Adios, Ciao

(Bob:) This is my last entry in this blog, since we have now landed in Florida and are waiting to fly home tomorrow. When we get home, we will add some slide shows of the many good pictures we had that we couldn’t get on the blog because of the ship’s balky computer system. We’ll send an email advising people how to check out our pictures if they want.

In the middle of January, we said adios to Ensenada. A little more than a week ago, we said ciao to Brazil. We will have traveled 26,000 nautical miles -- that’s 29,900 regular miles -- and visited countries comprising more than half the world’s population.

Rather than try to wax philosophical and put everybody to sleep -- again -- I think the best way to sum up is a Q&A that may answer a lot of people’s questions -- and sneak philosophy in.

1. Am I glad I made the trip? Yes, it’s a wonderful, relaxed way to see a chunk of the world. It’s expensive -- although we got a 2-for-1 deal, but travel is always expensive at our age when we no longer want to sleep in tents. By the way, those 2-for-1 deals are still being offered, since with the recession, they haven’t been able to fill the ship. There were about 600 students aboard and 25 lifelong learners. They want 700+ students each semester.

2. Would I do it again, since many “lifelong learners” go on the ship several times? I don’t think so, since, first of all, it’s too expensive to do again. Second, the itinerary is very similar each time, and I have a lot of other places I want to see, both inside the United States and out. (50 national parks is one goal.) But in 10 or 15 years when my money could go to a retirement home or this ship, my answer may change.

3. What was the most enjoyable feature of the trip? Well, of course, it was wonderful to see all the sights we saw, but the most enjoyable aspect was the people we met and got to know on the ship. When you are in close contact for four months, you can get to know many more people than you ever would at home in 10 years. We spent much of our time with the other 25 lifelong learners and with professors and their spouses, and the conversations you can have over the meal table or over drinks can be fascinating. You can be discussing theology with a religion professor at one meal, derivatives with a business professor at another, and the politics of India with a history professor at a third. And then join them all in a sing-along in the faculty lounge at night. You can’t match this with any other type of travel. We also got to know a number of students pretty well and enjoyed getting their insights and perspectives, and were happy when they seemed to enjoy spending some time with us.

4. What was the biggest disappointment? From a tourist perspective, it was India. What a mess that country is! From my standpoint (but not Luana‘s), time on the ship really began to drag the last month. When I was a student on board in 1968, we visited 18 ports in 15 countries during the semester. Here we visited 13 ports -- including two in Hawaii -- in 9 countries. In 1968, we only spent about three days in each port, and with this cruise, we spent four to six days in most ports, but still there was a lot more ship time. If I had been a student with papers and tests to study for, it would have taken up more of my time, but I only had to read and attend what classes I wanted to here.

5. What was the biggest surprise? The Terra Cotta warriors in China were much more impressive than I expected, and Cape Town and its surroundings in South Africa were much more beautiful than I could have imagined.

6. What countries would I like to return to? China and Brazil are my two selections. There are many things I would still like to see in both countries, and Rio would always be enjoyable. South Africa is another interesting country that I really enjoyed and would love to spend more time in, but I see that as much more difficult and expensive to get to from the West Coast.

7. What foods did I like best? For me, the cuisine of Brazil and South Africa were my favorites, since both had delicious seafood, while Brazil had excellent beef -- although in some restaurants it was so-so -- and South Africa had interesting wild game on the menu. Many on the trip loved the sheer variety that was available in China, but I was not a big fan of Chinese food before the trip. The least memorable cuisine was that of Ghana, although the fresh-baked bread was delicious.

8. What are the downsides to traveling in this way? You have to be able to put up with very close quarters in the shipboard room for an extended period. Luana and I did very well. It’s been very enjoyable traveling with her. Onshore, if you go on the trips arranged by Semester at Sea, you spend your time with a busload of people for a few days and climbing on and off and riding in buses. A major portion of those people are students, some of whom are very rich and spoiled and have as their only goal to get drunk in every port.

