A Land of Hope and Forgiveness

Ubuntu. It is an African secret, Dr. Chiwoza Bandawe, a faculty member from South Africa teaches us. In Zulu, ubuntu is known as Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (a person is a person through persons). It is both a philosophy about how people live and relate and a way of seeing the world. Ubuntu is a story about people and culture and resilience. “The concept of unbuntu,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said, “embodies an understanding of what is it is be human and what is necessary for human beings to grow and find fulfillment. It is an ethical concept and expresses a vision of what is valuable and worthwile.” Contrary to “I think and therefore I am,” the African ubuntu is best summed up by Mbiti as, “I am because we are, and since we are, therefore, I am.” This identity of “I am because you are” shapes the African community and is the greatest secret in South Africa. Traits like hospitality, self control, patience, empathy, and interdependence between individual and community are leading the new South Africa.

We are here in South Africa as history is being written. Wait too long, and the remnants and scars of apartheid will be healed but hopefully not forgotten. No where is this change more apparent in this changing South Africa than on the new coat of arms. “People who are different come together.” This new South African coat of arms is written in Paal, like Latin, a dead language no longer spoke by anyone. It represents the 11 languages, many peoples and complex group of people under one government. Indeed, South Africa is a new beacon of hope. Long described as part of the “Dark Continent,” Africa as a whole has a long and complicated history. Misunderstood, complicated, and rich in culture and tradition, Africa is the oldest continent, such a land mass that is could encompass Europe, New Zealand, North and South America and still have space. Almost 1 billion people live here and the languages number in the thousands. But this so-called “Dark Continent” has many silver linings despite the looming problems of world debt, high inflation, HIV/AIDS, unemployment and political instability. There is hope. Proof of this developing optimism is one of the largest and richest countries in Africa, South Africa. Hidden under the sins of apartheid, a Boer or Africaaner word meaning separate or apart, South Africa has made leaps and bounds since 1994, even recently moving toward gay marriage in this very African land. Described as the most liberal Constitution in the world over (it explicitly forbids discrimination based on sex, religion, sexual orientation, race and ability), South Africa’s new government is moving beyond hatred, embarrassment, and blame to forgiveness, well-noted with the Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC).

Even greater a sin than apartheid are the legacies and scars of the slave trade. Here in Cape Town, like Lagos and other coastal cities like Lagos, are remnants of the slave trade days and seeds of colonialism, the powers that once carved up this rich land to corral cheap labor and pillage the land of its resources. Goods and people were traded for centuries at these port cities, and slavery became the dominating and influential experience of many Africans. The dangers of the slave trade were high, and the obviously lucrative trade became more and more popular as the colonial empires grew larger and needed cheap labor. A quick look at these lands, independent only since the 1960s, and you can notice the neo-colonialism influences including the exportation of their resources to pay the interest on burgeoning debts. Obviously to leave out slavery is to forget one of the single largest influences on this great continent.

The slave trade in Africa was a complex endeavor, often explained as the “triangle trade.” Each part of the triangle is represented by the goods and people that were moved similar to the global trade we see today. Products like rubber, sugar and cotton were shipped from the New World to Europe, slaves were rounded up and sent to the New World from Africa and armaments, violence, forts, Christianity and warfare were shipped to Africa from Europe. This is a tough story. As we talk about large groups of people forced to leave their land and their forced labor, we look for scapegoats and someone to pay. However, the role in slavery includes not only Europeans, the largest influence, and arguably the initiators and worst offenders, but also people in Africa like the Ashanti and others who participated. Over time, the comparable if not superior states (politically one could argue) in Africa were diminished due to the slave trade, as the people declined and were forced to focus on basic needs. In the name of European interests in the extraction of people and goods from this land, they fomented wars, rebellions and violence in order to divide and rule, and later, start the slave trade.

When we watch the world news or read about this enormous continent, we are inevitably reminded about the hunger, debt, poverty and problems of 1 billion Africans. We see starving children and desperate families trying to eek out a living on drought-ridden soil. Food shortages in the 21st century are indeed a result of colonialism if not the slave trade. The extraction of resources for European industrial purposes resulted in a perpetual shortage in the 19th century, problems that have continued to this day. To give one example of the legacies of colonialism, Cameron still calls its country the “French Game Park”, where France hunts and poaches to this day. In fact, the former French President Francois Mitterand was a Cameron French Company Executive. Still, between the first World Wars, occupation and territorial colonies are solidified and indeed peaks. To this day, trade between African independent states is about 5% of their total trade, a holdout influence of British, French, Dutch and Portugues policies of dividing and conquering. The dream of a pan-African state or special trading partners like NAFTA is far out in the future.

Europe’s wartime needs initially encouraged their exploration and later imperialism across the world—but this could not last forever. This violence spilled over into the New World and Africa, but over time, they were no longer able to hold back their colonies’ desires for self-rule. We see new world powers develop after the World Wars, namely the U.S.S.R. and the United States, two vehemently anti-colonial states after the 1940s. These superpowers had their own interests, including propping up old empires, but not ruling other lands and people.

