out of exile

between cape town and mauritius i went into a self imposed exile. the constant social environment for someone who needs and loves generous amounts of solitude had caught up with me. since mauritius i've been slowly coming out again, and believe me there has been plenty to do. this week there was a sea olympics (the different cabin areas for students are named after bodies of water - aegean, caribbean, etc.). the winning sea gets to disembark first in san diego. i opted out of all this, except to watch parts of the basketball tournament. i opted in for the formal (got to dress up) captain's dinner last night with a small group of others. i ate shrimp cocktail, a cream of broccoli soup with almonds, greek salad, prime rib, chocolate moose cake and ice cream. tonight there was another bbq. i had ribs, a hamburger, corn on the cob, macaroni salad, and fruit punch. another recent culinary highlight was taco day, always a hit - recognizable food. myself, and most others, have been less than enthusiastic about the menu options (perhaps i've mentioned this before), so when something different comes along it's quite the spirit booster. of course, some students are still piling it high and shoveling it in. after all every meal is an all you can eat buffet, and as one student put it, "it's better than what i can cook for myself". personally, i'm looking forward to hitting the farmers market when i get home.

between the normal dining hall food, the really really really bad internet service, and unrelable proxy service to the linking software (the equivalent to uc-elinks) to full text articles in UVA's bibliogrpahic databases, it's been a pretty frustrating few days since mauritius. i wish there was no internet service at all. learning to live without it would be easier than living with the pitifully slow (5+ minutes for a page to load, students play solitaire in between page loads) to non-existent service. i feel for students trying to write papers, blog, enroll in fall classes at their home institutions etc. oh, and here's the kicker, they're paying .40 cents a minute to be online. this is the first time i've been able to sign in to my blog in a few days, and am thinking about giving up the effort. the time comittment and anxiety is too great.

this week, i also attended a bridge tour, and saw from where the captain and his officers manage to get us from one port to another. lately the seas have been especially calm, completely different from the cape town to mauritius stretch. last night i woke up in the middle of the night thinking the ship had stopped. i didn't feel any movement at all. not long ago we were trying to keep from falling out of bed at night. more photos from the bridge, including captain jeremy, and erika, one of our library work study students:









other programs and social events, include a q&a with the captain and his officers which is going on now, and a b-day party tonight for mary weil, the spouse of michael weil, one of the faculty. the party is being set up behind me, so i'm going to need to go soon.

this next phase of the trip, we'll be in port more than on the ship. in india we'll be docked in chennai (formerly madras). i'll be doing a three day rural village, farm, and plantation visit in southern india (nagercoil and some other nearby areas). myself and five students will be traveling to the area on an overnight sleeper train and staying with a family that operates a school. i'll have two days when i get back to hang out in chennai, the city.

now that i have a way to upload my photos, when i can, i'll try and do some retrospective uploading.

not quite out of africa

we left mauritius last night, and are in day one of seven to chennai, india. mauritius is a small island off southern africa, near madagascar, mauritius is african geographically and asian culturally. colonized first by the french then the british, who brought the indians to the island to do slave labor on the plantations. not surprisingly, today french influences are the most dominant – the language (french is dominant, but english is also an official language), and older architecture. our ship is docked in port louis, a city and working port. access to town is by water taxi, for 1usd or 50 rupees. the ride is about 100 meters and i’m sure most days their only riders are dock workers going to and from work. the last three days they have been making a killing, working over time i’m sure, and encountering probably more americans they are likely to ever again, at least until the next s@s ship arrives next spring.

water taxis:



around port louis:



the colonial and post colonial converge in a local park, where this plaque was appended to a statue of a colonial figure.



