February 17-22, 2011

Watching South Africa diminish into the night sky made me realize that this country is definitely one I will visit again.  My time in South Africa was to say the least superior, and I can’t wait to do more there sometime in the near future. 

Day 1: Waking up, stumbling to breakfast to realize that we cannot reach the port because the winds are too strong to fit the ship into the small port opening.  All day long we had to stay on the ship in the middle of South African’s rough waters.  Not a good start to a ports stay. 

Day 2: We finally port the ship right around lunchtime, and once we cleared all of the immigration and customs things, we toured the city and planned for the rest of our time in South Africa.  Later on, we headed up to Signal Hill, where we could watch the U2 concert from a far/overhead distance, the full moon, see Table Mountain in the nighttime, and see a aerial view of the entire city of Cape Town.  Afterwards, we headed out onto Long Street that night and seeing the incredibly diverse group of people that inhabit the area.  Great start to our time here. 

Day 3: Went on a wine tour from 8:00 until 6:00 in the afternoon.  I had no clue how many vineyards were in South Africa, but I now know how to taste wine like a pro.  We visited 4 different wineries, got to taste an abundance of wine at each one, had a complete tour of the first one, had a delicious brandy tasting at the second winery, ate an incredible lunch after that, enjoyed an immense cheese tasting at the third, and simply listened to live music while gazing upon the vast mountain ranges at the fourth winery.  Definitely had a great day, followed by a great night of having a South African dinner with some faculty from the ship. 

Day 4: Took a taxi from Cape Point to Camps Bay Beach, where I relaxed on the beautiful, national-geographic-like beach all day long.  We ate lunch at a local Pizza joint, and had a few brews while watching the waves crash onto the massive rocks by the shore.  The water was too cold to surf, which kind of bummed me out, but the day was awesome to say the least. 

Day 5: Started the day off sand boarding in these bright white sand dunes, which were about an hour away from the port.  We boarded for about 4 hours, and then decided to go Kloofing in the Kogelburg Biosphere Reserve, which absolutely blew my mind.  We followed our tour guide, hiking about an hour into the mountain range, to come upon these beautiful gorges, where we swam, mountain climbed barefoot, and jumped from high distances into the gorges.  It was a long day, and very tiring, but definitely worth the incredible scenery and great times. 

Day 6: Woke up at 4:45 in the morning, and headed off the ship to hike Devil’s Peak, which was definitely worth the early rise.  It took us about an hour and a half to hike and climb the rigorous mountainside, but the view was worth the calf burning and quad-stimulating climb.  After descending from the peak, we headed downtown Cape Town and relaxed until we had to board the ship to leave the country. 

All in all, South Africa was incredible, and much different from Ghana.  Now, It’s back to class time and we’re headed off to Mauritius.  Wish me luck!

Here's a couple pictures from my trip so far, it take forever to upload them so everyone will have to wait till I get home to see them all, hope all is well and greetings from the warm South Africa!

Eric

February 15, 2011

Surrendering to the fact that I am nothing, but we are everything.
Enhancing my knowledge to better not my future, but the fate of our world.
Manufacturing ideas to construct an unparalleled reality.
Existing in each moment as its own.
Stimulating my senses, to better my judgments. 
Thinking globally, acting locally.
Extinguishing stereotypes, prejudices, and assumptions.
Realizing that without suffering and hardships of the past and present, there would be no willpower to the future.

Amounting, as a generation, to all that we have the potential to be.
Trailing in no one's footsteps.

Sailing across the seas, finding the better me. 
Expecting nothing but the unexpected.
A is for aardvark. 


Thanks mom and dad for giving me the world.  I know now, what some people never have the opportunity to realize. 

Good Things,
Eric

February 6-10, 2011

Ghana (Gah-nuh): a country in which the majority of people in the entire world: including Americans, Ghanaian themselves, myself, and many important public figures in world... have no clue how corrupt and demeaning the life of the people who live is; and a place in which I've learned to love and respect all at the same time.

