Inspiration: the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something.

Aspiration: a hope or ambition of achieving something

Two things I have found to be ever changing in a brilliant way.  48 days of evolving aspirations. 56 days filled with new inspirations. What I have learned, though, is that it doesn’t end there.
 
To each opinion its own...
Here being one: This trip is about three things;

1) Finding your self. Who are you?  What has gotten you to this exact moment?  What have you achieved?  What have you struggled with and what have you overcome?

2) Defining your self.  Who do you want want to become?  What will you do with the single life you’re given? 

And 3) How are you going to get from Point A to Point B?  I believe that this is the most important part.  First, it is important to not only achieve Part A: knowing who we are, but to REALIZE who we are; to understand the potential we ALREADY possess.  What characteristics do we own, today, which will help us to aspire who we have the ability to become? After we have a grasp on who we are, contemplated the potential of our qualities, and recognized our dreams…

Then we are here: The In-between that is life.  It isn’t about the past or the future. It’s about the journey: the present: every single second for its own…
And live it I will.

"The important thing is this: to at any time, be able to sacrifice who we are for what we could become."  -Stephen DuBois

Picture This:

Hula hooping in Timidz Square
As we sail in four Circles
Off the West coast of Cape Town
As we are patiently waiting
For the strong winds to die,
Our time to dock in Victoria Wharf
And a day and half late
We Step off the Ship
In Cape Town, South Africa

Picture This:

A beautiful Port
Lying Under Table Mountain
Live Music
Tapas at Fork Cafe
The life of Long Street,
The State Street of Cape Town

Picture This:

An entirely full moon
On the roadside of Signal Hill
Overlooking the magnificent city,
The Mountains, and Great Atlantic
U2 performing in the stadium below
The live performance broadcasted on the radio
A breathtaking moment

Picture This:

A backdrop of gorgeous mountain ranges
Rows beyond rows of grapes
Fountains, rose gardens,
And a mountain lion grazing
A production tour of a famous winery
Filled with great and intuitive conversation
With former and brand new friends
You walk through a hand blown glass shop
Sipping sparkling, red, and white wines
Learning to taste the beauty of each
You frolic through the wine lands of South Africa

Picture This:

Set between mountains and wine lands
Of a South African daybreak
The smell of fresh cut grass
And a clean set of golf clubs
A perfect drive down the first fairway
With my Sand shot improving immensely as the round progresses
Sipping a delightful amber beer to celebrate
My welcoming to the SAS family
And beating Dean Dan
And Doctor Bill
By one single stroke
Stellenbosch Golf Club

Picture This:

Riding down giant dunes
On a sand board
Shredding the Gnar

Picture This:

An hour hike into the Cannon of the Kogelberg Mountains
The Cape Floristic Region
The only place in the world
That is home to an entire floral kingdom
Gorges nestled between mountains
Mountain Climbing up
Knowing there is no going back down the way you came
Yet no plan to what to do next
No time for Contemplation
Your stomach in your chest
Risk and determination
Lead to Triumph
And as you jump into the water fifteen meters below
It is worth it

Picture This:

A hike up Devil’s Peak at sunrise
With a new understanding the “devil” in its name
Calves burning
With each step of rock
But the view over Table Mountain
Sitting about the clouds
South Africa Conquered

"And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible, painful, and unfair at first, but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential, strength, willpower, or hear."

I got an email from my best friend, Alexandria Schanke, tonight. It simply said, ”This quote reminds me of you.”

I’m been through my share of shit… I’ve made my mistakes.  I’ve done some stupid things, made some dumb choices.  I’ve ventured down a wrong road or two… thinking it was the right way.  I’ve gotten lost.  Hell… I’ve even ventured down the wrong road knowing it was wrong.  I’ve lost friends and I’ve lost family.  I’ve said things I didn’t mean.  I’ve broken hearts.  I’ve loved.  I’ve held on when I knew it was unavailing.  I’ve lied.  I’ve been hurt.  I’ve cared too much.  I’ve left out of fear.  I’ve acted before I’ve thought.  I’ve been cheated.  I’ve forgotten.