From this great land of diversity, came one of the most horrific and devastating experiences of racial segregation in the human history, apartheid. From the Cape of Good Hope, the mix of colonial influences, including Portugues, English, and Dutch, apartheid originally started in the 19th century, culminating in the murder and oppression that drew world-wide media attention in the 1980s. In order to control the overwhelmingly Black population, the Africaans and White minority legislated separation and pass laws to monitor every behavior and thought. “The apartheid government,” my guide Godfrey who led me into a Cape Flat township told me, “had a lot of time on their hands to tell us how to do everything.” Through the 20th century up until 1985 (and the end of apartheid in 1994), pass laws ensured Black South Africans were either at work or at home. There was no mobility either economically or physically. Some migrant workers left their families never to see them again to work for petty wages in Cape Town. Others discussed politics only to end up in unmarked graves in Zimbabwe and remote parts of the Karoo. Over 80% of the population had no voting rights, no voice in a country where they were an overwhelming majority. Even to this day, 75% of all faculty at the University of Cape Town are White, 62% of the total are White and male.

Equity courts and the forced removal land claims continue to this day. Some folks have returned to the land they were forced off and the courts continue to address the past wounds. It truly is a remarkable story to tell about the man who, imprisoned for 27 years at Robben Island and other prisons, would become President of South Africa. Nelson Mandela walked out of jail in Johannesburg in 1990, a man blinded by the numbing and backbreaking work of the limestone mines, and asked his country to forgive. The TRC led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu asked offenders to come forward and admit their crimes in return for amnesty. Some government officials went to jail, but there was no war, no revenge. This is the power and hope of ubuntu in South Africa.

My last day in South Africa I visited a township. I had debated back and forth whether or not to take a tour and invade other folks’ privacy, morality and sense of pride. The tour was well worth my personal conflict. We visited the District 6 Museum, a tribute and rememberance to the forced removal of Black South Africans from Cape Town proper to outlying shantytowns or townships. The ultimate goal of these removals was the creation of small Black nation states with their own small government within the larger South Africa. However, the goal couldn’t be further from the truth where most folks lived with no water, no power, and lost their houses, land and dignity in these forced removals. Moved outside the city, these townships like Langa, Khaletzcha and others were towns of poverty and despair but also community. Even with great poverty these people were happy within the context of their neighbors and friends. We visited Vicky’s Township Bed and Breakfast, an example of a new entrepreurship in Black South Africa. The majority of resources, jobs and opportunities are reserved for White Africaans, but this is changing. Vicky’s example shows the community involvement and a new type of business. Vicky takes care of her neighbors and they take care of her customers. With collaboration, reciprocity and empowerment, Vicky helps her neighbors and they protect her clients from the crime and dangers of township life. Other visits on the township tour included cultural centers that teach artwork, metallurgy and other trades to curb the overwhelming unemployment the townships face. On one corner you see small tin houses with vegetables for small, and on the next you see the ngamo or traditional healers that are very popular in South Africa. It was a unique tour to see how the majority of South Africans actually live.

“There is no future without forgiveness,” Archbishop Desmond Tutu once said. Never has a statement is been truer for the new South Africa. On December 16, the country celebrated the Day of Reconciliation, a national holiday. Twelve years old and still asking for forgiveness and rife with old and new problems, including racial ones and HIV/AIDS, South Africa and the Truth and Reconcilation Commission that addressed a lot of the sins of the past have moved forward. The people still clamor for more healing and forgiveness, but the country has come a long way. “One head,” the Zulus wisely say, “does not carry a roof.” This statement reflects the spirit of ubuntu and the strength of the South Africans. Indeed, this is the twelfth year since apartheid was dismantled and there is hope. This upcoming graduating student cohort is the first class to be racially integrated through their entire educational experience, 12 years. Despite the continued segregation of Black, Africaans/White and Colored South Africans in employment, housing, and general life, there is hope in education and young people. All that Africa has suffered and all that Africa has endured, may the youths of South Africa utilize their potential, their story and the ubuntu philosophy to uplift and empower others.

My African Safari: Kruger National Park

This is the wild, natural, beautiful and untamed land of Africa. South Africa’s 600 national parks are home to many of the world’s most endangered and yet dangerous animals. Nestled in the northeast corner of South Africa is Kruger National Park bordering both Mozambique and Zimbabwe. Here the Big 5 animals (elephants, buffalo, rhinos, leopards and lions) roam with the zebras, wildebeest, giraffes, wild dogs, hippos, dung beetles, antelope, monkeys and so many more animals over the 35,000 square kilometers (or over 21000 square miles, about 2/3 the size of Belgium). The bushveld and lowfeld ecosystems in Mpumalanga province are the perfect setting to encounter the beauty of nature as well as the dangers like the malaria parasite. The visibility and the sheer number of animals as well as the accessibility of the park make this one of the best safaris of the world and indeed the best on the continent. On our 1500 kilometer (about 1000 miles) trip across this land I experienced one of my best experiences in my life with nature and people.

