Neptune Day

For sailors across the world, Neptune Day has significant meaning.  It is the day when one crosses the equator.  The first time one passes from North to South or South to North is typically celebrated through various hazing rituals including fish guts, shaving of the head, etc.  Although the Semester at Sea experience was much lighter in intensity (and was, of course, all challenge-by-choice), the experience was quite a special occasion.  By crossing the equator, one transitions from pollywog to shellback.  We are blessed to cross at both the equator and the prime meridian – making us emerald shellbacks.  We were essentially at 0 degrees, 0 degrees – neither North, nor South, nor East, nor West!

The day began with a parade of drums, pots, pans, and shouting, to wake up the shipboard community.  Once everyone was awake and well, we proceeded to the pool deck where a royal procession began to introduce Neptune.  From there, the festivities really began.  We were to line up and prepare to have our version of fish guts poured on our head before kissing a fish.  We then processed pass the royalty before getting our heads shaved.  As the pictures show, I fully immersed my experience.  

A Ghanain's Hope For The Future

Over lunch on the first day, another student and I invited our taxi driver to lunch.  I was curious about getting to know him and asked what one hope of his was for the future.  His response intrigued me.  He shared that he hoped for good leadership.  (As a side note, Ghana is in the midst of a contentious presidential election which will be determined in early December.)  He believed that only with good leadership can Ghana continue to be a model and exemplar of democracy in Africa.  I believe that is true.  I also believe that his comments shed light on the leadership psyche throughout much of the world.  That leadership is equated with power, position, and prestige.  Only those in ‘positions-of-leadership’ can bring about desired change.  I wonder what it would take for him to view himself as an empowered agent of change rather than relying on others?  I wonder how we might shift our leadership frame to be more about the person (who am I?, what are my values?, and what is my vision?) and the purpose with which one leads (for personal and communal transformation)?  I’ll certainly be processing this some more and look forward to similar conversations in the ports to come…           

Port #9: Tema/Accra, Ghana

I was welcomed to the Ghana with the smell of the developing world.  A smoke filled my nostrils – a familiar scent.  The same as when first leaving the airport in Managua.  It is the smoke from small fires – flames at just about every corner that when emitted into the air, provide the aroma and fragrance of the world, developing.

After this welcoming, I ventured from out from our port city, Tema, into the capital, Accra.  Only 16 kilometers away, the bus ride took almost two hours.  There is a serious lack of infrastructure and the result is an amazing display of traffic.  Eventually, I stepped off the bus in Accra and was greeted with an assortment of youth trying to sell whatever goods were in their possession.  After a brief walk around Oxford Street, I ventured out to the University of Ghana – Accra.  From there, several students and I took a cab several hours away to Cape Coast – a town on the central coach of the country with historic implications.

Our Cape Coast visit including a night’s stay at a crocodile sanctuary.  We also visited Kakum National Park for their Canopy Tour as well as two slave dungeons.  These slave dungeons were used by the Portuguese, Dutch, and British to round up Africans from all over Western Africa and ship them to the ‘New World’.  It was profound touring the spaces.  We viewed the rooms they were forced to live in – upon one another in their own feces – and where they were tortured, raped, and beaten.  We were also witness to the Door Of No Return.  These doors would be opened just before the slaves were guided onto ships headed across the Atlantic.  Touching the door and being in these spaces was a harrowing experience.

The next day, with other students, I ventured to a hill-town north of Accra.  We visited an absolutely gorgeous botanical garden and experienced a downpour of rain to highlight the rainy season.  This enables us to take a put stop at a local restaurant for lunch where we dove into fresh fish and a traditional Ghanaian meal.

Port #8: Canary Islands

We visited the Canary Islands for two days.  For me, day one was spent on the ship.  I was on duty and was expected to respond to any emergency or non-emergency situations that might arise.  Nothing did during the day.  At night, there were several intoxication situations bit nothing out of the ordinary. 

On the second day, I co-led (with my supervisor and the Dean of Students, Lisa Slavid) a four-hour leadership retreat.  The of us participated in the reflective experience that was one of my highlights this far on the journey.  We began with some ice-breakers / team-builders to get to know one another.  From there, I shared a bit about the history of leadership as a field of study, where we are at now, and where the edge is expanding to.  At that point, we paired up and walked (twenty minutes or so) to a square in the heart of town.  In those dyads we expressed the ways in which our values impacted our leadership.  Once we arrived at the square, we carved out time for private reflection. We concluded with a whole-group dialogue and closing exercise before going our separate ways.

The Leadership Retreat Group

After the retreat, I took a taxi to a beach that locals tend to visit (rather than tourists).  The water and the black volcanic sand were incredible.  The time spent on the beach was exactly what I needed to leave Europe and head to Africa.