And the truth is… I am going to make more mistakes.  I will do more stupid things.  I will choose the wrong paths.  I will get lost again, more than once.  There will be another time when my actions advance my thoughts.  I will grieve.  I will probably say another thing that I do not mean.  I will get hurt.  But the difference is that this time around… I will remember.

Because it is in spite of all that I have done, that I have the potential to be all that I can.  Without mistakes, I wouldn’t be able to problem solve or call myself independent.  Without pain or grief, I would know not of what strength is.  If everything turned out as I, at one point, hoped it would, my enthusiasm and dedication would not exist.  If everyone was perfect; if I had never gotten lost; if I had never loved; if I had never made a bad choice; I would not have the willpower to be anyone but the person I was to start.

If nothing had ever happened to me that I at one time saw as horrible, painful, or unfair, I certainly would not be where I am right now.  But those things did happen.  And those thing will continue to happen.  It is those exact experiences that have turned me into who I am today, and it is those future happenings that will shape me into the woman I will ultimately be.

For all those things I perceived as awful, difficult, traumatic, or regrettable: I thank everyone. I am me. It was all of those hard times that made me.  I have nowhere to go but up, even if there are slight slopes along the way  In the end I will still be me, only better (or better yet, the best I can be).

The Shipboard community aboard the MV Explorer started a program called “Extended Families,” where students are grouped with lifelong learners to form a sort of family away from home.  My extended parents are Rick and Joan, and I have 5 extended “brothers and sisters”.  It is actually a great way to get to know people on the ship who you wouldn’t normally or easily be able to get acquainted with.  During our first family dinner, I spoke with Rick about hobbies and interests.  When I mentioned golf, he excitedly told me that our Executive Dean, Dan Garvey, is an avid golfer.  Dean Dan has MS, so it intrigued me to talk to him about golfing, especially golfing with only one arm! So I of course took interest in this fact and coincidentally ran into Dean Dan a couple nights later.  I stopped him, introduced myself, and said, “I have to mention that I hear you are a golfer!”  I was not even prepared for his enthusiasm at the mere word: Golf.  I explained that I golf for my home school, Viterbo University, in La Crosse, Wisconsin and have made it a huge goal to get on a few golf courses around the world.  What came next, I wasn’t expecting; he asked me if I would like to golf with him!  As of right now, he has set up a golf outing for us and 2 others with his friend in Cape Town, South Africa, and expressed interest to golf again in Japan.  He told me about these amazing simulation courses where you literally play 18 holes from a driving range! (I believe you hit your drive, a computer tells you how far you are out, you hit again, ((and again if you aren’t ‘on the green yet’)) and putt on a practice-like green) Sounds pretty awesome to me!  As he walked away he turned and said, “Now Hannah, Please do not forget!” (I’m definitely not going to forget that my Dean wants to go golfing with me!) and as he left the deck he tells me, “If you ever even want to TALK about the game, just come by my office!” So all in all, I am incredibly excited to find someone on the ship who enjoys the game of golf, and even more excited that that person just so happens to be the Dean. I am looking forward to hitting the course on Sunday in Cape Town.
Side Note: Tom, if you read this, email me a couple tips from my last lesson! I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of Dean Dan☺

On February 11th, 2011 the MV Explorer and its over 700 passengers crossed over the exact point of 0º-0º, where the Prime Meridian and the Equator cross.