Our trip began in Cape Town. The unusual Cape of Good Hope weather delayed our disembarkation from the ship and we made our way to Johannesburg. The two local Cape currents, one cold moving north from Antarctica and another warm moving south and west from the Indian Ocean, made for a beautiful sunrise through the haze and fog but disrupted our captain’s maneuvering of the ship. We spent one night at a fun and lively hostel named the Backpacker’s Ritz. The conversation and people off-setted the uncomfortable beds and loud dorm rooms. Early the next morning, Mary Anne from Bundu Safaris (bundu means bush in South African slang) picked us up in our custom built safari vehicle. This glass yellow box as it was affectionately called after 5 days was our home and transportation across the beautiful wide expanse from Jo’burg to Kruger and back. Across the trip we never took a break, sleeping each night about 3 hours to wake up again early for the best game sightings. 2 Irishmen, 1 Canadian, 1 English, 2 Germans and 3 Americans and 1 South African guide—what a group!

Among the “stop!” calls from our group, our hunt for the Big 5 initiated our first day at Kruger National Park. We spent most of our time in the southern and central parts of the park, where the largest concentration of animals live. In the south, the grasses are the highest and most numerous due to the rich, red, iron-heavy soil. In central Kruger, the trees and lush trees are replaced with savannas providing open land for prides of lions. To the north are the mopani forests, where grasses are sparse due to the shallow root systems of the mopani trees and elephants populate the land. We entered the park at Malelane Gate over Crocodile River. The first two nights we camped in safari tents in Berg-en-dal Rest Camp and Maroela Satellite Camp. These unobtrusive bushveld camps allow for more of a wilderness experience, complete with the most beautiful views of the sky and Southern Cross constellation. The last night we were pampered in a Private Game Reserve and lodge, bordering the park. Despite being the rainy season, the southern skies were clear and sunny by day, beautiful and starry by night. At Bundu Private Reserve, we enjoyed a sunset and nighttime drive through the reserve, with buffalo as close as 2 feet away and giraffes we walked about with! The view of the Lembobo Mountains and setting sun were coupled with a sundowner drink and some bush games. We swam at night with the moonlight under the Southern Cross, and enjoyed Castle beers and South African wines. Our welcoming hosts talked about the politics of apartheid, South African’s gay community, animals and their behaviors, and the history and complexity of South Africa culture.

Since 1898 when Paul Kruger founded the preservation, 1 million visitors have come here each year. The Skakuza, or “Broom” in Zulu as Kruger was known for brushing locals off their land, was an avid hunter and naturalist. Most animals here are native to the land, and only white and black rhinos had to reintroduced due to the over hunting and popularity of their horns as trophies. During our voyage, we saw wildebeests, zebras, giraffes, elephants, dung beetles, African Buffalo, Vervet monkeys, Chacma baboons, cape ground squirrels, jackals, wild dogs, lions, white rhinoceros, warthogs, ostriches, hippos, antelopes, nyalas, elands, kudus, duikers, gemsboks, bonteboks, steenbok and waterbok. We didn’t miss anything!! We also had a rare sighting of wild dogs while in Kruger. Their numbers, devastated by rabies and hunting, are making a comeback now but still with maybe a thousand left in the park. They hunt and live in packs of 20-30 dogs. We saw four of them shading while waiting for their upcoming meal. Mary Anne, our guide, taught us about how the young dogs from the pack do all of the hunting while the old alpha males and females waited for the youngsters. The pack takes cares care of its own.

One of my favorite animals to watch is the elephants. Each group run by a matriarch, these animals are part of the Big 5, the most dangerous 5 animals to hunt in the bushveld. Here in Kruger there are 17,000 of these sometimes destructive animals, although the park estimates it can handle 10,000 with food, savanna, trees and other animals. Many are exported to game parks or outside the continent, often unaware of their insatiable appetite and destruction of trees. Still, the park is currently debating whether or not to cull several thousand of the elephants. Since hunting is forbidden, the rangers would put many to sleep, donating the ivory for aphrodisiac nagamo purposes and the meat to locals. However, what animals to put down? Strong matriarchs run a tight-knit community, allowing babies to be born only at the right time and conditions and running aggressive males out of the herd. If the wrong elephants are put down, other matriarchs, weaker, younger and less experienced, will step up and not be able to control the group. These younger females allow for “teenage pregnancy”, aggressive bulls and a poor community. Older, wiser females seem to be a key link in the success of elephant herds.

Only with extraordinary reasons do the rangers and staff interfere with nature at Kruger National Park. Some tourists and foreigners sometimes falsely believe Kruger to be more like a zoo than a safari park due to the high numbers of animals. However, this foolhardy believe can be dangerous when tourists act with a false sense of security. One day we saw a huge bull elephant crossing one of the paved roads in Kruger in front of a car ahead. The driver positioned the car for the best pictures seemingly unaware of the elephant’s actions. Quickly the elephant, a lone and dangerous male, moved in to charge, but changed his mind running away into the bush. Each year elephants in the park flip uninformed tourists without guides and kill and injure many people. In these circumstances, the ranger staff move in and put the animal down. Any contact with humans, either feeding or attacking, is grounds for killing the animal. Still, the park intervenes rarely in the case of human contact or during periods of extreme drought when watering holes are created to save the animals.

