The village I went to, Andre again drove us, was right next to a highway but all by its lonesome. There were no schools nearby, no hospital, no nothing. Nothing except a highway that drive right next to it, yet, there was extreme poverty here. What fascinates me about South Africa is how you can go two minutes outside of an urban city and find some of the worst poverty ever. Here for example, people lived in shacks, smashed together, with a soccer field behind. The goals for the field were made of three wooden posts, nailed together and put into the ground. Very, very primitive for a country that looks at first glance to be a first world country. I played soccer with the kids from the town for over 2 hours. Overall it was a fun day, taught the kids how to brush their teeth, made new friends. I thought the previous day with the kids from the orphanage was better, I guess since there were more kids and less of us. One of the kids who played with us I think, if there was a scout there, would be recruited. He had to be around 12 or 13 and he was an amazing player.
We got back from the village a little sooner than we had from the orphanage. Soon after arriving back, Jenn and I headed out to the jazz bar in the port. We stayed there until some more friends met us there and we headed out into town for the night. We went to a karaoke bar. Here I sang “It’s Raining Men” and “Billie Jean.” I was finally able to play some billiards with some friends since the bar had a pool table. I had a few drinks, but not a lot. After we spent some time there we headed out to another bar down the street and ended staying there until around 3 AM. We sang, we danced, we drank! It was a great final night in South Africa.
After leaving the bar we went outside to find a taxi. I found one and sent one half of our group back to the ship. The rest of us started walking around and had some trannies follow us around asking for money. We then found a taxi, with them still trying to ask for money, but we all ignored them and headed to a gas station to get something to eat. I made friends with the taxi driver, as usual, (as my friends on the ship say, I am extremely outgoing with our taxi driver. They always give me shotgun seat because of this.) and I learned that he is a refugee from Rwanda (if you have seen Hotel Rwanda, that is what he was escaping, the conflict between the Tutsies and the Hutus? [correct me if I am wrong]) I bought him something from the shop to be nice. We got back to the ship safely, no one (since some of the people in my group were drunk) got dock time.
I will go ahead and finish off the sixth day since not much happened this day. I got most of my shopping done, and went to get internet to talk to my mom. In the meantime of doing all of this I met a wonder Lifelong Learner, Angie, who in fact is the head of the Alumni board for SAS. She has become my somewhat “mom” on the ship. Her, my friend Cookie and I have gone out to eat a little on the ship as a “family.” (Here on the ship they have a program called the “Extended Family” program where they pair you up with either faculty or Lifelong Learners and other students who become your brothers, sisters, mom, dad. Angie, Cookie and I made our own “family.”) Sad thing about Angie however is that she leaves in South Africa. So tonight matter of fact I think we are doing our last dinner, otherwise we might do it tomorrow.
There is my time in South Africa. I had a wonderful time there, and it is another country I would love to go to again. I miss it already and I am a week and a half out from South Africa. On to India!!!! I only have one set plan in India and that is the Art of Living trip planned by SAS. This is what we are doing:
"This program has been recommended highly by past participants. It is a holistic program structured to learn a particular type of yoga, while also providing glimpses of various aspects of India. Thus, it includes visits to an ancient historic monument, a Hindu temple and several heritage buildings. It is an opportunity to see the old-world lifestyle of India. The program starts with a visit to Mamallapuram, one of the most popular tourist attractions near Chennai. Mamallapuram has great architectural and artistic merits including a 1,200-year-old shore temple, many beautiful and ancient sculptures, and an ancient Hindu temple.
The main part of this program is the Art of Living, a self-development program. The emphasis is not on the physical aspect of Yoga, so everyone can attend. Past participants have praised this trip for its self-transformation value. Come prepared to explore your inner self.
The three-day intensive course includes: Yoga, breathing exercises of Pranayama and Sudarshan Kriya, meditation, informative talks and other personal and group processes. These have helped to cure or prevent problems related to stress, depression, and breathing difficulties. Intensive training classes will be held each day for four hours in the morning and four hours in the evening. The course is offered by an organization called Vyakthi Vikas Kendra, which has branches in 140 countries. (Please visit www.artofliving.org for further information.)
Comfortable accommodations with the right ambiance are provided at the popular tourist center, DakshinaChitra, which is a unique center with heritage atmosphere. Here they have recreated 19th-century houses from four southern states of India. Demonstrations of traditional Indian dances, as well as hands-on experience of making arts and crafts, are included in the program. There is an opportunity to shop for Indian clothes and handicrafts in this center. Traditional Indian vegetarian food is served for all meals. "
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