mauritius is a nice prelude to india, not as grand geographically and population wise, but the majority of the people are of indian decent, with some africans (mostly south Africans), and chinese. in preparing the shipboard community for an arrival a few ports back (brazil i think it was), dean mike commented that “you” will stick out, so don’t do anything to draw more attention to yourselves. one of the administrations favorite phrases in “protect your assets”, meaning not just your material ones. my thought at the time, other than the fact that he disregarded quite a few people of color on the ship, was obviously, all these white folks might stick out, but us black and brown ones won’t. everywhere we’ve been so far, i’ve managed to blend in and am frequently mistaken for a local until, i open my mouth, take out a camera, or wear a baseball cap for sun protection. And even then, american is the last nationality many associate me with. within 30 minutes of getting off the ship in mauritius i was asked the time and directions. this, obviously will change once we get to asia. there i expect to be more of a novelty than the white americans that invade every port with me. although the anonymity of being mistaken for a local is nice, especially in markets where i tend to want to observe more than buy, in asia i’m actually looking forward to being a different type of american ambassador. but, truth be told, the real american ambassadors are the hip hop generation – their music, dress, and language. in most countries we visited, i’ve spent most of my time away from the tourist and business centers, and in the neighborhoods. in every community from old san juan, puerto rico; to boipeba island,brazil; langa township, south africa; and rose hill, mauritius, hip hop (and hip hop soul) is heard from cars, homes and merchants, even on board the ship, where the mostly filipino crew, controls the music in the faculty lounge and on the pool deck. however, marley is playing now in the faculty lounge. back in the day, when i traveled outside the western u.s., (especially in the south) when i said i was from california, people would immediately think and ask about the legendary glamour of hollywood. in cape town when i said i was from california, i got a big grin and a reference to tupac. youth have more power than they realize. their perspective on the world is more highly regarded than bush’s or condi’s. however, obama is making quite an impression abroad. not surprisingly, the "two thirds world" would easily vote him into the white house, but i'm digressing.

in the brief time we’ve been in mauritius, i’ve spent a day, with others, getting the lay of the land in the area around the ship – walking the waterfront, business district, chinatown, and central market in blazing heat and humidity (we got spoiled by cape town’s mediterranean climate). day 2 prof. judyie and i took the bus to rose hill, considered mauritius’s most dynamic community, to see how average mauritians live. we had lunch at the new york café; visited a public library; government offices; an art gallery that unfortunately had no exhibition up; open air markets, retail stores (came close to getting a usb jack for my camera, but no luck), and what i’ve loved doing ever since living in brooklyn and going on the annual neighborhood house tours, walking neighborhoods and looking at residential homes. i have to give a big shout out to harriet now, she’s a huge (way bigger than i) house tour enthusiast as well.

day three i spent the day at the royal botanic gardens in pamplemousses, which is in the north (rose hill is south of port louis). this time i went alone. on the buses you don’t pay the driver when you get on. you sit, then someone comes around, takes your fare, gives you change, if necessary, and a ticket (looks like it was memographed) generated from a small portable fare box that information of some sort is entered into, amount or destination i think. the north seemed more rural and traditional (more roadside vendors and small scale agricultural productions), the south more modern (more brick and mortar retailers).

the gardens were a lovely place to spend the morning, after having a chocolate crepe at a tiny mall café – pamplemousses’s attempt at creating a tourist economy - across from the garden. the modern mini mall seemed out of place, especially its five star bathroom (it took me a few seconds to figure out how to turn on the intricately designed waterfall like facet in the bathroom.



entrance to the garden is free, but you can hire a guide to give you a tour. this is encouraged, but i was low on rupees and it’s much more economical (no matter the currency, regardless of the exchange rate, i seem to go through it fast) and sensible for groups. also, i was there, in part, to find a quiet place to start a new book – graham greene’s, the quiet american. thus, i can’t tell you much about the history, mission, or horticultural aspects of the place other than my observations that trees were featured more than plants (there was a section for medicinal plants), especially palm trees, many many varieties, most of which i’ve never seen before. the occasional display of flowers and plants included some commonly found in southern california, like hibiscus, birds of paradise, cannis, and some bower like vines.





