Woke up that morning to have a nice breakfast outside on the pier. I am so sick of breakfast food on this ship and can’t handle any more eggs, potatoes and French toast, so I paid an extra R10 so they could fix me a bacon and guac cheeseburger. It was amazing. Our plans for the day were to head to Mzoli’s which was a meat market in a township which threw a big Sunday bash every week. We grabbed a cab with a guy name Erufann who ended up being our driver on a few more occasions that week. Great guy who knew a ton about Cape Town. Sometimes when you are driving in countries away from home, you can actually forget where you are. For example on the way to the township, we were driving down the highway and Erufaan pointed out zebra and impala on a hillside right next to the highway. And the day before, on the way home from shark diving, our cab driver pointed out a few baboons just walking on the shoulder of the road. It is funny to see animals like this around everywhere, especially when you are so not used to it. He was able to show us a few different townships on the way to Mzoli’s and what they were known for. Oh and a township is the word in S.A. referring to the ghetto and the shacks in which the poorest of the poor live. Go watch District 9. I always saw that movie and expected that where the aliens lived is dramatized but Erufaan told us that it was actually filmed in one of the townships of Cape Town. The tiny 9’x9’ sheet metal huts you see in that movie are exactly what the people live in. We were told that up to 5 people live in these tiny huts together. We were going to a township called Guguletu which had this Mzoli’s in it. Erufaan informed us to not wander too far away from where everyone was because just like in Brazil, the townships can be very dangerous and people are killed every day. When we arrived, I was shocked to see a few thousand people in attendance at it. There was a huge line coming right out the door and down the street of the Mzoli’s restaurant where we get our meat. Being American, I decided to cut it because I heard it takes about an hour to wait in. I was only a few feet outside the door which cut off roughly 45 minutes. We gathered up R250 so I could just order food for everybody. I could not believe what I saw when I stepped in the door. It was a tiny room with a glass case of more meat cuts than I had ever seen. I stepped up, gave the woman the R250 and told her I wanted however much I could get for that amount. She gave me steak, chicken thighs and legs, pork chops, some different cut of pork, lamb, lamb ribs, sausage and some other cuts I didn’t even know what they were. I could not believe how much meat you get for such a little price. They gave it all to me stacked up in a metal tray with marinade and seasonings and guided me to the back. Now what happened here was like nothing you would ever see in America. I stepped down the hallway and entered a room with about 50 people crammed together and a serving area with grills lining the walls. I made my way through and had a guy pass my meat up to the front. Now it was a waiting game of listening to my number. We went back outside because we were told it takes about an hour after you even give them the meat. After a few drinks about an hour later we went to check back on the meat and found it had not been put on the grill yet. I asked another guy who looked like a local how long it usually takes and he says there is a trick to getting it done quicker…you just have to bribe the cooks. First of all this was the most flamboyant person I have ever talked to. It was really funny because he walked around like he owned the place saying hello and waving at everybody. I gave him R20 and asked if he would go bribe the cook for me. I figured that even if he takes my money and does nothing, it was only R20 so it was worth a good story. I got the greatest video of him walking back yelling “let the lady through!” to get through the crowd, and in the vid you can clearly see him put the money in the cooks apron. Soon enough, all of our food came out before the other SAS people who ordered before us. The gay guy demanded a glass of wine which I gladly bought him for getting our food quicker. Our tray of food once it was cooked was one of the sexiest things I have ever seen in my life. One tray overflowing with some of the best meat you can imagine. It was a meat lover’s dream… No potatoes, no veggies, no fruit, no pasta, no sides at all. Simply meat. Hell we did not even get a fork and knife or plates. We brought that tray out to 7 semi drunk kids who had not eaten all day. And we all just tore into it with our hands. The funny thing is that there was too much meat for us to even finish. And all of us had a little trouble stopping eating because it was so delicious. Full process even with cutting the line and bribing the cook was an hour and 50 minutes. It is aggravating to think that they do this every single Sunday and do not have a more efficient method by now of getting people their food, but then you have to remember, as I did have many times on this trip, that this is not America and business is run a little bit differently. In the USA people would have never settled for service but here, it did not seem to be a problem. They are so used to it being so slow and it is not a problem for them because they have never known what really fast business is actually like. After eating, Erufaan picked us up and we went back to the ship.
While Drew, Grace and the girls went back to the ship, Matt and I took a cab to long street where there was an open air market. I told the cab driver that it was closed and he insisted that it was open. Of course he got our money and drove off and it was closed when we got there. Instead we went in some restaurant and sat on the balcony where we ordered a bottle of wine. True bromance. Bottle of wine. Balcony overlooking DT Cape Town. A little bit of singing. It was a good time.
We returned back to the ship where we then went out to the bars on Camps Bay. This place was shocking how much it reminded me of a mini South Beach, Miami. Really nice bars with a huge beach with palm trees right across the street. St Eyves was the name of the place we went to. It was soo sweet with a ton of Semester at Sea students there. The best part of that night though was Drew bought a puppy. Yep. He legitimacy called me out of the bar and had a puppy in his arms. Apparently some homeless man was walking around with the puppy asking for money for his family who was sitting across the street. Drew told him he would only give him money if he could have the mans puppy. R300 rand later Drew had a new pup. No idea what he was planning on doing with it but it was only 4 weeks old and laid on his back in the palm of my hand. Cutest thing ever. The man can confidently say he has officially owned a dog in South Africa. He named it Hilos A few hours later it came time to go back to the ship, which presented a problem for Drew. Absolutely no puppies on the ship. He stuck it in Sarah’s shirt and made a go at it. They made it through the lower level of security and even through the metal detector before the security guard freaked out when he saw the puppies head sticking out haha. Almost…He ended up giving it to a cop who gave it some horrible name and was going to give it to his family. My night kinda pretty much ended there. Camps Bay was awesome is the moral of this terrible entry.