We had unbelievable luck during our 4 day safari. Similar to fishing or hunting, some safari adventures see nothing but the ubiquitous and inquisitive impala. Their numbers are high, and their gregarious and curious nature lends them the check out the vehicles on the mix of paved and dirt roads between high jumps and fast speeds. Most safaris rely on luck and being in the right place at the right time to see anything. Rangers and guides share information, but our sightings rely on seeing animals cross roads, resting in the shade or finding the animals hiding in the lush forest in the middle of the rainy season.

In the afternoon, we listened to the African fish-eagle, otherwise known as the voice of Africa. I am amazed by the complexity and resilience of nature and animal behaviors. One afternoon, we witnessed the behaviors of dazzles, or groups, of zebras. Each bull holds a harem of a dozen or so mares. Among these beautiful creatures, he will not mate with his offspring, but occasionally loses females to new or other males. Sometimes a new zebra will come and kidnap a young mare from his harem. Immediately the father will hunt and search for his lost daughter and fight the kidnapper. This fight will include kicking and biting, but never death—it is merely a test for the suitor in order to ensure the success of his daughter and his genes. It is a touching story of both fatherhood and nature at work.

Another fascinating story comes from the influence of man and lions. There are 2,000 lions in the park, and they mostly prey on buffalo, impalas and zebras. On occasion, lions are also known to attack a hippo or giraffe or a baby animal like elephant calves if they are really hunger. Lions especially love giraffe youngsters. Giraffes oddly have no social order whatsoever, and routinely forget about their offspring. Nevertheless, with the addition of paved roads to Kruger Park, the lions have learned there are other options than youngsters. When we arrived, a pride of lions had recently pulled down an adult giraffe by chasing the giraffe across the paved roads, causing it trip and fall down. Once tripped, the lionesses move in for the kill. The giraffe was a feast for vultures, hyenas, lions and other scavengers for a week.

Speaking of giraffes and their favorite food, the acacia trees are known to communicate in Kruger—not literally of course, but more in illustration of the power of nature. In park management terms, I’ve also discussed the numbers of animals that parks can handle, and plants also have their own methods. The acacia tree is popular vegetation for a number of animals like giraffes and impala and buffalo. Over time, the acacia has developed thorns to protect itself, but the giraffe also have specialized traits like long tongues and uniquely designed palates for eating the small leaves. In the constant battle of nature, the acacia tree has temporarily won. It releases tannins that other trees “smell.” When the acacia trees lose a lot of leaves to the grazing animals, they release more tannin into their leaves and into the air. Other trees immediately start to put more tannin into their leaves, thereby protecting their now remaining leaves by making them more poisonous and less digestible. In this way, the acacia trees protect themselves and also, informally, control the numbers of grazing animals by not becoming someone’s next dinner.

The signs in Kruger also request you to never feed the birds. Come on, I said, I understand not feeding the lions and elephants, but the birds?! It seems that the baboons and vervet monkeys observe us feeding the birds and learn from the behaviors. They come to the camps and break into the “baboon-proof” trash cans and beg and steal from park visitors. After I observed these behaviors myself, I realized that we are not very different after all. Other animals, like us, also pair and mate for life like the Egyptian crane and the jackal. In the case of the Egyptian crane, if one mate dies the other refuses to live. At first it loses most of its feathers only to die later from starvation. Love is also alive in the bushveld.

Humans are equally resourceful creatures. Several different types of termites in southeastern Africa build huge mounds and lairs. One type of termite collects leaves and eats the fungi that grow on the decomposing vegetative matter. In order to protect their sensitive bodies from the sun and predators like the anteater, they mix saliva with the soil to build strong structures. In this land of resourcefulness, the locals have learned to build houses and bricks from this strong saliva-rich soil.

My safari across the Kruger bushveld was unforgettable. But scratch the surface of this beautiful landscape and you will still see the scars of a land still very divided socially. “Yebo (yes in Zulu), the whole world over is racist,” Mary Anne our guide said, “but the media blew up our problems for the world to see.” You could almost hear her feelings of being a White Africaans victim, but also her optimism. “But change starts with me,” Mary Anne continued, “because change in me is the only one I can concentrate on.” For South Africa, my hope is change not only racially but also the continued preservation of this magical land.

I Want To Be a Carioca

Samba. Carnaval. Futebol. Feijoada and moqueca de camarao. Praia Copacabana. Cristo Redento. Sugarloaf mountain. 6 million people. Brazilians and their strong ethnic self-identity, proud and knowledgeable of their culture, history and heritage, come together to celebrate the best partiers known worldwide in Rio. After visiting the beaches, eating at the churrascarias (steakhouses with all you can eat filet mignon, roast, duck, lamb, shrimp and seafood!!), dancing Samba on the streets and visiting Cristo Redento and Sugarloaf mountain, I want to live in Rio. In a now famous book, an American woman recounts her experiences in Rio (and marriage to a guy from Rio) with her humorous and charming book “I want to be a Carioca.” This is my story about how I want to be a Carioca too.