also prominent were many strangling fig trees (above photo is just one type), which i first encountered in beechwood, australia (nsw), and a variety of which i saw in old san juan. the lotus were also quite cool. the photos i took will be more informative than my observations. one notable observation, not captured on film was that many of the trees in one section were planted by royals, military officers, and other leaders. princess margaret, indira Gandhi are two that come to mind. this was the most british aspect of the island that i’ve seen, other than the english language signs everywhere.





what i didn’t see in mauritius were any beaches, and the resorts on the other side of the island, where most students rented villas, so that they can get drunk without adult supervision. i love beaches, but i was born and raised on the california coast, and have visited beaches in the caribbean, latin america, south america, turkey, greece, and australia. with regard to beaches, i don’t expect to experience anything i haven’t already.

if i come back to mauritius, i look forward to visiting some of the communities i passed on the bus.

renewing my vows

for the first time in awhile i woke up rested with nothing that i have to do - always my favorite days no matter where i'm at. since most of the rest of the ship is in the same boat - no pun intended - getting up at 8am (first time in a while that i've been up early) one gets to enjoy a quiet morning, in the dining hall, computer lab, and on the decks, even the pool deck which is usually swarming with students. i took advantage of the time to work online at a speed faster than when 700 others are slowing down the limited satellite connection. since then i've been sitting outside immersed in the music world of (scott) joplin's ghost, big blue sky, mild temps, low humidity, calm waters and inhabited land in sight. it's absolutely beautiful, and more importantly, with students still sleeping, absolutely peaceful. wish you were here.

my mauritius field trip was canceled, but we will be getting in earlier than anticipated, 1200 instead of 1600. during our 2.5 days in mauritius, i hope to visit chinatown, the botanic gardens, and rose hill, a community outside the tourist zone, too see how the locals live.

honeymoon is over

another port is within reach, and the natives are getting restless. especially since there has been a delay. the indian ocean hasn't been kind. although it always looks like a beautiful day outside, since leaving south africa, on ship it seems as if we're in the middle of a hurricane or an 8 pointer on the richter scale. the waves don't seem huge, but they're powerful enough to lunge the ship forward, backward and sideways when it's not jerking or swaying ever which way. my cabin is in the forward part of the ship on the third deck. while in my cabin, it sounds like the jolly green giant is moving furniture, nothing like the waves everyone claims it is. other times it's like being on both a roller coaster and a water bed.

as a result of having to sail around some rough areas (it was just too much for too long) and leaving cape town later than planned, it was announced we would be getting into mauritius late in the day, rather than early in the morning.

we find out tonight how this is going to play out for those of us who have field trips in the morning. i had signed up for an all day field trip visiting various women's groups. more than anything i was excited about getting up in the morning, knowing i'd be getting off the ship, getting some decent food (they served freezer burned ice cream tonight), and not having the ground move under my feet. yes folks the honeymoon is over. oh and they say we'll probably run out of water in india, and will have to ration if we don't conserve enough.

the novelty of ship life is over, and i fantasize about being at home, working in my poor neglected garden, having a ventura gathering to see all your friendly faces, waking up to sunlight, and generally chillin until i have to be back at work in july. then i remember my house is sublet until may 13. no problem, same fantasy. i have the keys to a few of your homes. miss ya terribly! by the way, what are you doing spring break?

tananarive due's joplin's ghost is currently my best comfort. she must have had some strange relationships in her life. her male characters have such bizarre baggage. in one book the brother is immortal - imagine what type of baggage a brother can accumulate with that type of life span - and in this one the brother's a ghost - not the best partner material.