I am sitting on the seventh deck forward, one hour before dock time.  I do not want to leave Ghana.  It was, in it’s own distinct way, the most beautiful place I have ever been.  If I had to choose one thing that makes Ghana the amazing place it is, I would say the people.  I cannot even begin to count the number of conversations I exchanged with men and women in Takoradi, Accra, Tema, Busia Beach, and in vehicles from one of those places to another.  My friends laughed at me because when we were anywhere, I could always be found in the back of the pack, talking to someone I ran in to along the way.  So many times I was told things like “Two different colors, one people,” “Unity is Strength,” “We come from different places, but you are my sister and I am your brother,” “It takes a village to raise a child,” and more.  Each and every quote sank into me.  I heard each independently.  I thought about every word as its own.  How can people of so far away care so much and be so kind?  It is difficult to wrap your head around, but they just simply do care that much, and they just simply are that nice.  I visited Tema New Town, a small village in Tema, where we were treated as though we had lived their our entire lives.  At the beach, about fifty Semester at Sea students, faculty, and life long learners worked together with twenty-five Africans as we pulled in a boat and it’s fishing net.  The same night I spent hours flipping with the children and doing handstands as if they were my best friends.  On our walk away from the port, a Scottish man who works in Ghana gave us a ride to the market circle.  It’s a long stretch, but think about what our world would be like if every single person thought with the African mindset?  We are all one.  We are all brothers and sisters.  We, as a community, raise each other.  We do not exist as individuals at all, but as a group of people, animals, and all things, living in the same place.  It’s good that I do not want to leave this place, because now that I have been touched by Ghana, I will come back. 

By The Waves
On Tuesday I had the opportunity to experience Kofi’s dream first hand.  Kofi’s uncle, Nicholas, brought me to the village of Premprem.  Premprem is where Kofi grew up.  I arrived at the home of the landowner, who showed me a blue-print of the area.  He brought me to the land where Kofi would like to build his school.  While standing on the soil where future students will learn, I could see the Atlantic Ocean.  I truly have an appreciation for why Kofi calls this dream, “By The Waves.”  As I walked the area, I actually got to talk to Kofi on the telephone.  It was incredibly surreal.  I am now a part of this amazing project.  I cannot wait to come home and share my experience with all of you.  Ghana is everything Kofi talks of it being.