After one day in Salvador da Bahia do todos los Santos, I led a group of 50 students south to the famous city of Carnaval, Rio de Janeiro, on Semester at Sea’s “Best of Rio” trip. Many faculty and staff had warned me that I would never want to lead a group of students again after Rio. This culturally rich and party capital of the world, they said, would be the scene of dozens of misbehaving students and the proof of the “ugly American” tourist. The true story couldn’t be further from the truth. My group was inquisitive, respectful, fun and observant. The guides even said they have never seen a more polite and well-behaved group in their 10 years of guiding young people. As a group, we discussed poverty and privilege, culture and language, how to take better photos and safe tourism. Our experiences in Rio ran contrary to Rio’s reputation as one of the most dangerous cities in Brazil with Sao Paulo, with crime statistics that would scare any tourist ever from entering the city limits. However, old Centro Rio, which houses the historic and colonial remnants of a capital city long ago, is like Manhattan or Old City in Philadelphia—most work there, but few live there. To the south of the central city, and ever since the tunnel was built to a small fishing village in the south, Copacabana has attracted sungoers. The southern city of Rio now houses the rich suburbs of Lema, Ipanema, and Copacabana. Made famous by the Portugues woman Carmen Miranda with high heels and her recognizable hat, Copacabana is the sun-worshipers paradise. The sunsets glowed behind the Morros or hills of Rio, and we enjoyed the reflections off the bay and warm waters. Ipanema, “dangerous waters” in the indigenous Indian language, was alive with paddleball and sunbathers, a small colony of multi-colored umbrellas. Beautiful Brazilian men and women wear the skimpiest of clothing, most with thongs or small speedos, and visit make-shift gyms with pull-up and parallel bars on the beach to work out in between sun-bathing relaxation sessions. A jeep tour also guided us through the Tijuaca Rain Forest, a remnant of the old Atlantic tropical forest that borders the city of Rio in the mountains and hills surrounding the beautiful city. Here impatient flowers, bananas and jaca fruits grow wild among monkeys and hundreds of species of birds and lizards.

In Santa Teresa, a historic and old red light district of Rio, I danced the Samba in the Street to Brazilian songs like O Maria, the bossa nova song made famous by Austin Powers, and The Girl from Ipanema, the world’s most covered song. Small curio shops dot every street of this old neighborhood in Rio and the tram that started 200 years ago is still running. Our guide and a faculty member, Pat Bianco, both helped teach me the basics of Samba, a complex and fun dance. I danced to the drums and beats in this erotic and sensual dance. Samba is experiencing a comeback, and neighborhoods like Lema rock on the weekends with street music and huge danceclubs.

Cariocas know how to eat. Food from all over the world comes to mix in Rio—Japanese sushi, Italian restaurants and pasta, Bahian and Salvador restaurants from the Northeast, and more. The Northeastern restaurants have distinctly African influences, with such dishes as moqueca, a mix of spices and seafood cooked in coconut milk, dende oil (African palm oil), and the spicy malagueta pepper. Other parts of the Bahian cuisine include acaraje, or fritters filled with shrimp and beans fried in dende oil. Rio adds its own mix to the national palate with feijoada, a bean-and-meat stew served with rice, farofa (manioc flour), kale and sliced orange with toppings. This traditional stew is served on Saturday, and required all day to digest the all-you-can-eat food. The meats have changed over time and upgraded from the poorest cuts of meats, but the dish has historic roots similar to the Soul food in the American South.

People from Rio can drink too. Cachaca, a sugar cane alcohol, is the national drink. It’s 80 or 90 proof and tough to drink solo. Instead, the Brasilenos mix lime juice, sugar, water and cachaca to form a smooth, but potent Caipirinha. Great drinks for the beach or dinner. And of course, the coffee is to die for! The only legitimate complaint of my voyage is the coffee-flavored water that is served as coffee aboard the ship, and friends tease me about my “final” cup of coffee before the on-ship time on our last day in port.

We visited all of the tourists sites possible in three days, but the trip included so much more. Between long walks on the beaches and swimming in the 85 degree water, I hang-glided off of 1500 foot Pedra Bonita the top of a mountain over the city onto Praia do Pepino in Sao Conrado. Although it wasn’t quite the rush I was looking for, the pictures, sights, and panoramic views of the city showcased the best of Rio. Great views complemented nice people. Even though Rio is described as very dangerous and dominated by gangs and favela kid criminals, our experience was safe and comfortable. Indeed the students on my trip and I agreed the best experience, above the tourist visits of Sugarloaf Mountain and Cristo Redento, was the special trip to Mangueira favela in Rio and playing soccer with the children. There were no language barriers with children—there is only language, play.

Most of the time I spoke Spanish to the Portugues-speaking Brasilenos, but I tried to pick up the language with simple phrases like Obrigado and the five question words. “Americans,” our guides Marcelo and Fabio said, “cannot pronounce the ao,” a nasal common sound in portugues in such words as nao. Many Cariocas speak Spanish as well as Portugues and a small minority even know English. Indeed, Portugues is one of the most beautiful languages to hear in the world. Next time I visit I will speak like a Carioca.

Similar to Salvador, an African city that bears witness the dangers and suffering of the worst disasters of humanity, slavery, and yet one of the most vibrant cultures and cities, Rio embraces the vibrant sins of a city that is bursting with creative life and energy. Cariocas know how to live a happy life, complete with fejoiada and food, samba and music, beaches and mountains. Now all I need to be a true Carioca is a banana hammock bathing suit!