tell the world

touring poverty is not something one is comfortable doing. in cape town there are numerous organized tours of the townships. the guide books and activists encourage visiting the townships for a complete picture of south african culture. township residents, at least those we met, encourage it because if not for the tours the government wouldn’t feel any pressure to improve conditions. by opening their homes and communities to strangers, and agreeing to be photographed (I couldn't take pictures) it’s there way of saying tell the world (ironically, later that night we saw the last king of scotland, another tell the world story). our tour guide said the people’s homes we entered do get paid, but i think he was just telling us what we wanted to hear.

i went on a half day tour which included, in route to the township, highlights of local landmarks (including the field where our guide, and other boys coming of age, were ceremonially circumcised at age eighteen with a spear; way more than I needed to know for sure), some history of the forced removals, racial classifications, and how they determined your classification when it wasn’t easily apparent based on their criteria. i'm not going to go into the asinine details, but we can have great fun later thinking of all the subversive ways those tested could have made life difficult for the white supremacists.

we visited langa township (established 1927 and south africa’s oldest planned township). the population of langa is 250,000, the same as the city centre area, which is 48 times larger. the first stop on the tour was the guga s’thebe arts & cultural centre, where residents can come to learn craft related skills (pottery, metalworking, beadworking, etc.), and how to run a small business. the rest of the afternoon was a walking tour that began at a recycling center, the tsoga environmental resource centre. from their we walked the neighborhood for an hour visiting a preschool and the various types of housing in the community. the worst are shacks smaller than walk-in closets, about a notch above a refrigerator box on 5th avenue or la’s skid row, to single family detached cement homes with a yard, and in some cases a fence. like in the days following desegregation in the u.s. all classes of blacks lived within the same neighborhood or in close proximity. more housing is being built in langa and judyie tells me that there is actually a waiting list to rent or own property there. there’s plenty more the government needs to do to lift people out of poverty. some residents aren’t waiting for the government and are starting and getting involved in grassroots programs promoting self-reliance. one incentive the government has to improve conditions, as opposed to just covering them up, as they have been accused of doing, is "2010", when the world comes to south africa for the world cup.

weary blues

hey comrades, wondering why i have no photos in my south africa posts? originally i planned to do the text then add the photos. doing both simultaneously is cumbersome, and risky when using the ships' satellite to go online. unfortunately, since then i've lost or misplaced my camera cable. photos will be back once the cable turns up, or when i'm able to replace the cable, or when i find one to borrow that's compatible with my camera. hopefully, it will turn up, because i don't expect to be able to replace it soon, and i'd rather not spend my port time shopping for such stuff, or shipboard time searching for a compatible cable. don't get me started on time issues. between san juan and cape town we had to set our clocks forward four nights. since leaving cape town two days ago, we've already had to set our clocks forward. in the end we loose an entire day. we do april 30 twice. lost time combined with fatigue (better than full blown motion sickness though) that occurs as a result of the recent rough waters and the accompanying rocking and rolling of the ship makes for weary blues.

more cape town

before leaving the u.s., i had been in contact with celia walter, the gender studies, psychology and political science librarian at the university of cape town (uct). while in town i visited uct, a beautiful sprawling campus perched above the city with majestic views, beautiful historic ivy covered buildings, (clearly the ivy league of cape town in contrast to uwc, the university of the left; aka the bush university) and a multiracial and multiethnic student body, now. it was the first day of classes for a new academic year, so the energy was quite high.

once i made my way to the library through the throngs of students making their way to class, celia gave me a comprehensive tour of the library: the knowledge commons (computing w/support), serials, special collections, the africana studies collection, reference areas, their state of the art electronic classroom. joan rapp, an american, with a connection to detrice (aul for hr) at the ucsb libraries, is the director. unfortunately, she was away during my visit.

the library is as beautiful as the campus. it's bright and airy with original art everywhere, including a metal life size metal sculptor of south african saartjie baartman, the hottentot venus.

after visiting the library, i spent some time at the uct african gender institute. i would liked to have spent more time there, but had afternoon plans. a full day at uct would have been better.