MV Explorer
The ship on which we will be sailing
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Sunday February 20th, 2011
Saturday February 19th 2011-Cabby?s got skills
That day we returned back to the ship from shark diving around 1630, where I was able to skype with my parents for a few hours and talk with them for the first time since leaving Puerto Rico. When I was finished, all my friends met at Mitchell’s to grab a taxi and go meet up with Drew’s friends who live in Cape Town. We took 3 separate cabs there, 2 of which made it to Café Sophia in Green Point. Our driver turned the other way of the caravan we were in and insisted there was only one Café Sophia and he was going the right way and the other 2 were not. Since we do not know the area of course we believe him when he says there is only one Café Sophia and we must just be going different ways, but we will all end up at the same place. Our driver even called his buddy to confirm the location of the only Café Sophia. We get there about 5 minutes later and what do you know? They are not there. Alexa Kristen Matt and I went in anyways to grab a few drinks because our cab had left. When I asked the bartender how many Café Sophia’s there are, he flipped over the menu and showed me six separate addresses in Cape Town for the restaurant, one of which was located right in Green Point. 6. Not like one more that the cab driver forgot about. He and his buddy he called forgot about 5 of the 6 Café Sophia’s. Oh well, we spent the remainder of that night just the 4 of us going to a few local places, and it actually turned out to be pretty fun so that made it alright.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Saturday February 19th, 2011-Great White Shark Diving
All my life I have had a heavy interest in everything to do with sharks. Not just like that Shark Week stuff but used to read about them at a very young age. I would consider them my favorite animal even though they are fish so this was a huge huge huge day for me. I got a call in the morning at 6:20 telling me to get moving. I was 5 minutes late. So was everyone else though…a little bit of a late night the night before was. When we all were ready to go, I noticed Aaron missing still. I found him in Drew’s room passed out still because of course the night before he did not make it back to his own. I woke him and told him he was 30 minutes late. He jumped out of bed and began rifling through Drew’s top drawer throwing boxers out yelling “these don’t belong here!” The kid needed some more sleep but there was no time to waste. I finally convinced him after he cleared the drawer that he was not in his own room. He ran out to go get ready.
It was about a 2 hour cab ride to the Shark Diving place in Gansbaai. After a light breakfast and a short briefing, we headed out to Seal Island which was about a 45 minute ride from shore. To attract the sharks, they put a full 3 foot tuna in a garbage pail full of water and began to stab at it with a shovel. The fish began to shred apart as blood and little pieces overflowed in the pail and fell into the ocean water. The captain also threw a tuna head tied to a rope and left it there for a few minutes. We were informed that it takes anywhere from 5 minutes to 5 hours to attract the sharks. We waited there talking and watching the water and after about 20 minutes we saw our first Great White circling the boat. What an exciting moment it was to see that beast in the water only about 15 feet away from me. Right away when the first one shows up they want to get people in the water right away so they asked who wanted to go first. I right away volunteered with 7 other people who go in the cage with me. We put on our 7mm thick full body wetsuits and climbed in. That water is freezing. I don’t even know what the temperature of it is but when you first climb in it is so cold until your body adjusts to it. It makes it even freakier that you are climbing into the water with the oceans number on most deadly creature. When all eight of us were lined up in the cage, he tossed the tuna head on a rope out in front of us. About 5 seconds later he yelled “down on the left, down on the left!!” and all of us submerged our heads into the water and grabbed onto the bar lower in the cage. It was pretty clear underwater with about 20 feet of visibility. Out of the darkness on the bottom left we for the first time encountered the Great White coming in after the tuna. It is such a scary/spectacular moment when you see it come into vision out of nowhere. As it lunged after the tuna, the captain pulled the rope so the shark would not get it. It chased after us right towards our cage. It is hard to describe but the tuna head is not in the water to feed the shark so it gets pulled away every time to get the shark to chase after it. When it does often times the shark is pulled within feet of the cage… and sometime it slams into the cage. It is amazing they still run this the way they do because in reality, it’s like not safe. There are numerous times that if my hand slipped out it could have been gone. It is again so hard to describe what the situation was like but it was scarier than I even thought it would be. When you see shark week where these Great Whites are jumping this 12 foot monster (yes they really were that large) on TV you take it for granted but when you actually see this underwater beast in person it is indescribable. You cannot possibly know how big they actually are unless you are down there in their environment. They are just huge. To think it is a fish…I don’t know it is so hard to describe how crazy these things are. I was in the cage numerous times when one of the sharks was less than a foot away from my face, directly on the other side of the cage. My friend Sarah also caught a video when one of the sharks noses and upper jaw actually came into the cage. Super scary stuff, we all rose above the water and started screaming and freaking out. Each group of 8 got a turn until we finished going through the 35 people on the boat, then everyone got another chance to go. The great thing about this trip is that we were able to go as long as we wanted and were not rushed in any way. Over the course of the trip we saw about 9 different Great White sharks. A great outing they told us because typically February is the worst month of the year to see sharks and often times they only see one or two. On our trip there were times when 2-3 sharks were around us at once, the largest one being about 12 feet long.
Honestly after I had finished these two trips I was not sure which one I had enjoyed more. The skydiving was a few minutes of pure adrenaline while the shark diving was a few hours of the most unbelievable things I have ever seen. I have done some pretty cool stuff in the past and honestly I must put both these experiences in the top 3 things I have ever done that I can think of. I looked back after the Great White dive at the past 24 hours and what I had done. I basically was able to fulfill 2 dreams I have had for a long time in only 24 hours. Who gets to say they did something like that, in South Africa, while attending school? Not many people I suppose. Easy to realize in a city such as Cape Town how lucky of a person I really am, and how I need to take advantage and remember every moment of this trip that I possibly can.
Friday February 18th 2011, First night in S.A.
So I went skydiving. Huge weight lifted off of my shoulders. I could already tell from the first few hours how much money would be spent in Cape Town. I visited the bank and took out a poop load of money. After a quick change and bite to eat on the ship, we headed back to the port to find a little bar to go to. Cape Town was packed tonight because U2 was in town to play a concert. A ton of kids on the ship got tickets to go to it. I was thinking about getting one simply because it is U2 in S.A. so it’s kind of a big event, but did not feel like spending money on it. They were playing at the new World Cup stadium which was like a 6 minute walk from where the ship was docked, so everyone going was drinking at the bars right by port. We went to a bar named Mitchell’s which turned out to be our “pre-bar” meet up bar every night for the week. After that we headed down to Long Street which was a strip of a lot of bars in DT Cape Town. Reminded me a lot of Chippewa but it was not as fun. The best part was when Drew was walking down the street and suddenly ran up to some random kid and gave him a hug. Turns out they were middle school buddies who had not seen each other in a few years. They had no idea the other one was there and happened to just see each other…in South Africa. Haha small world a little bit. After long street I hopped in a cab with 2 random SAS girls and we went to some local bar called Assembly. Hole in the wall place which looked more like a dead end doorway than a bar, but once you stepped inside…whole different story. I experienced a type of music which I had heard before, but never in a bar or club. DubStep. Apparently a big West Coast thing. It was nuts. They had DJ’s on a long stage in the front overlooking a large dance area playing this loud electronic beats dance music. Best I can describe it. Look it up online. Everyone was jumping around crazy like they were on ecstasy. For all I know they were. I decided to join in and dance with all the Semester at Sea kids in the middle. One of my friends from the ship is gay and he was there in the middle. He must have had a few too many beers and began trying to dance with me. I tried to ignore it at first but then he basically started humping me and getting way to into the music. Although I was so so so nervous to do it, I could not help to think that this is Semester At Sea, and the time to try something I never thought I would. I’m kidding…I told him to stop and he proceeded to do so. That was basically the end of the night for me. I took a cab back to the ship with Alexa and went to bed late because Aaron had too much and could not find his way back to the room. For whatever reason he was continuously quoting Rafiki from The Lion King. But we had shark diving like 2.5 hours later so I kicked him out. Night.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Friday February 18, 2011- The Start to the most fascinating 24 hours of my life.