Progress and Order: A Land of Contrasts

Brazil, the developing and ever-promising country of the 20th century, is changing. The world’s fifth largest population is the only Portugues-speaking nation in the Americas, and our second port on Semester at Sea. Americans who criticize and point fingers at the destruction of the Brazilian Amazon and 30% of the entire world’s tropical forest need to take another look. The Brazilian Ministry of Environment and the newly democratic state of Brazil (since the 1980s) are moving beyond progress and order, progresso e ordem in portugues. Ever promising since the 1970s, Brazil has yet to take off and become the economic powerhouse of the Americas, but things are finally changing. With development and growth, the Brazilians have mastered economic and environmental growth and protection—long been considered two opposites not used in the same sentence. Brazil still has its problems (1% of the population owns 50% of land, the world’s largest gap between the richest and poorest, etc.), but they are developing creative solutions. Proof of this fact is that they consume 2.2% of the world’s energy, but only produce less than 1.5% of the worldwide emissions of fossil fuels. In Caribuna, a city in the Southeast, with a population growth that has tripled, urban management has been able to cut traffic by 30%. Hybrid buses now account for 90% of the public transportation in Brazil, minimizing their dependence on oil and other fossil fuels with electricity. The biodiversity of the world is shrinking, literally, 1 species every hour, but Brazil has learned that with progress and order, the national motto printed on every flag, there is more potential in healthy growth than environmental destruction. Look again, my fellow Americans, because we have little room to criticize this changing and contrasting land.

Brazil is the land of differences. The land where favelas and skyscrapers, pristine beaches and the poorest high crime streets, and neighborhoods with no running water, sewage or paved streets and million-reaies (the money is pronounced “hey’-eis” in plural in portugues and real or “hey’-al” in singular) houses all side-by-side. Dozens of races, but a different concept of race and racism. The list goes on and on. As Brazil continues to advance and develop the interior of the nation, the urbanization of this land (now 80% of the population) of opportunity continues. The capital has moved around the country, once in Salvador, later in Rio de Janeiro, and finally and more recently, to the middle of nowhere now called Brasilia. This city sprung up from the depths of the Amazon Basin jungles and was the first capital city in the world to be urbanely planned so precisely and beautifully. The jungles are being developed, similar to the States or Europe a few centuries ago, and the people are moving from the rural and farm lands to the cities of Sao Paulo (12 million), Rio (6 million), Salvador (2.5 million) and other places. Untouched jungles are being removed for cattle and houses and new skyscrapers. The people move for a better life. More opportunities. People are taking a chance, and upon arrival, are often forced to live into favelas or shantytowns. They construct houses out of whatever they can get, Nestle signs as roofs, aluminum siding as walls, and others of brick. The favelas are named after a small tree that many poor folks plant in their neighborhoods without roads. When the exodus to the cities began a couple decades ago, people brought these trees to the largest cities, and the word became synonymous with poverty and slums.

In Rio, the two worlds of poverty and riches clash. Unlike the suburbia of Philadelphia or New York or most other so-called “developed” cities where the monied-classes escape the dangers and crime of the lower-income people described by the phrase “white-flight”, the neighborhoods of Rio buttress favelas against mansions and skyscrapers. Due to the geography of the hills and mountains of the Brazilian plateaus, there is no room for suburbs. Downtown and historic Centro Rio houses Mangeuira and other favelas. Where in San Francisco and other American cities the wealthy move up the mountains for the best vistas, the Brazilian favelas are forced to take the high ground by tearing down the jungles and constructing shanty towns with very little space and money on dangerous slopes and mountains. The people in most Rio favelas earn about 110 reais a month or about $1.50 a day. They are fighting to survive and put food on their tables. The lack of government control and influence in the favelas is replaced with local drug lords, who provide for the people but with dangerous repercussions. When drug dealers fight for territory or control between favelas, the bullets easily pierce the aluminum and hundreds die. Within other favelas, 60% to 80% of the children grow up to sell drugs or participate in gangs. The drug dealers offer an option, albeit a dangerous one. “Imagine if you grew up in a favela?,” the public relations director of Mangueira favela asked our group in Rio. “There is no water, no sewage, no jobs, no options.” The cycle of poverty is intense, and I hope that students leave with more than pictures. I sincerely hope that they leave with true understanding, not pity but compassion, not arrogance but a better idea about their privilege. Some students were more interested in pictures of the little children playing than the history of this creative social project, now funded by the state government and Xerox company. I overheard students, just beginning their voyage, describing the happiness and passion of the children, a similar sentiment expressed during slavery times and with the “happy and carefree slave” pictured in early 20th century media. Poverty is outside of the students’ experience and they are oblivious of the misery of a life of poverty, drugs, crime, and hardship. In the end, I hope they leave not with apathy and disgust but their continued optimism and idealism and a better concept of poverty and privilege.

