Bill Seney's

Semester at Sea: Rock 5

18 Sep 2005

Back on board and back to classes. Archbishop Desmond Tutu was introduced to the students at Global Studies, and received a standing ovation. He and Mrs. Tutu had a tiring flight to join us in Brazil and have been resting so this was most people’s first chance to meet him.

19 Sep 2005

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has 2 scientists on board from Brazil to Capetown, and along the way they will be deploying oceanic buoys to take scientific measurements. There are few research ships that travel the South Atlantic and vessels of opportunity such as the Explorer is one of the ways they try to fill the gap. As vessels of opportunity go we have a lot more amenities than the average cargo ship, and compared to other cruise liners the NOAA grad students probably have more in common with our passengers than the passengers on most cruise ships.

The NOAA scientists deployed the first 2 buoys today, a floater and a drifter. The floater drops to a depth of 2000 metres (6600 feet) for a week to ten days, taking temperature and salinity readings and measuring deep ocean currents, then rises to the surface, transmits its data to a satellite then sinks again. The drifter floats along the surface taking temperature readings and measuring surface currents, also communicating by sattelite.

I also had a chance to meet Desmond Tutu very briefly when he came into the Staff / Adult passenger / Faculty lounge to get a cup of coffee.

20 Sep 2005

Neptune Day!

We actually crossed the equator on the way to Brazil, but due to exams King Neptune kindly postponed his visit to determine if the pollywogs (first time crossers) are worthy of becoming shellbacks (veterans).

The day began (after breakfast) with a group of shellbacks (mostly crew) marching through the ship beating drums and generally making noise. They were dressed in bed sheet togas, carried cardboard swords, spears and shields and wore helmets made out of hard hats covered with aluminum foil.

After this all the pollywogs were mustered on the pool deck for the line crossing ceremony before King Neptune, Queen Minerva and the court (more shellbacks in constume, including the Executive Dean as Neptune’s herald). We were doused with imitation fish guts (oatmeal and vinegar – phew!), swore allegiance to King Neptune and kissed a (stuffed) fish. Once this was completed we officially joined the ranks of the shellbacks.

After all the pollywogs who were interested had gone through the ceremony there was the optional haircutting. I decided to celebrate the occasion by sacrificing my hair and beard. There was an assembly line where our hair was initially trimmed by scissors, then we moved to a chair where a shellback used electric clippers. Those with longer hair had the option of donating it to Locks for Love, which provides wigs for chemotherapy patients. I decided to go all the way, so after the clippers I used a razor to take off the stubble of both my hair and beard. Had I known then what I know now I would have brought along an electric razor instead of relying on a disposable from the ship’s store, but you live and learn.

21 Sep 2005

Due to an outbreak of Japanese Encephalitis in the Utter Pradesh province of India Semester At Sea’s risk management company advised SAS to make the Japanese Encephalitis vaccine available to students at cost ($400 – delivered to Capetown). I am going to New Delhi and the Taj Mahal, which are on the boarder of the Utter Pradesh, but given the wording of the announcement (they are not actually recommending the vaccine, they are recommending that SAS protect themselves from lawsuits) and that the disease is carried by mosquitoes and mainly found in rural areas I will be relying on DEET for protection.

22 Sep 2005

This evening there was a reception for Archbishop and Mrs. Tutu in the Staff / Adult passenger / Faculty lounge. I had an opportunity to get my picture taken with the Tutus, and I was impressed by how joyous a man he appears to be. His TV interviews tend to be serious but in person he is always smiling and has a puckish and self-deprecating sense of humour.

