Mauritius, lessons, and life at sea

It feels as though so much has happened since my last entry about Cape Town, and each place we leave feels worlds away.  We had one day in Port Louis, Mauritius, which was an interesting stop.  We visited the city center, but unfortunately because it was a Sunday many places were closed, including the Aapravasi Ghat, a UNESCO world heritage site that I really wanted to check out.  After a bit of sightseeing through the markets, we decided to head to one of Mauritius' beautiful beaches.  Our taxi driver took us past the fields upon fields of sugar cane to Trou Aux beach.  It was divine... clear blue waters, soft white sand, and extremely calm waters.  We dipped in and waded and swam for awhile.  I wish we had more time, or a weekday to really get to know what the island was like, but we were pretty limited to the area around the port because there were preparations for a big Hindu festival, which congested many of the roads that would take us to different parts of the island.  Nonetheless, it was beautiful and I'm grateful for the experience.

Up until this point, we've had a pretty smooth sailing experience with a few incidents here and there, but on this day, a number of people made poor decisions about alcohol.  We had one really serious case, and though it was disappointing, it wasn't the majority of folks.  This called for a community meeting the following evening and our Executive Dean addressed the entire community in a manner that I am still in awe of.  He eloquently, gracefully, and pointedly urged each member to be responsible, make good choices, take care of one another, and remember that the majority of folks are here for the right reasons.  He encouraged us to dive deeper in our conversations and make the most of what we know to be the second half of our voyage.  I hope people were listening, and even if it didn't directly apply to their experience, I hope it helps to encourage accountability and collective responsibility.  He's an extremely inspiring and poetic individual, and I thought that his talk changed the mood and (hopefully) set the tone for the rest of the voyage.

After this talk, we actually hosted what we believe is the first Women's Conference on Semester at Sea.  With our crazy schedules and time flying like never before, we actually pulled the event together in 4 days, and it was fantastic.  It was extremely gratifying to have organized a thought-provoking, interactive, well-attended, and well received program on board the ship.  Over 200 people attended, and a number of faculty members commented on how good the program was.  That was definitely a highlight for me thus far within my role on the voyage.

Other highlights from the week include: the Peace Corps 50th Anniversary dinner on March 1, an amazing birthday that I got to celebrate at sea with an unexpected stop at a secret military island called Diego Garcia, and an amazing authentic Indian dinner on the Indian Ocean.  We didn't dock in Diego Garcia, but a submarine was constantly at our side and Navy Seals came on board to sweep and secure the ship and take 3 passengers who needed medical attention.  It was quite an impressive feat that involved the British and US Governments allowing us to sail in, as no other civilians have ever been to this island.  It was an incredible thing to witness, and my thoughts are with the three who needed to disembark.  So far there have been a number of defining moments along the way, but I am incredibly thankful for the opportunity that it's giving me to reflect upon who I am, what I value, what privileges I've had in life, and what matters.  There have been many great conversations and laughs, and overall we've been having the time of our lives.

On another note of our voyage, we've had to advance our clocks one hour ever few days, but tonight we advance it 30 minutes.... who would have thought.  Off to bed, and ready for 2 more busy days at sea before arriving in Chennai, India.

Approaching Africa...

We are less than 24 hours away from reaching Ghana, and I can hardly contain myself.  My first time being on the African continent, I am bracing myself for what is sure to be an intense and amazing experience.  So far our plans include a Cape Coast historical tour, which includes a visit to the Kakum National Park, and some of the forts, castles, and slave dungeons along the coast.  We also have plans to visit a women's organization at the University of Cape Coast, called: Leading Ladies Network.  I'm so excited to visit this women's empowerment organization, it sounds like they have a lot of programs and offerings for their participants, and a good group of students are all planning to go.

It's a kinda crazy contrast because this past week we had the 'Sea Olympics' on the ship where the different 'seas' (areas on each deck that are separated into groups and assigned a color), competed in a series of events with the goal of building community and spirit onboard the ship.  My role on the ship is an LLC, aka Living Learning Coordinator, and there are 8 of us who are in charge of each of the seas, along with a specialty area.  My sea is the Baltic Sea, (go light blue!), and we actually placed 3rd in the overall competition!  The prizes for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place are that they get to be first, second and third off the ship when we dock in San Diego at the end of the voyage. 

As for the actual work here on the ship, I love our LLC team!  Everyone has been great to work with, has offered creative ideas/solutions and we really work well together (while having fun), which is pretty great for only knowing each other for a few weeks now.  Here's a photo of all of us right after the opening ceremonies (thanks for the photo Bianca!)....

We have an all-star staff of motivated, creative, socially conscious, talented, individuals, and I'm so happy to get to work with them on this huge adventure.  It's been interesting to not only navigate the adventures of travel along this journey, but also navigate life on board a floating university with different folks from different places and institutions.  We have interport students and lecturers who join us for different stretches of the voyage to share their experiences from their home countries.  It's been great (but not without its challenges).  Overall, I continue to feel blessed to be here.

Now... onward to Ghana, let the adventures continue!