What is the solution? The Brazilians are being forced to address the inequities of capitalism and find creative ideas to solve the problems. The complicated and long Brazilian history helps us understand the complexity of class in Brazil. At first, the Portugues stole and looted the Brazilian landscape for centuries, taking gold, silver, timber and food. As colonialism developed, a wealthy entirely-White plantation class grew, and they have influenced the politics and economic chances ever since. After a bloodless revolution from Portugues control in the 19th century, the military took over and dictated daily life, and control in the hands of a few continued. Only recently has democracy blossomed, still tender, delicate and protected, but what about the inequities? Lula, the first and current president not to come from the rich upper class, has to produce results. With many voices come lots of input, but Lula’s time, ideas and government need to intervene. The times are desperate and the future of the lowest class in Brail looks grim. Last month, the government declared a change in the traffic law—no longer will car drivers need to stop for stop-lights after 9 PM for fear of robberies or car-jackings. When you talk to the people in Rio or Salvador, I heard many of the same fatalistic comments about how these things have, and will, always be. There are rich and poor, races and racism, crime and murder, but life goes on. Like cards shuffled up, you are dealt an ace or a deuce, and you must live your life as passionately and best as you can.

Salvador da Bahia do todo los Santos (Salvador of the Bay of all Saints) is a vibrant city with a great history as well. Here the descendants of African slaves have preserved their history and culture through the food, religiosity, music, dance and martial arts. Capoeira and Candomble, two manifestations of the mixing of African, colonial and indigenous cultures are studied and highly visible today. Capoeira was a form of martial arts developed by slaves in Brazil as a means of maintaining a ready self-defense against their masters and is believed to have come from a ritualistic African dance. Candomble is an Afro-Brazilian cult that stems from Yoruba traditions in Africa, mixing Catholicism with African ceremonies and gods. In this hottest land and darkest of people, I explored the streets of the Pelourinho, a World Heritage Site where slaves were whipped, stored in large warehouses and sold only a 120 years ago. The Mercado Modelo (modern market) once housed the slaves from the large 19th century ships, and locals describe an eery and ghostly experience at night with many, many ghost stories of slaves tortured. But behind these despicable and horrific crimes of humanity lie the best site for Carnaval, a passion for music and dance, often seen on the street at all hours of the day and night, and a newfound tourism industry. Today, the upper and lower cities are merely relics of the once great capital of Brazil, but the economy is returning. On my last day in Brazil, we saw the passion of the city of Bahia at a soccer match between Bahia and Vitoria, a sport, the locals say, Europeans invented, and Brazilians perfected. A futbol match on Superbowl Sunday; the influence of American culture is ever-pervasive. Despite the growing hatred of U.S. politics, the love of American music, food and companies is still strong. While walking the skinny, winding roads of Salvador da Bahia, we still heard about the Superbowl and American media stories. The world is indeed getting smaller.

This is the land of wealth and poverty, crime and passion, happiness and great suffering. Economic development versus environmental protection. Cities versus rural. Poverty and wealth. Crime and dancing on the same street. Mixing of races, but a deep and unfortunately vibrant racism. Walking down the street, you are as likely to see couples kissing, others dancing, others playing samba as to watch pickpockets work the crowds and other criminals using more violent techniques. Our time in Brazil was short, only 5 days. Each and every port I leave with a feeling that I want just a little more. I reflect on the differences that I see in Brazilian society, and I remember the contrast between traveler and educator. It’s Monday and back to work for students, staff and faculty alike.

A Way of Life

Culture. This voyage is all about culture. In Student Affairs, we often talk about the importance of multiculturalism, diversity, competence, and difference. This trip has it all. Culture. Its ambiguity and complexity hide its importance. Anthropologists, psychologists, sociologists, philosophers and even geographers have their hands in the pot with their own definitions. Our Global Studies instructor Dr. Sam Sheldon has his own definition: a way of life shared in common by a group of people. It’s simple yet deceivingly complicated. Culture entails everything that is shared and taught by a people such as language, music, food, worldview and values; culture is dynamic, influential and powerful. And with over 1000 people on board, the M.V. Explorer has its own sub-culture, unique when compared to any other living learning environment in Student Affairs.

First some demographic information to share about our voyage. There are 262 different colleges and universities represented on this voyage. 1000 total participants, a new SAS record, including 684 students, 27 faculty, 33 staff, and over 200 crew with Master or Captain, Housekeeping, and Hotel staff. 73 courses are offered in addition to Global Studies, a class that includes the entire 800 people living learning community participants broadcasted to all rooms on the ship. To match this demographic information, there is even language: “You are on a voyage, not a cruise. You are on a ship, not a boat. You are a sight-thinker, not a sight-seer.”

Do you ever remember why you went into Student Affairs or another helping profession like teaching? How often do we see the results of our long hours, the powerful relationships and mentoring and advising times and commitments? Here we see it everyday and all day long. Since the start of this voyage, I can’t contain my excitement. I remembered why I love this field and the potential, not only of students, but of the rewards of living and working with students in a unique, special living learning community, Semester at Sea. These students, knowledgeable, bright, informed and humble, can’t hold back their enthusiasm either. Since the first night, when our gangway was pulled up, and slowly, almost unnoticeably (like our Executive Dean Dick Sapp predicted), our ship left the port of Nassau, and we had only begun to realize that we are embarking on a voyage that very few people have ever done. Orientation began that first two days and the students discussed how surprisingly satisfying the food was and how they would share the small safe in their room. Students were alive with energy and anxiety, anticipation and worry. I stepped back, watching the sun set for the first of 100 nights with some faculty and staff friends on Deck 7, and the students mingled, already sharing stories. We are traveling around the world, not only a once in a lifetime travel experience, but also an unbelievable professional development opportunity. It’s all part of the culture of this ship and program.