It was…
It was the drum circle of Native West Africans welcoming Semester at Sea to Ghana,
It was the first initial walk through the markets of Takoradi,
It was being able to take ten steps and smell dead fish, chocolate, and fruit all at different times,
It was Fufu, a local Ghanaian dish, consisting of cassava (which somehow translates to yam in their language), SPICY soup (I’m talking almost straight up Tabasco), and two pieces of chicken,
It was celebrating my professor, Jeffery Kottler’s, 60th birthday by cheersing local beers, Club, (I learned that in the native language they say, “Watama” instead of,”Cheers.”)
It was learning that Club Beer of West Africa is brewed at the first brewery running brewery in Africa,
It was meeting Justice, and first realizing how incredibly kind the people in Ghana really are (In Western culture, when someone is extra nice to us we assume there is a reason behind it, but in Ghana, everyone is just nice for the simple fact that they want to know you, they want to have a conversation, they want to be friendly),
It was visiting with Dean Dan Garvey, and discussing our upcoming golf outings throughout the world,
It was packing twenty-five SAS kids in the back of a pick up truck and riding to the port entry to find somewhere to watch an American Football Game,
It was watching the Packers WIN THE SUPERBOWL at Oceans Bar in Takoradi, Ghana,
It was the cute local Ghanaian, who promised to come to Wisconsin to marry me,
It was Monday morning’s first four hour-long van ride, with 23 people in one van, to Accra, the capital of Ghana,
It was learning that these vans will not leave to go anywhere until they are full to maximum capacity,
It was finding Nicholas Siepor, Kofi’s uncle, by only a name and a phone number (whom we had never met and had no idea what the next few days were going to bring),
It was the second packed van ride (this one had 24 people and was 1.5 hours) to Tema,
It was the taxi ride to the Tema Fishing Harbour,
It was Nicholas’ quiet attitude yet simple and apparent excitement to show us around his home country,
It was the fear in the back of our minds, of not knowing what we had really gotten ourselves into,
It was the six security checks we had to go through to simply walk the harbor (we had to have a meeting with the head of security and every security man after that along the 500 yard harbor),
It was the men asking us which day of the week we were born on, and learning that every day gives you a different African name (Friday=Kofi),
It was the beautiful women carrying the heaviest things atop their heads,
It was the same beautiful women carrying babies on their backs, by a sheet of fabric wrapped around them, usually matching their outfit,
It was the taxi ride through the village of Tema New Town, where Nicholas lives and works.
It was the happiest of children at the Manhean TMA Primary School where Nicholas is the headmaster, who were so incredibly excited to see us,
It was the introduction to all six classes of kids thrilled to meet us,
It was also learning that there are many kids that still do not attend school in the village, where parents often do not think education is important, which results in alcoholism and high teen pregnancy rates,
It was Michael Accapu, a deaf boy who did not go to school for a very long time, but now is Nicholas’ helper.  He has come a long way in his education, but still is held back because he cannot attend class like an average student,
It was the “good washrooms” we were privileged to use, which consisted of old urinal looking things with holes in bottom and into the ground,
It was the shower that I don’t believe I need to even explain after the toilets,
It was the phenomenal hospitality in Tema New Town Village in general,
It was the amazing meal the Nicholas and his wife, Margaret cooked for us (it was rice and a stir-fry-ish topping, not exactly sure because we ate outside and couldn’t really see in the dark [we didn’t ask questions, we just ate]),
It was the electricity that only comes on after 8:00pm,
It was the equally as amazing breakfast, fried egg sandwiches and hot cocoa,
It was the trip to Premprem, and witnessing, first-hand, the site where Kofi is planning to build a school, and talking to Kofi on the phone while I was stading on the soil of his home village,
It was the bus ride to Accra (a bigger bus but, still, shoulder to shoulder with people),
It was the welcome drum performance by Natty and a few others who called themselves Kofi’s brothers,
It was watching a new friend sew me African style pants just like his,
It was the incredible conversation with Tannor, my new friend from Ghana, who shared with me all the beautiful sights to see in Ghana,
It was realizing I want to come back,
It was learning of mutation, the idea that all people started from black, African people, and mutated to white as they moved west and north,
It was the invitation to the reggae fest taking place on Wednesday night,
It was even Mel getting sick, feverish, and announcing that she may die in minutes (a little over reaction of heat stroke),
It was the next packed van ride, I say packed because I was not aware 31 people could fit into one van… but Yes, 31 people can.
It was getting out of that van to jump right in another one for yet another four hour long bus ride back to Takoradi,
It was stepping on the ship at 9:45pm and realizing the MV Explorer is saving water, and that the water was to be turned off at 10:00pm,
It was meeting Joe on the walk to the bus station Wednesday morning, and viewing his (and numerous others) African paintings,
It was standing up on a surf board and riding my first wave,
It was Joseph the Lobster man who caught us fresh lunch at Busbu Beach,
It was doing gymnastics with a couple little African kids (I flipped two little boys about fifty times each),
It was the thirty Semester at Sea learners working with the Ghanaians to pull in a fishing net by two crazy long ropes,
It was the hassle of getting ten kids a bus ride back, and with the help of my new friend Eric, it ended up going very well (after two hours of waiting and calling random Ghana numbers),
It was trying to pick and choose 50 things to tell you about to rightfully describe the natural beauty, the sincerely kind people, and the countless memories of Ghana, West Africa,
That made my time in Ghana a life-changing and absolutely incredible experience!

WHY

At age five, you are expected to ask, “Why?” Why is the grass green? Why is the sky blue? Why can’t I have five cookies? Why is the monkey at the zoo locked in a tiny cage? Why doesn’t he or she have any friends? Why does that boy talk and act funny? 

At age twenty-one, you are aren’t exactly expected to answer, “Because” to all of the naïve wonders of childhood, but you definitely aren’t expected to still be searching for solutions to the exact same questions.

I stayed up all night.  I was intrigued by the amazing colors of the ocean.  The most beautiful shades of blue one can ever imagine.  The different colors, though, brought those silly questions to my mind that really don’t seem so silly anymore… I watched the sun setting in the west over the Atlantic Ocean from the sixth deck of the MV Explorer.  When the sun was going down, the water was royal blue.  In the pitch dark of the night I stood on the edge looking at the waves created by the ship.  The water was a deep teal, almost black.  From the front of the ship, as the sun rose in the east, the ocean seems lighter blue, nearly grey. I have been told the sky is blue because light reflects off the blue oceans. Then why does the ocean change colors? Is it because of the sky changing colors? Or are the sky and the ocean completely separate things and neither depends on the other to be colored how it is…

Over the time of this voyage around the world, I know I will be leaping into the past, remembering when I asked my family or friends a classic question any five-year-old would ask…  As I travel the world, I will probably find answers to most, if not all, of these crazy questions.  But now when I really sit and think about it, I realize there really is no such thing as a stupid question.  Because it is those questions, the incredible answers to them, and the interesting journey to find the answers that makes the best of experiences.