It is hard to describe how beautiful the Cape Town port is. The closest thing I can describe it to is Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco. You look around the port and there are restaurants and retail stores everywhere around. My pictures are fantastic and I can’t wait to post them to my blog and to Facebook. Since my Operation Hunger trip was canceled that day, and I had a lack of anything else planned, we decided to go straight to Table Mountain, which is a must do in South Africa. I was getting ready in my cabin to disembark the ship when I received a call from my roommate Charlie. He asked me what I was about to do and I told him about Table Mountain. He then hit me with a question which made me near soil myself. “Do you want to jump out of a plane instead?” So yeah. That’s what I did. Let me just start by saying that over the past 5 years I have very much inherited my mother’s fear of heights. When I was younger…not a problem but for some reason it has become progressively worse. The entire week leading up to Cape Town there was talk of people going skydiving. Although I was so so so nervous to do it, I could not help to think that this is Semester At Sea, and the time to try something I never thought I would. I even had one booked for Sunday with Steph Lavallato. In fact I was going to put my credit card down that night just so I did not back out. But the thing that killed me is that I was going to have it in the back of my mind and be nervous about it all weekend, and presented with the option of jumping in less than one hour of getting off of the ship was just too perfect to pass up, plus the perfect opportunity to rub it in Bryan’s face because I know how long he has wanted to do this. Get it over with and enjoy the rest of your stay.
We were all freaking out. Quite funny actually to see how afraid all of us were. Joe Vassel, Jazmin Lopez, Sarah Larocca, Ricki something, and Charlie De Mar. We took a 45 minute cab ride there which turned out to be the worst part of it. Each of us made videos thanking our parents for giving us life…kind of a joke but not really…regardless, they got deleted once we all made it down alive. Oh and we got put with some other girls from SAS. This girl named Megan? Her mom went with us, what a crazy ass mom. Like seriously I felt like such a little B complaining how scared I was and her 50 year old mother was doing the same thing. We got there and the excitement was through the roof. We were 50 minutes into stepping foot in South Africa and about to board a plane to jump out. That is crazy. I was picked to go in the first group of 3 because we did not want a video taken of us. I contemplated buying it but decided an experience such as this was more of a personal goal, and something I did not wish to show off. Especially for an extra R650 it would have cost me (glad I gave that exchange rate at the top so I don’t have to use parentheses anymore right?!?) Anywho the first group was myself, Jazmin, and Joe. After getting strapped in our harness we boarded the plane. Smallest plane ever. 6 of us were sitting in each other’s laps while climbing to 9000 feet. It was eerie how calm we all were on the way up. Leading up to this on the car ride here and the whole last week, I pictured myself as being a nervous wreck in that plane. Puking, crying, crapping/pissing my pants…All the above. In reality, it was the weirdest thing how not nervous any of us were. Conversations consisted of everything from the 2010 World Cup to the girl/guy ratio on our ship. My tandem jumper was reading a book on the way up… that is when I knew I would be safe. We had a beautiful plane ride up with pristine views of all of Cape Town including Table Mountain and Robbin Island. After about 15 minutes when we hit 8300 feet, they began clipping the hooks from our harness on to their own. A little bit more nervous at this point because you know when we start getting everything connected we are close to dropping. I asked how long until we jump. “30 seconds.” I sharted. About 10 seconds after that when everyone was hooked up the first guy opened up the door to the plane. That is one scary moment when you hear that engine and feel the wind whip through the plane. At this time Joe and his guy made their way to the edge of the plane. We had to follow a technique where our guy sits at the edge with both our legs out and we curl ours around the bottom of the plane. A thumbs up from his instructor, a little push out, and they were gone. Unless you have ever skydived before, you have no idea what it is like to see your friend drop out. They are just instantly gone, it is crazy. My turn. Follow the same procedure and make my way with my instructor to the edge and curled my legs around the bottom. It was the most nervous moment right here when I looked out at the ground 9000 feet down and for the first time, realized I was actually going to do this. Sounds funny but up to that very point I could have backed out. Right now there was nothing I could possibly do to avoid the situation. I tilted my head back on his shoulder as I was instructed. Not three seconds later I heard the words behind me that will stick with me for a long long time. “Here we go.” We dropped out. Again, if you have not been skydiving you cannot possibly know what the next few seconds felt like. That initial drop out of the plane and your first feeling of free fall is the SINGLE most surreal moment I have ever had. It is weightlessness for about 4-5 seconds and I felt mad love in my tummy. After that it is almost like you are not free falling but rather just going against a ton of wind. We were in the typical free fall position with my arms and legs out when my instructor dipped his right arm and we spun like a top….like really really fast. After about 30 seconds of free fall I felt the harness loosen up on my shoulders a bit. I was so overwhelmed with the moment of the free fall that I had forgotten a parachute was involved. A split second of panic followed by the relief of knowing the jerk that I felt was from the pulling of the chute. I have no idea how many “OMG’s” I dropped during the fall but it had to top 20. The next 4-5 minutes consisted of the best view of the city I could possibly imagine. I thought the best part of the jump was over at that point as I looked above me to see Jazmin’s chute being pulled. Then my instructor handed me the handles to control the chute and told me to yank one down as hard as I could. I gave it a tug and we fell into a vertical whip down. I got scared and brought it back up. I asked him how far of a tug is too far and he told me that I could not pull it far enough. I gave the right handle my strongest pull down that I possibly could and we fell into an even tighter whip. The G-forces you experience during that whip are pretty spectacular. Unfortunately I was not paying attention and pulled to for too long. We slammed into the ground at about 73 MPH. Nah that didn’t happen. We landed safely after that. From stepping on land off the boat to landing on land, was about a 1 hour 55 minute process. Greatest start ever to 5 full days in Cape Town.