Islamaphobia on board the MV Explorer

I’ll preface this post by sharing that I do believe Semester at Sea made the right decision – the only decision they could have made – to cancel the visit to Morocco.  With that being shared, I do believe much of that decision is rooted in political positioning as well as islamaphobia that has become all too common place in the American psyche and culture. 

Our voyage was supposed to take us to Morocco (Casablanca) for four days.  Instead, we extended our stay in Cadiz, Spain and added a new destination – The Canary Islands) for two days.  After the two USA embassies were bombed, the government (State Department) issued a warning for most (if not all) Islamic countries.  SaS decided it was not in our best interest to drop over five hundred Americans in an environment that could ‘potentially’ be dangerous.  News media reports there had been anti-American riots throughout Morocco and that there was civil unrest.

For me, the issue with not visiting Morocco is that we shy away from ‘other’.  Instead of engaging in dialogue and developing mutual understanding, we only perpetuate the stereotypes and keep ‘them’ as the ‘others’.  Islamaphbia has only been enhanced by many within our shipboard community because of the limited messages received about Islamic countries.  Muslims are viewed as unruly enemies – people with whom we should fear.  Our visit to Morocco would have been an opportunity to shift from seeing them as ‘others’ to brothers and sisters – siblings in our global community. 

With that being shared, I am also conscious of our collective maturity.  For enough people to bring this to attention, our time in Europe had revolved around alcohol.  Students would drink to the point of intoxication – severe intoxication for some.  I’m not sure some members of our community were ready for that transition.  I can’t imagine they would have represented themselves, this program, or the USA as the stewards and ambassadors we would hope for.  It will be interesting to see how folks react to The Canary Islands and then our first non-European port-of-call, Tema/Accra, Ghana. 

Flirting with Exercise

I had envisioned a voyage of discovery and transformation prior to embarking.  It has been nothing short of that – in many different aspects of my life.  Part of that transformation was going to happen through exercise.  I was going to transform my body via P90X.  That has yet to happen.  My commitment to Tony Horton and the P90X program has waned substantially.  However, I’ve flirted with many other types of exercising.  This is a wide, wide world and after dabbling in many experiences have realized that, for me, being in a group environment is much more successful than attempting it solo.  I’ve attempted or engaged in various ‘programs’ including P90X, Insanity, and CrossFit.  And, I’ve worked out with several groups of people for conditioning or weightlifting.  It will be interesting to see how the rest of this voyage unfolds as we will have many more days at sea – where the working-out tends to happen.

'Guests' Not 'Tourists'

The first few stops – all in Europe – had a sense of comfortability.  It was ‘easy’ – English was spoken virtually everywhere by almost everyone, the amenities were similar to what we experience at home, and the sights were to be expected (e.g., a medieval church on every tour).  Students, staff, and faculty alike, it seemed, took advantage of the comfortable.  Although I believe many of us approached it in this way, I’ll utilize the ‘I’ language and situate this blog post from my experience.

I approached my first few ports-of-call as a tourist.  I saw the sights, participated in the tours, engaged in the typical things (e.g., Guinness in Ireland, fish and chips in England, frites in Belgium, etc.).  However, that approach was leaving me less-than-fulfilled.  After several stops, I decided to make a change.  Instead of approaching my voyage as a ‘tourist’, I would approach it as a ‘guest’.  Here are just a few descriptors of how I differentiate a tourist from a guest:

A tourist focuses on the sights.

A guest focuses on the connections – to the places and people.

A tourist focuses on dropping in and just as quickly getting out.

A guest focuses on immersion – diving into the community and experience.

A tourist is guided by an attitude of otherness – seeing the other as separate.

A guest is guided by an attitude of openness – an invitation to engage in an ever-unfolding experience.

Port #7: Cadiz, Spain

We are in the process of leaving Spain.  What was supposed to be a four day stay became a six day visit.  Our original itinerary had us visiting Morocco for four days.  However, Semester at Sea decided that because of the political situation, Casablanca was not a viable option.  Instead, we extended our time in Spain and added a visit to the Canary Islands.  We’ll be arriving there after one day at sea tomorrow.

While in Spain, the city of Cadiz became my headquarters.  I was able to venture into the mountains for several days, but used the coastal city as home base.  Cadiz is situated on the Atlantic Ocean and has both amazing history and beaches.  It is a small city in the poorest state in Spain.  It is a sleepy town with much culture and tapas.  I spent many-an-evening touring the narrow alleys and city streets visiting spots for tapas, wine, beer, and socializing.

When not in Cadiz, I was hiking the mountains and exploring the famous White Towns of this region.  In these quite quaint towns just about every building is white washed as a way to protect it against insects and fungus as the people against the scorching heat.  The two pictures below are of a town, Grazalema, a village I will certainly return to at some point in the future.  It is in the midst of the peaks of the Grazalema National Park.   A magical place.