposed by tradition Islamic culture, snake charmers, orange juicers, etc. makes Morocco an immensely interesting and culturally rich country to visit. I have thoroughly enjoyed my jam-packed five-day visit…and have made several new friends from both Semester at Sea and Morocco in the process! More from Ghana...

Gaudi, Tapas, Siestas...Barcelona

Hola from Spain! I’m currently sitting in the train station in Sevilla, waiting to get back to the ship in Cadiz. We arrived at the port of Cadiz on Saturday morning, September 5. It was quite exciting to see land for the first time in eight days! That afternoon, a group of about a dozen of us flew to Barcelona, where we spent the remainder of our time in Spain. We stayed in Plaza Reial off of La Rambla in a very well known hostel named Kabul.

What we saw

Barcelona is home to several exquisite architectural wonders, thanks to Antoni Gaudi. We visited three of his major projects:

- La Pedrera, built as an apartment building and now open as a museum. We went inside, and saw a room furnished in the early 20th century style, which Gaudi had designed. The most amazing part was standing on the roof terrace – there were beautiful views of all of Barcelona. The building had two courtyards, and a very unique design.

- Sagrada Familia is the most well known building in all of Barcelona. Gaudi began building the Church during his lifetime, but never finished before he died in 1926. To this day, the project remains ongoing and is funded solely by donations. Although we did not go inside, the façade was incredible.

- Park Guell was my favorite site in the city. The crowded spot was home to structures covered in beautiful mosaics. Gaudi’s famous mosaic lizard sculpture greets guests upon entering the park. We visited around 6pm, so we were able to see the beautiful pre-dusk sun over the city.

We also visited a beautiful Mediterranean beach in Barceloneta, and spent many hours roaming around the city. Although we felt like extreme tourists, we took a double-decker bus tour that you could hop on and off of, which made seeing the city very easy, plus we learned a lot!

What (and when) we ate

For anyone who knows me well, I am an adventurous, and GOOD eater! One of the things that I am most looking forward to throughout the voyage is being able to taste the authentic cuisines in each port country that we visit. Boy did I do a great job in Spain! Every night, we did as the Spaniards do and waited until nearly 11pm to eat a delicious array of tapas (and of course we tasted some wonderful sangria, too!). My favorite meal was a late lunch of paella, so fresh that I think some of the fish were still swimming in it! I think I could really get used to the Spanish way of life…although I am not a good nap-taker, after eating dinner until after midnight, a siesta is much needed the next day!

Spain was a great first port country – although culturally different, being in Europe made our transition from the United States to the world unknown a bit more comforting. I was able to use some of my high school Spanish, and feel very inspired to continue learning the language if I can fit it into my schedule back at Penn.

I will try to post a series of pictures from Spain in our next port, Morocco, when we arrive on Thursday. Adios amigos!

Crossing the Atlantic Ocean

Hi everyone! Sorry I haven’t been able to update the blog since we departed from Halifax. We have very limited access to Internet (other than email) on the ship…it’s very expensive because it relies on satellites to reach the ship when it’s hundreds of miles from land! We are only given a small amount of “minutes” for free. So, for the most part, you can look forward to updates about ship life and about the ports we’re visiting when I am on land.

We’ve had a very busy first week! After leaving Halifax at 5pm on Friday, August 28, we finally arrived in Cadiz, Spain very early Saturday morning before sunrise. It took nearly the whole week to adjust to the gentle (and sometimes not-so-gentle) rocking of the ship. Classes began last Sunday after a daylong ship orientation. So far, classes are off to a great start…all of my professors are extremely knowledgeable and engaging, and have put a huge emphasis on the ports that we will be visiting. While the coursework is obviously very important, I can imagine that the port visits will add so much to the overall enrichment and knowledge gained from this voyage.

After going to school in the middle of a city for two years, being confined to a boat has taken some getting used to. You can only get breakfast between 7:30 and 8:30 in the morning? However, I’ve kept myself busy meeting my 519 fellow voyagers, spending sunny afternoons by the pool (In case anyone wants in, I will put money on the fact that I’ll come home in December with a better tan than my dad has ever had!), and learning what life without the internet and text messages was all about. It’s so nice to sit at dinner on the 6th deck, or spend hours playing cards, and not have the interruptions of cell phones and blackberries beeping and buzzing.

Advice I wish I had been given: Without gripping the sides of the treadmill with BOTH hands, you’re guaranteed to fall off. Luckily I figured this out before it actually happened…

All in all, the Atlantic crossing was a great start to what I can already tell will be a fabulously life-changing experience. My Semester at Sea email address is: rarosenberg@semesteratsea.net. I forwarded my Penn and gmail accounts to this new email, so you can continue to reach me that way, too.