Bryan and anyone else who is thinking about it, the experience is worth every penny you put into it. I would suggest doing it ASAP.
Arrival in Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town. Where do I even start. Um maybe that it is my new favey city? Maybe that the day we lost is B.S. because I could have spent two whole weeks there without running out of things to do? Maybe by giving you the currency exchange rate? Here it is R7.3=$1 (it is called a Rand). By far the best, most fascinating, exciting/exhilarating and beautiful port we have been to. I doubt that anyone on the ship would disagree with me about that after hearing them talk about it. It’s hard for me to just type out the things I experienced without explaining them out loud but I will make an attempt.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Oh yeah
And also, right after they announced we would finally be going into port I ran upstairs to the faculty lounge which is at the front of the ship. We looked out and about 40 yards off of the bow there were 2 whales surfacing. I have never seen whales off of a ship before and it was very cool to see. Especially right after we get the news that we are officially docking. One of the whales even did the whole surface and tail all the way out of the water thing. And their are sea lions everywhere. Literally as I was typing that i looked out my window and one was swimming about 10 feet from the ship by my window. Cape Town is sick nasty
Finallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
DAMN. 26.5 hours after our scheduled arrival. The port we are in is the best place in the entire world. Maybe thats not true but it is sooo cool. Everything we need is right here. We are in the heart of the city with restaurants and shops directly off the pier. Of to our right less than one mile away is the brand new Cape Town World Cup Futbol stadium. It is so cool looking and the best part about it? U2 is playing a concert for 75,000 people there TONIGHT! So i'm not the biggest U2 fan but who cares. It's U2 in South Africa. They like worship them here. Today we are planning on hiking Table Mountain. Today will be awesome.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Friday February 18th, 2011- No more happy faces
Today is not a fun day on SAS. It is currently 0900 and we are moving in the exact opposite direction of Cape Town. I am getting the same feeling I did yesterday and could easily see this turning into a whole day event now. Many people missed flights and trips this morning because we are still not in port 25 hours later. I had an Operation Hunger set up in the townships of Cape Town this morning that has past, and am hoping to be reimbursed for it. The water is sooo much calmer today but we are still unfortunately not able to pull in the port. Yesterday, people made the best of the situation. We hung out all day and played games and talked. Thank the lord for my 300GB of external movies and TV shows because they have become lifesaver. All day yesterday we had about 7 people in our small cabin watching movies and shows. A lot of Modern Family went down (which has become an SAS hit for people who have not seen it). A lot of candy and ice cream also went down throughout the ship yesterday. So much that they ran out of peanut M&M’s, shit. Anyways what I was saying is that we made the best of a real crappy situation yesterday. Today is not the same case. 9 in the morning and you can already sense the aggravation on people who missed trips and are just mad at being stuck on the ship in general. The thing I keep looking at is why we don’t tender students to shore. It is significantly less wavy than yesterday and would be possible I believe. At the same time I have to think that SAS has already looked at every single possibility, because I’m assuming that they would be held responsible for, what I am guessing must be well over $100,000 in canceled trips so far. There were kids leaving today that paid over $2000 for 4 day safaris, and if SAS can’t get those kids out, something must seriously be wrong. I will keep any updates going throughout the day.
Thursday February 17, 2011-Cape Town wind sucks.
Pulled into port early this morning. I was up at 0630 to see us approach the most spectacular port I have ever seen. Look at pictures online at how beautiful it looks, then imagine seeing it from the ocean for the first time. The huge Table Mountain had a perfect blanket of clouds rolling over the edge of it as it towered above the buildings of Cape Town. Everyone on the ship was ecstatic to arrive in under an hour. If only we had known what was coming next. The ship which had been headed directly towards shore, gradually turned parallel to the city and eventually began driving away. We received word from Marti (basically our cruise director but instead the self proclaimed “The Voice” because she makes all announcements) over the PA that we would need to wait about an hour until the wind calmed to pull alongside port. You see, Cape Town must have built one of the dumbest ports because it is so narrow that if it is wavy, you cannot pull into it without being knocked around. For the next 4 hours we were given updates every ten minutes about what little progress the wind was making dyeing down. 0800 turned into 0900 which turned to 0930 which turned to 1030 which turned to 1200 which turned to 1400, and so on from there all the way until 1500 when they finally told us that we may not get in until tonight. Imagine how aggravating for everyone on the ship. The majority of them, Cape Town was the port that they were most looking forward to on the entire itinerary, and to lose a day is just terrible. Finally around 2030 we were told that we would be pulling alongside port between 2330 and 0100 of Friday. Everyone was really excited and revved up because that meant if we got cleared that we would be able to get off of the ship and go out at least for a few hours. Plus, most of the big safari people had flights out of Cape Town in the morning which they would be able to make. Well everyone got dressed and 2300 rolled around…not even close to the lights of Cape Town. 2 hours later 0100 rolled around…no closer to the city. People gave up hope of going out that night and instead retired to their beds to get an early start in the morning. At leeeaasssttt we will be there in the morning. Right?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Februay 16, 2011.. SOUTH AFRICA TOMORROW!!
Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change
that goes on, deep and permanent,
in the ideas of living.
-Miriam Beard
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
Shark Diving email from Brian McFarlane
I have looked forward to doing something like this since i have been just a little toddler learning about Sharks... Can't believe I get to dive with the Great White on Saturday!
Dear Kyle
Thank you for showing interest in joining us for a shark cage viewing and diving trip.
By choosing Brian McFarlane and his experienced team you will ensure the very best all round adventure possible and learn all about the magnificent animal, Carcharodon carcharias, the Great White Shark.
We have previously taken students from Semester at Sea on trips and they have been amazed by seeing the Great White both above and below the water.
We pride ourselves on providing the best possible experience in this Industry and do not rush through the trip (as some smaller boats do in order to accommodate the possibility of 3 trips per day). What this means is that with us we maximize your viewing time .
In order to dive you do not require previous diving experience or qualifications.