The informality, and yet influence, of the living learning culture and environment is apparent in the language. Some instructors are on a first name basis with their students, and all participants share tables at dinner, lunch, and breakfast. At one table, we discuss globalization versus localization with such examples as Wal-Mart, McDonalds and global corporation. Close-by, another table talks about the history and politics of South Africa. One of the several engaging and fascinating faculty members, Dr. Scott Sherman, talks about how to change the world, how to make a difference and find your passions through his non-for-profit organization at UCLA. Each table has its own spontaneous theme and curiosity. The ship is so small, not in size but in community, that I visited the Doctor one afternoon about something minor, and she asked me how was I doing several times while passing in the gangways and hallways throughout the day. That’s what I call “shipside” manner.

All in all, it’s a small, tight-knit community. When we talk about collectivistic versus individualistic cultures, our ship community defies the logic that most Americans and students are individualistic, a sail-or-fail-by-your-own-wings type of society. In Puerto Rico, I saw many reminders of the collectivist, family-oriented and group focus cultura. While I was taking a couple mile run in San Juan (I would be a marathon runner if I lived in such a beautiful place, running along the beach each day), I noticed a small child fall down on the street. He was young, 2 or 3 years old, and immediately, 5 women ran over. They picked him up, brushed off his knees, and quickly sent him on his way while giving him reassurances that he was alright. Mom waited, up the street, watching and waiting. “Hurry up,” she yelled, no anxiety in her voice and no need to run over and take care of her son herself. I guess it takes a village in Puerto Rico, just like on our ship.

Another interesting facet of the small community is the rumors. Word of mouth travels faster than formal announcements made each day at 12 noon and at 17:00 hours shipboard time or 5 PM, giving us our geographic position and important community college discussion topics. Funny rumors about a bear on deck 5 or the foreign governments’ submarines following the M.V. Explorer are less malicious than entertaining, but others can be detrimental. If students are late for on-ship time, or the time the Captain sets for all members to be on board for leaving port, they receive dock time in the next port. One dangerous and untrue rumor spread like wildfire, informing students the first two ports were only warnings, adding a new dynamic to my position as Assistant Director of Student Life and conduct officer for the ship community. Even in two weeks the close relationships between students, faculty, staff and senior adult passengers amaze me. Is it the simply the bonding of a unique and challenging experience of traveling the world or something else mysterious, unnamed? Another maritime legend I suppose.

The culture is also influenced by the maritime traditions and sailor superstitions that make up our home, the sea. On Monday morning, we celebrated the crossing of the Equator and King Neptune’s ceremony transformed us from pollywogs to shellbacks by British naval ceremony. The tradition is an old one, probably originating from the crossing of “the line” near the Strait of Gibraltar and later the Equator. King Neptune and Queen Minerva (Executive Dean and the Academic Dean) preside over a Court of experienced sailors, who, according to tradition, boarded the ship to deem the worth of the landlubbers who become friends of the seven Seas. The play involves the entire crew complete with sea guts being dumped on willing participants, a spray with the hose and a ceremonial dip in the murky water in the pool. After getting the muck and smell off your body, you confirm your allegiance to Neptune’s court with a saying to the Royal Barber, the Royal Court, a kiss on a real dead fish’s lips, and a bow to Queen Minerva; now you are formally a shellback. The picture proves my allegiance, albeit incompletely because my head was shaven only later.

Our culture is also celebratory. The busy lives of faculty and staff were interrupted to celebrate the night before we arrived in port in Salvador da Bahia, Tuesday night, for a birthday party. Even though rumors circulate like wildfire, I was oblivious to the celebrations, and I commented how we should have such a party every night before port, with music, lights, a fog machine and bar all the time. Sincerely, I was honored and ecstatic to have so many folks show up to celebrate my small 28th b-day. We had a great time with dancing and drinking, and as several staff said, “we’re going to Brazil for your birthday!” Remarkable given the ability of rumors to fly around the ship, but I was truly surprised!! Cake, singing, and alcohol flowing freeing, the party was a great time. Two faculty even gave me gifts: a picture of me in Starbucks (it’s a running joke among us) blown up large and a Canadian hat from a warm and kind British couple that lives in Canada and used the word “soccer” just to please us folks from the States. It was a night I will not forget.

Students, faculty, staff, senior adult passengers and crew. One thousand lives intersecting and mixing—each influencing one and another. It’s all mixed up in this unique culture. “The world in which you were born,” Wade Davis once said, “is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” Three and a half months are not as long as I wish, but if the first two weeks aboard this unique community and culture are a sign, the learning, relationships and way of life can only grow and develop into a culture that other scholars will study as well.