later in the day, i visited bo kaap, the cape malay quarter of cape town. cape malays are south africans of south asian decent that came to the county as slaves, political prisoners, and from other parts of africa. their lingua franca was malay, hence they became know as cape malays. they are also referred to as "the merchant class". a wordsworth bookstore clerk recommended a restaurant there (Biesmiellah that serves cape malay cuisine), which i'd been trying to get to since my first day in town. while there, in addition to enjoying the colorful neighborhood of brightly colored homes (see photo), i also spent time at the atlas trading company, where spices, herbs, teas and other culinary goodies are sold.

throughout cape town, coke signs (gratis to merchants of course), like table mountain, can be seen everywhere (townships, waterfront, city bowl, bo kaap, etc.). unlike coke, table mountain is beautiful and comforting, and serves as a good reference for getting one's geographic bearings. coke is an aesthetic, social construct, and expense one can live without.

nearby is the city bowl area, where i previously visited the national gallery, company (botanic) gardens, long street and african music store. parliament and the national library are also in the area, but were closed the sunday i strolled by.

the past in the present

my first encounter with south africans was at the waterfront, where the ship was docked - a very vibrant, commercial, and western area with yachts, upscale indoor malls, waterfront bars, restaurants and cafes, as well as tour companies and other recreational activities. racially it is a very mixed area with all south africans mixing easily and comfortably. it's a tourist area for sure, but south africans congregate here too because it's considered safe.

at first it seems remarkable that apartheid existed here so recently (laws abolished in 1991; elections in 1994). it's hard to reconcile the past with the present - the long history of oppression with the present - its model constitution, the public interaction of black, white and colored peoples in cape town malls, restaurants, museums, and bars. it's really baffling that such freedoms are a new phenomenon that whites feared and opposed for centuries. what exactly was so frightening. the current social state seems so natural, as if it's always been. what was the big deal about different peoples mixing. i wonder if the people feel the past in the present? i think they must. i didn't live through jim crow or slavery, but in the u.s. i, sadly, still feel, and see signs of, that past in the present.

the brown paper studio international field trip wasn't at all what i expected or described in the previous post. it was a full day of theatrical play with some of south africa's youth, students too young to remember apartheid. it was a welcome change from talking to older south africans i met at the waterfront who experienced and enjoyed the benefits of being part of one of the more privileged groups under apartheid, some of who aren't thrilled with the redistribution of resources, especially land and jobs. one taxi driver told me he preferred life under apartheid. i had to ask him what his racial status was under apartheid; it wasn't obvious. he proudly stated that he was colored then and still is. other complaints are about the immigration of africans from other countries, and escalating housing costs. however, many of these same people have never visited a township, and don't know how fortunate they are to have any job, and a home made from more than found materials - cardboard, tin and and a few two by fours - constructed on the side of the road.

brown paper studio international (bpsi) is a theater company judyie al-bilali (pictured; s@s theater prof) started in 2000 when she was teaching at the university of the western cape (aka the university of the left; a university with a history of protest, first against the the university, then against apartheid). the s@s field trip judyie organized was a historical tour in reverse chronological order of bpsi groups and performance spaces. our first stop was azaad youth services in district six, the current home of bpsi. district six was a vibrant mixed area before apartheid. it is also where the first forced removals occurred. it was made a colored only area. at azaad, the company is one of several skills building programs for people 18 and older. when the director of azaad, a polish immigrant who physically helped tear down the berlin wall, saw her work with young people across racial groups, he invited her to join azaad. judyie teaches movement and theater, using techniques where students have to express themselves without words (only sounds and movement). she has developed a bpsi group on the ship. while at azaad and the other bpsi performance spaces we played a variety games and performed movement pieces with south african company members. south african and s@s bpsi members taught the rest of us.

the next space and bpsi company we visited was at glendale high school in mitchell plains, part of the cape flats (colored communities and township settlements can be found here) where students (colored and bussed blacks) did bpsi work as part of a school program. they led us in a number of excecises, performed a piece of their own, told us about what bpsi meant to them, and generally hung out with us before we headed to our final stop uwc, where bpsi originated.