A special price of R1400ZAR per person (minimum 4 people) transport included is offered to you. In addition should you be able to increase your group size to more than ten people, we are prepared to offer you a commission of R100 per person in cash or in a reduction of the price per person. e.g. 20 passengers will result in a commission to you of R2000ZAR or a price reduction for all to R1300ZAR per person.
This includes all necessary diving equipment, wetsuits, towels and protective jackets as well as food and refreshments.
Our day normally starts with a healthy continental breakfast (no greasy food prior to the trip). We collect payment and hold a safety and information briefing. Then it is 'out to sea' on the very best boat available with its four 200hp 4 stroke eco-friendly motors.
After a briefing by our qualified dive master one enters the cage to view the sharks up close as well as viewing and photographing the sharks around the boat. A light lunch, drinks, snacks and fresh fruit are available throughout the trip until all diving is completed. We then head back to land where you can join us and watch a video of the trip which is available for sale (R300ZAR) whilst enjoying coffee, tea, hot chocolate and biscuits. A hot shower is also available. We recommend that you bring a change of clothing along with you.
Trips on average take between 3 ½ to 4 hours. The best period to dive with sharks is normally during our winter months of April through to the end of September, since sharks are more plentiful and underwater visibility is generally excellent. During the other months we see fewer sharks, but often larger ones and visibility is sometimes poor. However sharks are seen on 99% of our trips and in the unlikely event of a shark not being sighted a voucher will be issued in order that you may join us on another trip.
What makes our company different to others?
The owner and skipper, Brian McFarlane has spend his life at sea and is a legend in the shark diving industry having being involved in the making of many shark documentaries.
We normally stay at sea longer than others which ensure that our clients spend more time viewing the sharks.
Our boat APEX PREDATOR is the largest and latest custom built shark cage viewing vessel and is fitted with all modern conveniences. (change room/toilet)
Our chum (Brian's secret recipe) attracts more sharks. We do not feed sharks.
Lonely Planet the authoritive travel guide states that Brian McFarlane is one of the most highly recommended operators.
The shark activity is has been good lately ,with between 6 to 9 different Great White Sharks being seen on a trip.
We will be able to accommodate you on any day between your Thursday and Monday. Our long term weather forecast shows Saturday, Sunday and Monday as being the best days in terms of wind, swell size and sunshine.
We normally launch at 10am (arrival time at 9am when breakfast starts). The estimated pick up time will be between 6 - 6:30am. Unfortunately we can only confirm the pick up time the previous day, because it depends on the low tides.
Please do not hesitate to let us know if you need any further information and I hope that this leads to us meeting you at our crew house in Gansbaai.
If you wish to confirm your booking kindly complete the attached form.
If you or one of the parties you booked for does not show, your card will be debited with the full amount.
Kindest Regards
Chrissie
Great White Shark Tours cc
(Tel) 0027 28 384 1418
Cell) 0027 83 300 2138
(Fax) 086 211 7397
GPS Coördinates: 34°36'52"S - 19°21'18"E
Monday February 14, 2011- Valentine's Day!!
Happy Valentine’s Day errybodyyyy. Alexa Bubbolos (spellings off sorry Alexa) was my official Valentine. I wrote her a poem which was nice of me but that was about it. It was about as exciting as every other Valentine’s Day has ever been. OHHH and today I booked my Shark Diving trip for this Saturday!!! Sweet Jesus I am excited… here is the email sent to me from Brian McFarlane (he has killed 33 Great White Sharks in his day. What an insane man.
Saturday February 12, 2011
Anniversary following an all nighter… Yes my day was not so great. I wished more than anything to be with my family and my cousins and aunt on Saturday but it obviously was not possible. I really don’t have much else to say about it. Love you all.
Friday February 11, 2011
Something cool happened today!!! We crossed the exact center of the Earth. 0 degrees latitude and 0 degrees longitude. Prime Meridian and the Equator. How every you want to phrase it, it was really cool to do and it will most likely never again happen in my life. I was lucky to snap a few pictures and catch a video at the exact moment that they were blowing the horn representing the crossing. Very cool stuff. Today I also did my first actual work on Semester At Sea. I had to write a 9 page paper by the next day so naturally, I put it off until about 2000(8:00 PM) and it ended up taking me about 9 hours. I stayed up an extra half hour to see the beautiful sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean…It was cloudy that morning. Ended up staying up for breakfast at that point…They had no French toast. It was a bad 12 hours.
Thursday February 10th 2011-Ghana be a sad day booooooo
Last day in Ghana-wake up head to toe in sand and three Cedi’s poorer. Awesome. Not much happed today except for us getting our stuff together and leaving. About 15 mins into the ride back to the ship our cab driver got a call that some not so smart young SAS lady left her bag at the hotel. We returned to get it for her because Charlie, Drew, Matt and I are 4 damn nice gentlemen. Naturally when we received her bag we rummaged through it. Found an orange and a box of cheerios…those are now mine. Then suddenly as we were driving away I noticed 3 young local children waving to us on the side of the road. Here comes one of the best moments of Ghana. I asked the cab driver to stop and got out with the orange. The kids came running up and I split it right equally for the 3 of them. Each time I gave each of them a piece, they would tell me “medase” which is Thank you in their language. These are the best moments of SAS… little things like that which come so unexpectedly. These 3 little kids were so happy and slowly gnawing on orange slices when I captured a few pictures of them. At this moment I remembered the Cheerios and turned to Drew to ask for them. One of those “had to be there moments” but he was sitting in the front seat of the cab car pouring the last bit of the box into his mouth. Hahahhahaha I crack up thinking about it but it was really funny. We said goodbye and completed the hour ride back to the ship. Oh…and while we were in Axim I got this sweet pair of Team Ghana futbol shorts and a bandana. The guy wanted 35 Cedi($24.50) I offered 5 Cedi($3.50). When the bargaining came to an end I ended up giving him 7 Cedi (not even 5 bucks). I did well. During this trip I learned something about working in the United States. We dread going to work everyday and count down the hours until we are able to leave. In somewhere like Ghana, it is the exact different. People work because they have nothing else to do in the day. They literally work sun up to sun down everyday without even thinking about it. They have never known anything else so in their eyes, what else can they possibly do but sit by their stands all day. They live almost like animals in the sense where they spend the vast majority of their day just trying to put a little food on the table. This is the first time I have ever seen this way of life to this extent. Anyways, back to Takoradi, we boarded the ship and left Ghana at about 1800. On our way to Cape Town, South Africa. Woot
Monday, February 14, 2011
Wednesday February 9th 2011, Full day at Axim Beach
On Wednesday I got up at about 0820 Ghanaian time (which is 5 hours ahead of EST btw). I realized I did not have my reefs and had no idea where they were…trouble. Luckily I went to reception and they were in the lost and found and took a long walk down the beach by myself. Over those 2 days I would come to realize that was the Ghanaian game; employees pick up items from the beach that you had just set down and then expect you to tip them they “find it” for you. It got so annoying. But after I got my shoes I took a long walk down the beach by myself and really had some time to think about what I was going through. I realized walking on that beach that this trip is passing me by too fast and although it is hard to do, I have to stop looking so forward to what is coming ahead and focus on what I’m doing at the moment. For 9 days I looked forward to getting to Ghana, and before I knew it, I was here, and now on my last full day there. On this trek from Ghana to S.A., I am learning not to take these days at sea for granted, because come fall semester, I will give anything to be back on the ship. Although taking these classes really do suck, and all I want to do is explore and relax, I have to realize that being educated is what I am actually here to do, and should not dread it as much as I do. Hopefully not constantly looking forward to these countries will make the days and this trip, drag along as slowly as possible .