9. Would I recommend that parents/grandparents send college students on this trip? In my opinion, the best way to travel abroad is to learn a language and then go live in the country that speaks it for a few months or longer. You gain a real sense of independence doing that. But if the student really wants to see the world but doesn’t know a language, can afford it, and isn’t the type who will spend all of his or her time in a bar in every port, this will be a valuable experience. Not counting side trips, the cost is about the same as a semester at a private college. (The program is run by the University of Virginia.)

10. What did I learn from this trip? Right now, I feel I learned an immense amount about the countries we visited -- although still only scratching the surface in each one -- and learned it in a much more lasting way than reading about it in a book or seeing it on TV or visiting for a few hours from a luxury cruise ship. People are the same everywhere, with the same basic needs. Interestingly, each country is working out solutions to their problems in their own ways; and some of them are much better solutions than Americans have come up with. On the scary side, I think China will rule the world economically in 20 to 30 years, provided their political system is flexible enough to meet its challenges. The Chinese work so much harder and save so much more than we in the U.S. do, and I don’t think our citizens are willing to accept the lower standard of living they would have to have to compete effectively against the Chinese. Their ongoing investment in infrastructure is amazing. Have your children/grandchildren learn Mandarin, and pray that the transition to a world run by the Chinese can be made peacefully.

Quite simply, I see the best solution to many of the world’s problems to be zero population growth. There are just too many people creating too many demands on too many social, economic and political systems. And that includes in the United States, which is projected to have another 100 million people in the next 40 years. That is just too crowded. As I said about Ghana, imagine 23 million people in a country the size of Oregon. It’s absurd.

We are all very lucky to live in a country such as the U.S. with all the material riches we have.

11. Was this a life-changing event for me? At our age, the only life-changing events are usually catastrophic ones. But I have gained a new appreciation for some areas of the world, and plan to get more involved in international organizations at home, and try to do more volunteer work generally.

12. Will I be glad to get home and see old friends and our family? Definitely yes.

Preparing for Re-entry

(Luana:) Life is a journey; enjoy the trip. That’s always been good advice, and we’ve been so fortunate to be able to follow it on the MV Explorer, a place that has come to feel like home. But how do you wrap up a trip around the world? Our nine-day sail from Brazil to Florida has given us plenty of time to reflect, to celebrate, and even to try new things:

• We hosted an ice cream party for all the kids in our wonderful extended family. I will miss these sweet, caring, smart and funny kids, who called us Mom and Dad and gave us lots of hugs and laughter. I hope to see many of them on our doorstep in years to come.
• We celebrated the journey at an alumni ball. Finally, some chocolate for dessert! Our lifelong learner group also got together for a special dinner so we could wear our trip finery.
• I helped out at the textbook buyback, meeting some new students and learning how to play a card game called euchre. Note to self: Do NOT play this game for money.
• I learned how to use some weight training equipment from my friend Sherry, who promises to be my personal trainer via gmail chat, and I also reached new levels on the elliptical, treadmill, and bike.
• We attended various reflection and reentry sessions, some of them fun and some more serious, thinking back on lessons learned and pondering what to do with it.

• We listened to some great music as our MV Explorer String Band played their six-song play list almost daily.
• I finally attended Spiritual Dance, a lovely program that developed quite a shipboard following for the way it helped people feel grounded and feel connected.
• We kept the party going with some very social happy hours and nightcaps in the faculty lounge, and long dinners out on deck.
• We watched sunrises and sunsets and stared at the beautiful ocean, our home for nearly four months.

I have enjoyed this trip beyond measure, so much so that I wish it could last forever, but feel so blessed to have had the experience. As Don Gogniat, our Global Studies professor termed it, we are lucky little bunnies. Where else can you gather with friends at every meal without having to clean the house and cook? Where else does someone do your laundry for you, clean your bathroom, make your bed, offer entertainment, and deliver you to new countries for new adventures? Where else can you choose from so many opportunities to learn new things? Where else can you get such a great perspective on our world?