at the university of the western cape (uwc) we did more of the same - they performed for us, we performed with them, we heard about the history of the school, we heard from a filmmaker who did a film about a local hip hop icon (mr. devious) who was killed while trying to save his father from a mugging.

these students, like the younger ones we met, were much more positive about the current and future state of south africa. they also stood out amongst their peers, because they did the hard work of working across racial lines to create something of their own, together.

sherri bad tourist

i've been in cape town three days, and haven't done any of the big tourist attractions - table mountain, robben island, the wine country, kruger, park, etc. i was feeling bad about it for awhile. then i realized i was having my own type of fun, walking the neighborhoods; browsing bookstores and music stores; doing museums and craft markets; eating; and visiting the university of cape town's (pictured) beautiful campus and library (more on UCT later). i hope to do the public library and the national library before i go, but i may run out of that soft illusive time. it took me two days to adjust to dealing with days of the week (dates are a lost cause). furthermore, at each port, like at library conferences, once you get your bearings, figure out all you want to do and learn, and how to do it, it's time to go.

worth mentioning is also dinner at the archbishop's home, which was a wonderfully, casual affair, but i did wear a dress, and sesheta you'll be glad to know, lipstick too, but no jewelry (didn't bring any and haven't bought any for myself yet.) an eclectic array of folks from the ship attended - dean larry and his wife barbara, captain jeremy and his girlfriend apple, vic and salomon from the dining hall staff, dia the registra, shayla the administrative assistant, and judyie the theater prof. the archbishops cabin steward was invited, but she was a bit overwhelmed by the idea and chose not to come. the archbishop asked that people who have been serving him on the ship be invited. it was a modest affair, much like our ventura gatherings (buffet style, hanging out eating and drinking with friends and family). much to my delight, many other south africans were there - a priest (bartending), activists, kids, ngo workers, and more. we didn't stay long enough for me to talk with all of them, and i'm not sure who all the people were, at least their relationship to the archbishop. except, of course mrs. leah tutu, who has a huge sense of humor like her husband.

the archbishop reminds me of my dear sisterfriend sesheta. both have an enormous sense of humor and are comfortable giving directives. i suppose both traits are useful for non-violently abolishing oppressive regimes, nation building, and educating young people, as sesheta has dedicated her life to. wish you were here sweetie. i know i say this at every port, but we must come back here together, for "the african music store" alone. yakini you'd be in heaven.

the dollar goes a long way here, but it's hard to tell by the time you leave this fabulous music store, where the staff are the most impressive information resources i've ever seen at work. i asked them to tell me the name of this female kwaito (a local type of hip hop music) singer that wears traditional dress and makeup. although the sister was a pop singer, after a few follow-up questions (for librarians, a reference interview), they quickly determined who i was talking about. i witnessed them do the same for several people. the cds on display are for listening and anything you want to buy they page for you. before buying you can listen to as much as you want for as long as you want - not just samples from selections, but entire tracks. in a bar style set-up, they load your cd into a cd player, which you control completely, except for loading and ejecting the cd. you put on the headphones and you're good to go - happy - but by the time you make your selections, with a lot less cash.

with three days left, my plans are - an s@s field trip organized by prof. judyie, the theater prof. when she was living here and working at the university of the western cape, she started a performance company called brown paper studio international. we'll be visiting the district six museum (a museum that documents the first forced removal of a community under apartheid); mitchell's plains in cape flats, a colored area; and uwc where we preview some student work, music, video etc. the next day i'm doing a township tour, and then the last day, im going to tag along with global nomads (they do live video broadcasts between students from different countries and create video shorts of aspects of cultures they visit. while sailing with s@s, they're theme is religions of the world.

table mountain, robbens island, and the wine country (not the wine), i'll have to experience next time.