ANNYYYWWAAAYYYSS this walk also gave me the opportunity to see the beauty of a Ghanaian beach. Looked like something straight from LOST. Trees were so thick at the tree line, the sun was so hot soo early in the morning, and the sand was fine, white and clean as it could be. Really something spectacular to see. That day was a perfect relax day out in the sun. A lot of soccer, skim boarding, swimming and even a little surfing. You know what would have made it perfect? Washers. Yes, a little Polish Horseshoes would go a long way on a trip like this and more than just a couple times I have thought about how perfect it would be to play it riiiigggghhht noowww. Caribbean champs? Pshhhh. Yeah I won that (shout out to Phil Johnson of Glen Ellyn) Childs play…there needs to be a West African tour, an India’s Cup, perhaps a Vietnam Invitational…could have done it big. In fact dad, I really hope that’s included in my package coming to Mauritius even though it may be a little pricy. Thanks in advance. That night pretty much occurred exactly like the night before… I decided to not go to my hotel room but instead to sleep on that beautiful sand beach to the sound of the ocean waves rolling in. Put my shirt, shorts, shoes, hat, and key to the room beside me and dozed off. Well if any of you took note of my foreshadowing earlier in this entry, you know what’s coming next. Woke up at 5:30 in the morning to retire to my hotel room for the rest of the night annddddd…boom…all my stuff is gone. Now I was not worried I was robbed or anything because the amount that this had happened throughout the day to everybody was humorous (don’t lie mom you know you got worried there for a second that I got robbed). It was just a matter of finding the hotel employee who had took it. When in Ghana, do as the Ghanaians do…I took some other kids shoes, and made my way up the steep hill to the lobby. After some confusion and a few trips up and down this hill, finally found an employee sleeping on one of the lawn chairs. Asked him for my stuff. He goes behind a tree and what do you know? I reluctantly trade him 3 Cedi’s (Ghanaian currency) for my items and head up to bed. 40 minute process. Night.
Night of Tuesday February 8th, first night in Axim, Ghana
So I left off when we were going to Axim Beach Bungalows… they were just so sick and there was not a ton to do in Takoradi so it turned out to be a good decision. They were beautiful and had a nice bar right on the beach that everyone went to to get wild and crazy. It was so much fun…there were just a ton of people skinny dipping and running around which was weird but for some reason, it like was not weird. IDK how to describe it but it was fun. That was pretty much it for that night. RK.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday February 8th 2011
The next day we woke up not so early and went to the Slave Castles in Cape Coast Ghana. We paid a taxi and went on our own, arriving at the exact same time as the Semester at Sea tour. We jumped in and got the same experience for about $80 less. Very interesting to learn how terrible the conditions were for African Americans here and on their journey through the Mid-Atlantic slave trade. I got a bunch of great pictures of these dark disgusting dungeons. They used to hold about 160 people in a 34’by 16’ room with no showers, bathrooms, or fresh water. The best part of the Slave Dungeons was the “Door of No Return.” It was a door on the water side of the castle that opened up to the beach. Back in the days when slaves were traded, it was said that once you go through that door, you are getting on a ship and on your way to South or North America. I walked out to take some pictures of their cool ass fishing boats and the door was shut behind me so I was still standing outside. I opened it back up and returned through the door alone right as the guide was explaining how once slaves were through they would never come back….I guess I am immune or something.
After this we had a 3 hour taxi ride to our Axim Beach Bungalows which I had reserved for the next 2 nights. We drove through the coolest little towns on the way and with the help of a few beers and some good music on my portable stereo; it was a very enjoyable ride. Our taxi driver was not sure of the whole background story of it, but on the way pointed out a bus of people. He told us that they were people fleeing from Ivory Coast because of the economic situation there. Apparently a past leader of the country did not want to give up power and was splitting up the country. Very interesting and it makes me want to read up on exactly what is going on there. Here is a fast fact for my dedicated followers….
Total Nautical Miles Sailed: 7575
Current Sea Depth: 4576 meters
4576 meters…that is kind of insane…Think about how deep Lake Erie is…something around 50-60 meters? You don’t really think about how deep the ocean is but that is just crazy deep. Like almost 3 miles. So I also ate some street meat on the way to Axim Beach…. That’s a big no no but I just could not help myself especially after being to Pinones in P.R. so many times. And I had a few “Stars” which is their local beer so it tasted even better. I had a “beef” sausage and it was delicious. Hopefully none of that there bushmeat. Charlie refused to take a bite and ended up being sick all of yesterday. I thought it was funny…should have had some BM Charlie. But that basically brings me to the end of the car ride to Axim where I will stop this post because it is 230 in the morning and I have 5 pages left to write for an essay… Probly an all nighter but that’s what I get for doing absolutely no work so far. I will finish this tomorrow.