Going to to Ghana, and better yet the capital, Accra, has really changed the way I perceive the life of people, and the importance of governmental infrastructure, while at the same time realizing the complete dis-importance of the government and what it does to its own people as a whole.  As sad as it is, the majority of what I've learned in this country, which is far more than my brain can collect in less than a week, has made me realize that I know less about what is going on in the world than I have ever imagined. It truly dug deep into my heart seeing the lives of some of these people, and better yet realizing that the world we live in (back at home), is simply a fairy tale.  I'm going to stop here on this subject, because I could write all day about it and I simply don't have the time...

On another note, Ghana was so much fun, had an incredible time, and it will be a country which I will visit again in the near future, hopefully for a longer period of time.  The two guys that took us around the country, whom names were conveniently both Eric, were a huge aid in our understanding of the country and we could never seen as much as we did and completed as much as we did without their help. 

Some people have emailed me asking me what I've done in Ghana... and besides: visiting castles and slave dungeons, climbing in a canopy in the middle of a forest, eating some of the spiciest/greatest food I've ever witnessed, hanging out with an abundance amount of locals, meeting people from the US not affiliated with Semester at Sea in bar's, walking the streets of the outskirts of Accra, visiting the mountains, seeing the amount of people who struggle to simply survive in their everyday actions, visiting many embassies, working with school children through Freedom in Creation and seeing the way they are being educated, talking to people who simply want to know why you are here(which by the way is evident that I wasn't a local, I always knew that Ghana was mainly dark-skinned, but I did not know I would be the only white person for miles), talking with local business men and women, riding on the intense(to say the least) roads, and simply living like a local for 5 days.......
       I got to learn more about myself and how privileged I am. Everything I do back home I take for granite, and I know more about myself through the lives of other people and this new land that I've laid eyes upon. 

I would really like to share more about Ghana, but I have got so school work to catch up on, and that's pretty important.

Thanks for everyone's emails, I can't explain to you enough how much it means to hear from family and friends from back home. 

Till next time my lovely audience,
Eric

February 6, 2011

Finally, we are off the ship and into a new country!  9 days at see wasn’t too bad, but it’s nice to be on flat land again, even though it took a bit to adjust to the floor beneath me not swaying back and forth any more.  As soon as Jake and I left the ship, we walked to the end of the gate where locals were outside waiting to sell us their goods and offer us rides.  Luckily, we immediately found our personal driver, Eric, and his friend, Eric.  I know it’s confusing but with three Eric’s and one Jake in a car actually makes it easier to communicate.  After getting acquainted with these guys, we set off for a day full of sights and activities in Ghana.  The first place we headed to was the largest castle and slave dungeon off the Ghana coast.  After touring this significantly dreadful place, we headed off to a place to eat, where we not only ate some of the best food in my life, but we also petted a massive alligator, which was directly next to us where we were eating lunch.  Next, we headed off to a national park, where we climbed suspended rope canopies through a beautiful forest.  After the long hike, we started our long journey to Accra, which gave me a different perspective on traffic and the way people drive at home.  The roads here are basically “anything goes”, and I think we passed through more police barricades than I’ve ever even seen in a movie.  Once we reached Accra, we entered the house we are staying at for the next couple days.  The family is so comforting, and their two kids, Michael, 21 and Rachel, 22 and very welcoming and easy to talk to.  For dinner, we ate some of the spiciest food I’ve ever laid my buds on, but it was one of the best home cooked meals I’ve had in a while.  Once we were all done with dinner, and we had a delicious fresh mango desert, Jake, the two Eric’s and I headed off to a bar called Champs, to watch the Super bowl (which  by the way didn’t start until 11:30 here, thank you time change).  For the first time in Ghana, we saw more white people than just Jake and I.  The game was awesome, even though we didn’t stay the whole time, and now we’re headed to sleep… long day ahead of us tomorrow. 

I told some people that I should have Internet where I’m staying, well I don’t.  I’ve got limited access right now, and won’t be able to stay long. I doubt I’ll be able to get on skype to talk to some people, but I’m going to try and make it happen if possible.  Thanks everyone for everything, and until next time.