Who’s to say we’re gorgeous? Who’s to say we’re beautiful? Who’s to say we can make a difference? Who’s to say we’re going somewhere?  The real question is though… Who’s to say we’re not? Who’s to say we can’t? 

I had lunch with the Captain today… Caption Jeremy Kingston.  Very entertaining British accent and a great guy.

I got asked to join a drum circle/jam session/awesome club yesterday.  It’s pretty much the sweetest thing ever! We just sit in a circle and rock out. I brought my maraca (which is much harder to play than you think!) Beyond just being awesome though, we are performing for the Ghana pre-port meeting…. We’ve practiced a piece of music that a group is going to sing to and I believe there are some dancers as well. For the performance, I am playing a finger bell… but I’m getting pretty good at the bongos, maraca, little frog thing, and all kinds of other drums!

I participated in an African Tribal Dance and Brazilian Fusion class after dinner. Our leader, Maria Luisa Carter, taught us everything there is to know about Tribal and Samba dancing. We started with the bending of the knees, and slowly worked in every body part.  It is interesting how we are used to dancing as entertainment, when Africans and Brazilians dance for life.  When they dance, it is the relief of their stress, of their troubles, and it is also a celebration at the end of the day.  We all caught on pretty quickly to put our whole selves into the dance, go all the way, not just half (as Maria said).  I’m incredibly excited to use my new dance and drum knowledge when I visit the village of Prom Prom in Ghana.  After our dance party we sat down and talked about the questions I asked before and about the possibilities and opportunities that lie ahead, which brings me to another thing I’ve been thinking about a lot: 

I have been carrying around a backpack that says, “Ubuntu, Do Life.” It was the theme of a National Youth Gathering in 2003, held in Atlanta, Georgia. So coincidence after coincidence have been happening to me with this Ubuntu thing. On the second day of this amazing adventure called “Going to college on a ship”, we were required to take a writing assessment test.  The essay question is about what the word “Ubuntu” means to you and how you have practiced this in your life.  Crazy, I know! Then I’m talking to this kid, Eric, who told me the day before that he was planning on getting the word “Ubuntu” tattooed on his side! And I have that on my backpack! 

Ubuntu is a South African phrase that means, “I am because We are.” I have been continuously contemplating this sentence for quite some time now.  Every one of us lives because others do.  We would not survive without one another.  Whether we like to admit it or not, we exist because someone else does.  We are all united, and without all, there is no individual. I ask everyone reading this to take a minute just to think about what that actually means. And keep reading my blog! It’s been real, and it’s only been 20 days!

As Kofi always tell me:
Unity is Strength
Hannah

Because we are traveling around the globe in the direction we are, we will overall lose an entire day of sleep.  As you can imagine, we have to set our clocks ahead almost every other night at sea.  So this morning, Lilli (my roommate) and I jump out of bed at 0815 and sprint up the stairs to get breakfast before it closes at 0830… turns out the time change got the best of us and we were 45 minutes late already and I have a class that begins at 0920.  Good thing the ship is not very big, so walking across campus to class isn’t a huge burden.

On the bright side (no pun intended) the sun is shining!

My plan for the day:
Wait for Global Studies to get done
Change into my Brazilian bikini
Lay on Deck 7 and do my Environmental Ethics homework
Eat Lunch
Class
Lay on Deck 7
Class
Dinner
Watch the sunset
Make Biology note cards
Do any other homework (this is a tentative schedule remember!)
Workout at 1000 during snack time.
Making Notecards (Maybe)

I know what you’re all thinking… and it really is a rough life aboard the MV Explorer….