23 Sep 2005

I sat in on a Q&A session Archbishop and Mrs. Tutu had with some of the students. He answered some questions about his views on US foreign policy, which were mixed. He was critical of the decision of the US to go to war in Iraq without UN sanction, but gave top marks to US opposition of the government in Myanmar. Semester At Sea is visiting Myanmar later in this voyage and the Archbishop said he would have been unlikely to have accepted the invitation to travel with us between Brazil

Archbishop Tutu had been head of the Anglican Church in South Africa when they started ordaining women to the priesthood, and when asked about the move stated that in his view baptism makes a much greater change in a persons relationship with God than ordination does, and to allow women to be baptized but not ordained made no sense.

He was also expressed his support for gay rights. For tactical reasons he suggested that gay rights leaders might do better to accept the term civil union, provided it gave the same rights and responsibilities as marriage, and not insist on the name as well, but he was supportive of their decision either way.

24 Sep 2005

Global studies today consisted of a panel discussion between Archbishop Tutu, 3 faculty members and 3 students. A major topic was how South Africa had elat with the historic legacy of apartheid. Archbishop Tutu saw 3 options:

1) Give as good as you get – an eye for an eye. The Archbishop pointed out that the passage about “an eye for an eye” is intended to LIMIT revenge, not justify it. Punishment must not exceed the original crime, nor is collective punishment permitted. In any case, given the negotiated nature of the transition to democracy in South Africa, this was not practical.

2) Collective amnesia – forgive and forget. Sweeping the history of apartheid in South Africa under the carpet also has problems. It only papers over the cracks, allows wounds to fester and stores up trouble for the future.

3) I’m sorry – true forgiveness. This is in some ways the hardest path, as asking for forgiveness requires vulnerability, but it allows wounds to heal.

Through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, of which Archbishop Tutu was the chair, South Africa attempted to look the beast of apartheid in the eye. This was just not the major offenses (torture, murder) but the small day to day injustices that erode the spirit.

The task of the TRC was to hear statements from victims of apartheid and give them a chance to put their stories on the public record. It also was empowered to grant amnesty for crime committed in the apartheid era (before 1994), provided:

a) the perpetrators made a full disclosure of their deeds; and

b) the actions were politically motivated.

The amnesty covered both crimes committed by supporters of apartheid as well as actions by apartheid’s opponents.

The TRC did not make amnesty conditional on the victims expressing forgiveness, nor on the perpetrators offering an apology – truthful disclosure of politically motivated acts was the only requirement. It was felt that requiring expressions of contrition would lead many to shed crocodile tears. Under the path chosen the victims would know it was a true apology.

When the offenders did not offer an apology it makes it harder for the victims to forgive, but the Archbishop pointed out that if a victim requires an apology before they can forgive, they are allowing their oppressor to retain power over them.

The Archbishop expressed views on other subjects as well. He described religion as a tool – morally neutral in itself – good if it brings people to God. On ecumenicalism he said “God belongs to all; All belong to God”. Finally he reminded us that actions are cumulative – that one person can help change the world for the better.

At the end of the session, the Executive Dean announced that, in light of State Department warnings against threats to Americans and US vessels off the east coast of Africa, our voyage would not be visiting Kenya as originally scheduled. The Institute for Shipboard Education is currently working on choosing an alternate port. We hope to here their decision in a few days.

25 Sep 2005

Today I misplaced my USB flash memory drive, which rather annoyed me. I suspect I left it in the computer lab when I was checking my e-mail but it wasn’t there when I went back to look for it. I still have hopes that it will turn up in the lost & found, but in any case I have bought a replacement at the ship’s store. Fortunately I jot my notes for my trip reports down in a notebook before transcribing them, and I have the e-mails I sent with the earlier reports so I only had to recreate my travel log for the last leg of the trip.

The seas have been picking up a bit lately, from 1 – 2 metres (3 – 6 feet) to 2-3 metres (6 -10 feet), which makes for somewhat more rocking on the boat. They have given us reminders not to pile breakables on our dressers and to be careful about moving around the ship, but other than that there have been no major problems. A few people were wearing patches for motion sickness but the number has declined over the voyage and so far I have not had any problems.

Tomorrow we dock in Capetown!

- Bill Seney