February 2-5, 2011

I'd like to begin this blog entry by saying that these past couple days have been ordinary, but that would be a complete lie in so many ways.  Thursday we held Sea Olympics on the ship, and my sea one second place overall, which is a huge accomplishment!  The day was full of events including basketball, volleyball, dodge ball, relay's, 3legged race, etc.  Definitely one of the most fun days on the trip so far, but I'm getting anxious about Ghana and can't wait to be in port.  We've been at sea for 8 days now, and the Atlantic Ocean was nothing like I would've imagined.  Not once did the ship violently shake or experience any kind of horrible weather.  It was rather smooth the whole voyage across the sea.  My second point I wanted to make is that there is a sense of unity on this ship that is unparalleled by any other University in the world.  Not only do we live with everyone we take classes with, but we eat, work-out, and do everything with our professors and faculty on board.  It's hard to explain the concept if you've never witnessed first hand, but it is something that resonates a sense of "one" when we are consumed in each others lives each and every day, and the fact that we are traveling the world together sets this new feeling of accomplishment and educational achievement, that is obviously unobtainable any where else at home. 

Last night, I decided to not go to sleep on the ship.  Instead, I stayed outside on the top deck of the ship with some friends and simply watched the waves, looked out into the infinite horizon, saw dolphins leaping into the midst, and felt a sense of completeness that my mind, body and soul has never experienced before.  This is experience has probably been one of the best thus far, and I'm certainly going to do it again.  Watching the sunrise at the bow of the ship is something that everyone's eyes should witness; the array of colors beaming off the Atlantic, when there is nothing else in sight, is something that cannot be explained, which is why I won't try now due to the lack of justice it would entail. 

Today is the last day of class before we arrive in Ghana tomorrow morning, and I am so excited about the new land I'm about to witness and take part in.  Tonight, at our ship's pre-port meeting (where we learn about the country we are about to visit and learn everything we need to know about what not and what to do), I will be leading a drum circle while John Rosenberg and a few singer's perform a native Ghana piece.  It should be interesting, and I am sooo glad I finally found the "music room" on the ship. 

For anyone that has talked to me previously about skyping, this should be the first time on the voyage that I will have internet off the ship... hopefully that is.  For everyone at home, I miss you dearly and I hope that everyone is doing fine, and hope to hear from everyone soon.  Thanks again everyone for the emails, it makes me feel good hearing about what's going on back at home. 

Can't wait to see everyone and I mainly can't wait to come home and share my experiences with everyone! 

Wish me luck,
Eric

Febuary 1, 2011

For the first time in my life, I am sincerely starting to understand that...


"I am, because we are."


Being completely and utterly serious, if you are reading these blogs and most importantly, this blog, re-read this phrase several times, and try to grasp it's full meaning and how it effects your personal life.


"I am, because we are."

__________________________________


"I AM...... because WE are."


When I think about these words, no matter what time of the day it is, or no matter how busy I am, I block out my entire surroundings and reflect upon what it truly means. You don't have to be a scholar to understand it's meaning, but you need to have the self-dignity and commitment to your purpose in life, to truly clench it's importance. 


This concept, which only contains 5 simple words, explains everything we need to know about the world we live in and our inner-connectedness with the space and severely diverse group of people around us.  Derived from the definition of Ubuntu, this phrase has taken up a large portion of my thinking capacity day in and day out, throughout this entire voyage of discovery thus far.  For anyone that doesn't know the meaning of this powerful South African derived dialect, Ubuntu, simply look it up, and think about how it can effect each and every single one of our lives. 


We learn in school what we are taught, we learn from our friends what they have learn, we learn from our parents from their point of view, but most importantly, we learn about ourselves through personal experiences and the tangible relationships that we create amongst the people and places we see with our own eyes. 


Nelson Mandela explains it best...
"A traveler through a country would stop at a village and he didn't have to ask for food or for water. Once he stops, the people give him food, entertain him. That is one aspect of Ubuntu but it will have various aspects. Ubuntu does not mean that people should not enrich themselves. The question therefore is: Are you going to do so in order to enable the community around you to be able to improve?"


Thanks for the support everyone.

Keep on reading on (my blog that is),
Eric