I will definitely miss the ship and the trip and the community we formed, but I’m looking forward to seeing my friends and reconnecting with home. You’ve read here about what we’ve been doing, but you’ve been having your own trips, your own adventures, your own life events -- weddings, babies, job transitions and more -- and we want to hear about them. And we should worry less about whether our house is perfect and just get together more, spend more time together.

There are adventures to be had everywhere on this planet, even in our own back yards, and I’d like to think of home as our next port, a place for new adventures in uncharted territory, with good friends to make the time special. Our journey continues…

Getting a Taste of the World

(Luana:) When my parents moved into a retirement home about 20 years ago, I would take the kids and join them for lunch, and then come home chuckling over how the residents talked endlessly about the dining room food. I swore I would never do that. Another vow broken!

Now I think I understand, because armies are not alone in traveling on their stomachs -- we all do it, and the 700 members of the MV Explorer shipboard community were no exception. Food on the ship was bland and repetitive (yet perfectly healthy and adequate), relieved somewhat by stellar soups and a few interesting vegetable and vegetarian dishes. But the monotony only made it that much more fun to explore new taste treats in each port. Here are some random thoughts (and pictures) on our food experiences:

• In Japan, I loved the vending machines where you selected your food and inserted money to pay for it, then sat down and waited for a server to bring it to you. Everything was so clean and organized, and beautifully arranged. Biggest surprise: Finishing a meal only to realized I hadn’t opened one container -- which was fortunate, since it was some sort of foul-smelling fermented bean paste that would have totally ruined my appetite.

• We had at least eight or 10 meals in China sitting in groups around big tables with the lazy susans in the center, and had virtually no duplication of dishes, except for the rice. I especially enjoyed some crispy, delicate fried corn, but there were several great eggplant dishes as well.

• I think Vietnam and Cambodia had the most amazing and incredible food on the trip. Everything I tried, from noodles dishes to dumplings to fish stews, was fragrant, flavorful and soul-satisfying. If you ever go to Saigon, be sure to eat at Lemongrass, which had deservedly been highly recommended to us. I’m so happy to think about exploring all the Vietnamese restaurants back in Portland.
• India presented its own challenges, as raw fruits and vegetables are absolutely off limits for health reasons. I love the flavors of Indian cooking, but it was sad to see so many interesting salads and fruits and have to pass them by. Sadder still to see so many people begging for food.

• South Africa has some excellent restaurants, and the European influence was strong where we traveled, although I talked with several students who found a more authentic African experience. We had a good lunch at a winery with a top chef, where Bob had Cape salmon and I tried a salad made with springbok biltong, sort of like jerky but not tough. At our anniversary dinner I tried impala, and when I went on my safari without Bob, they served roast lamb that had been locally raised on one of the sheep farms.

• In Ghana we tried genuine West African food. The downside of that is that they use a lot of oily fish that has a strong flavor, but there were some good roast chicken dishes and some interesting spinach and chili sauces. We really liked the fried plantains, called kelewele, and the chicken with rice dish called jollof rice. Ghanaians also serve a big dough ball called fufu, which we liked about as much as people like poi, and which is usually dropped into a fishy stew called forowe.

• Brazilian food blends Portuguese and African cooking traditions. They are known for a thick stew of black beans and pork called feijoada, and for a dish called farofa, or ground manioc. Manioc is sort of like potato, but they also grind it and sprinkle it on other dishes sort of like a topping. We also had the Brazilian grill experience, where roving waiters slice off all sorts of grilled meats, and we had some great seafood. Of course, anything tastes good after one or two caipirinhas, the national cocktail. This drink is similar to a mojito but it’s made with a sugarcane liquor called cachaça, and I’m bringing home a bottle. Come see us!