Friday February 7th 2011
I missed breakfast at 0700 the next morning, stupid Super Bowl. In the morning we went to some ceremony where locals were once again talking about our college experience. My good friend Drew Johnson, Alex and I decided we were not going to sit through one of those again so we left. Alex plays soccer at a University in Hilo, Hawaii so he brought a bunch of soccer balls for kids. We pumped one up and started playing in a dirt patch in the middle of town and soon enough a few kids joined us. It is pretty cool when something like that happens because you really have to stop and think where you are and what you’re doing at the moment. I was in Ghana on a Monday playing soccer with a bunch of local kids. I can’t take this for granted. Alex gave his ball to them and we continued walking. Charlie joined us after the ceremony ended and then we had the opportunity to give our One World Futbol away. We found the perfect kid working in a market with his mother to give it to. It was a 7 year old boy named Bennie and he could not have been happier when we started playing soccer with him. The pictures that I have are really funny of him smiling with the ball and I will make a post of them as soon as I can. It was a special moment to be able and give that away. After eating lunch, we left to go back to Takoradi. On the way home I met a girl named Whitney who I spent a good amount of time talking to. She asked me if I want to go along with her in China to Hong Kong, the Great Wall at Beijing, and finally to Shanghai. She is going with one other friend and going with no more than 4 people because she did not want to travel in a big group... that sounds perfect, plus she’s hot… so I think I’m going. That night a bunch of us went right across the street from the ship to a Duty Free for some drinks. I know it sounds weird but it was fun. We then went to some bar about 10 mins away called Ocean Bar. It was some pool bar that had a bunch of prostitutes in it. I absolutely hated it and it’s not even worth writing about. Best part of the night? They played Waka Waka by Shakira, dats my jam in Africa. Holler. End of night.
Sunday February 6, 2011 Finally in Ghana
Returned from Takoradi, Ghana today! Quite the eye opening experience I received. I once again woke up at 0630 on the 6th of February to watch us arrive in port. It was very foggy in the morning and we were unable to actually see the port until we were pretty close. I literally laughed when I saw the dock we were docking at, but should not have expected anything different. We were placed directly between two shipping vessels that were loading and unloading goods and shipping crates off of their ships. This certainly was not the touristy San Juan port which contained only cruise ships. In fact I would not be surprised if we were one of the first cruise ships to ever dock there. Regardless, I’m in Africa. The best part was finally stepping off of the gangway and my first foot landing on this continent I doubted I would ever make it to.
After a 20 minute walk to the end of the port, (yes 20 mins because SAS for whatever reason did not provide us transportation to the gate at the front of the port…we were literally walking through a shipping yard trying to get to the taxis… Get with it SAS) we were bombarded with locals trying to get us a cab or selling us anything that they could. It did not help that we were the very first group to reach the end of the dock off out of the entire ship. And there were only 4 of us. This was ridiculous… like I have experienced this type of deal in countries before…having to say no no no but never like this. In their culture, a handshake is extremely prized and from an American, even more so. People were pulling our hands and trying to hold them in different directions towards their cabs. At this very moment, I seriously thought of Courtney. Like you would have started crying I think. I was so overwhelmed with people around me and wanted to scream, I could not imagine what would have happened if you would have gone through that hahaha.
This is only the second year that Semester at Sea has gone to this port in Takoradi, and they only come here twice a year; so for the locals who live in Ghana, it a very important week to be ready to sell their things. I was able to grab a local kid who got us in a taxi and took us in town. His name was Amos and he lives 3.5 hours away from Takoradi. He came simply for the business that they would make this week. Amos showed us around town for about 2 hours and made us bracelets on the way. When we first arrived in town I smelled things that I never have before, and never want to again(but am not keeping my hopes up because India is still on the itinerary). The town was very small and easy to do the entire thing in about an hour and a half. It was just one huge circle market with people selling a whole variety of items. The best thing that I got to see was a warehouse in the middle of the market. The day before in food and culture class we had learned about food that was popular in Ghana called Bushmeat. If you don’t know what it is, it is worth it to research so you know exactly what I am talking about. The term bushmeat tends to be used to describe unsustainable hunting of often endangered wildlife in West and Central Africa and the humid tropics, but basically it is local animals and jungle wildlife who are killed and sold in their markets. This practice of killing and purchasing of bushmeat is causing problems not only because of the killing of the animals, but also the disease it causes. It would seem like a simple problem to fix, but what is being asked of the locals, is to give up their eating habits for the animals…something we in the United States may understand, but not there in Ghana. This warehouse we were taken in had everything from full bulls to impala dead lying on the tables, and butchers chopping them up with large machetes. I tried to take a picture of one man doing it, and Amos quickly threw his hands over my camera and pushed my hands down. The locals know that it is an issue and frowned upon in other countries. I’m sure there was much more exotic meat hidden away that they only bring out when asked for, because I know a big part of the bushmeat industry is the selling of Chimpanzee and ape meat. I am sure they put it away when they see all these Americans walking around. I wanted to eat me some ape so I was really disappointed. That was a joke. But seriously.
After we left the town of Takoradi, we went back to port to go on our Overnight Visit to Winneba, which was a FDP (Faculty Directed Practica). We paid Amos for taking us around for a few hours and he wanted to trade a bracelet he had for my “In Memory of Flight 3407” wristband I had on. For whatever reason everybody who sees it wants it. I could have diamonds lining my arms and fingers and they will still point the stupid red silicone wristband haha. Although I did not want to give him this one because it is my original, I promised I would be back in an hour when leaving for our trip to give him one (I brought a pack of 100 with me to give away in Cambodia). Unfortunately I saw we were taking a bus to the end of the port on the way out, and would not be stopping. When the bus passed where all the locals were standing on the way out, I yelled out the window to him and got his attention. With no hesitation he ran up to the moving bus and I threw a wristband out the window to him. He was so happy and gave me the thumbs up as the bus drove away, damn I wish I got that moment on video, it was so funny and everybody on the bus was laughing.
Side note: the last movie they played on the tv “loop” the night before reaching Ghana was “Blood Diamond,” so all weekend references and lines were made from the movie. We tried our hardest to impersonate Leo’s South African accent. It was sweet. “Where is de diamond eah?” Gotta see the flick.
Our trip to Winneba was not quite what everybody was expecting. It was simply a small town and we had to sit though a few ceremonies welcoming us. I know that sounds bad that it was boring but it was just too long. We wanted to explore the town and we were stuck in meetings all night. The other problem was that we needed to find somewhere to watch the Super Bowl which would be aired at 2330 that night. Afterwards my roommate Charlie and I went to this bar near our hotel to find out who would have an international sports station which could pick up the Super Bowl. We walked in to find about 50 locals watching a futbol match on a huge 22 foot projection screen and figured we were out of luck. We talked to the guy and said we would return at 1130 with about 40 kids to try and convince him to play it. Thank god when we arrived he had it playing on the big screen. It was pretty amazing that we had a better Super Bowl experience in the little town of Winneba, Ghana, than I would have if I were home in the US. After the game ended at around 0300, I went to bed. I was supposed to share a bed with a random roommate named Kevin…I don’t know what ever happened to him but I decided to go to bed by myself…nice. J-
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Thursday February 10, 2011...On the ship already??!?!!!?
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Can't sleep, too excited. Ghana be tired tomorrow:-(
It is 0140 right now and I am having a hard time falling asleep. The excitement throughout the ship is a little too much for me to handle. I have my alarm set for 0630 so I can be up and eating breakfast outside for our arrival in Africa.... what song am I waking up to you ask? Clearly Waka Waka by Shakira...on repeat. Listen to it, great Africa jam.
To anybody who has not seen the movie Blood Diamond, watch it. Its on the movie channel right now. They pick great movies to play on this channel because they are always relevant to the cultures we will be experiencing next. Blood Diamond is about the war created by rebels over diamonds which happens in the region of Africa which I will be visiting. Extremely interesting that these things actually happen. Plus Leo D as the main character? Game over.
Oh... Something else I forgot to write about before. There is this program called One World Futbol (google to find the website and more about it) which sells this really cool indestructible soccer ball. It never needs to be refilled with air because it has a special system which re-inflates itself even when run over with a car. Anyway this company has a promotion similar to Tom's shoes in which when you buy one futbol, one is donated to children who are unable to afford one. I always hear about programs which benefit children in Africa or other places if I buy something, but always wondered where the items or money actually go, and who has the job to give it to the people. The cool thing is that come tomorrow... it will be my job. Semester at Sea has been in contact with this One World Futbol program, and they gave us about 40 of their balls to be donated to be passed out around the world on our voyage. Tomorrow 4 of us who were designated, will get to go into this town called Winneba of 40,000 people, and pass out a brand new indestructible ball to a group of children we see playing. It should be pretty special and I will be sure to document the process. Generous companies like this make a world of a difference in childrens lives, and to be a part of it is so exciting.
Saturday February 5th 2011. What??? Ghana be in Ghana in the morning?!?!
So tomorrow morning in Ghana eh? Pretty much the entire shipboard community is shitting their pants they are so excited. Never thought I would look forward so much to Ghana but we just need to get off of this ship. Tonight some friends and I are planning on sleeping on deck to see our first African sunrise. Holler. In the morning we will get off of the ship and explore the city of Takoradi for a few hours….Side note, my friend Ricki just asked me to “pound it,” when I thrusted my first forward towards hers she threw her fingers apart and yelled “turkey” right as her fingers created a feather effect around my still closed fist. It was funny… made me laugh. Once in a while 2 people will both throw up turkeys therefore resulting in a standard high five…it gets awkward. Anyway, so after we explore the city for a few hours we have to be back on the ship by 1230 for our Welcome to Ghana: Overnight in Winneba. 70 kids from SAS are going on that trip so it should be a good time. We get to visit a local university in that town and have the opportunity to meet students from there and compare differences between university in the United States and schools in Ghana. I’m so excited for the morning I don’t even know what to do. Super bowl is on tomorrow night at 2330…in Ghana… pretty worried about finding somewhere that is playing it. But we are staying in a hotel at Winneba so I’m thinking that we will find a place to be the most obnoxious American SASholes (funny) we can possibly be and demand to watch the Super Bowl.
I also love this play on words with Ghana sounding like Gonna... so if i overuse it in the next few posts don't be hattin'. It reminds me of when we were in Belize and everything Amanda saw was unBelizeable.
February 4, 2011... Almost to Africa.
Today is February 4, 2011 and we arrive in Takoradi, Ghana on the 6th at 0800.
Sea Olympics happened yesterday. It was a lot more fun than I had ever anticipated it would be. It really was pretty wild. I ended up leading the chants at every opportunity and we seriously had the most intense team. The Aegean Sea ended up placing 2nd out of the 10 participating teams. I was pissed. We were the loudest and most rowdy and received no points for that. Regardless, we still get to be second off the ship when we reach San Diego in the end. I participated in the dodge ball tournament and unfortunately was unable to watch any of the synchronized swimming. Heard it was hilarious… consisted of a bunch of big men putting together themed routines. I did get to see the winning routine however, which was choreographed to Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” They ended with a reenactment of Jack dyeing in The Titanic. Kress, you would have loved it.
Have not seen land in 7 days. Pretty upsetting. 2 days away from getting wild and crazy in Ghana, Updates to come on that. People are really restless with only 2 days of classes left, and having not seen anything for a long time. Today we saw another ship, that’s about it…literally the only thing we have seen in a week. Yay
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Monday January 31st 2011 Evaluation of Brazil
So I have my first real regret about Semester At Sea. Although I so much enjoyed my Jungle Lodge trip and it was a fantastic experience, I should have gone to Rio de Janeiro. In all of our classes the past few days we have been learning about the upcoming games they are hosting and the possibility that they may not be ready for the challenge. When you read anything in the news about Rio, the majority of the time it involves the high crime rate and the dangerous Favelas. In the next few years, Brazil will be hosting many major international sporting events including the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The Brazilian government is now rushing to clean up the 44 Favelas in Brazil within the next 3 years. The problem with this is that they are taking unnecessary methods to rush and get it done. So far they have cleaned up four of them by rushing in guns drawn, shoot whoever may be a threat, and establish a police station right in the center to attempt and control the crime. This would make sense if they were not killing innocent people who have no involvement in the drug trade. I’m not sure of numbers but I know that a shocking number of innocent civilians living in the Favelas have been killed simply for being outside at the wrong time. One Semester at Sea student had the opportunity to talk with a little boy who was shot in the Favelas as police were rushing in. He was in front of his mother’s house when it happened.
It is shocking how much better of a choice Chicago would have been rather than Brazil….It confuses me then why the Olympics committee would choose this country when they are not at all ready to host an event like this. Of course so much more thought goes into that decision than I will ever know about, and I’m sure a major part of it is the fact that Brazil is such an up and growing nation, and this gives them the opportunity to expedite the process of developing their economy even more. Rio is the type of place I can see myself going to experience in the near future. After learning so much about the city and hearing people’s stories, all I want to do is experience it firsthand. They are going through a historic moment right now; one that if executed on time and if the games go successfully could go down as a defining moment in their evolution as a major world power.