To try and better understand some of the main differences between our culture and a Senegalese one, we participated in a social experiment called "Feast or Famine. We were all divided into 3 tiers; lower, middle and upper class where lower class only ate rice, middle class received rice and beans and upper class were lucky enough to get normal meals on board. I drew lower class with only rice for my meals which wasn't bad until we found out upper class was getting ribs and garlic bread. Although this was a short lived experiment it was amazing how hungry I was after only one day. What also astonished me is that an upper class income is considered more than $10,000. This information made us quite anxious for what to expect in our upcoming port stay.
As so goes Class Afloat, schedules change based on situations that arise. We caught two small types of tuna and then another quick 12 tuna within an hour. This abundance of fish allowed us Marine Biology students the chance to complete our fish dissection labs that were due much later. But even better, the crew were supplied a feast of fresh tuna for supper. I must admit, filleting tuna is much easier than Pike with no worries of later choking on the random bone.
Day 82 of my journey may have been one of the best days of the bunch. Upon waking up and arriving at mess, I found that our boat had been decorated for Christmas. It was an awesome feeling to see the spirit on board. Our Shipboard Director approached me with a "Merry Christmas!" and handed me my original snack bag and hot chocolate from Spain back. I have snacks again!!!!
Upon arrival, it was evident that this was not like any port we had been to yet. The cement dock was crumbling, brown water surrounded the boat, garbage was everywhere and barbed wire surrounded the dock. To top it off, we had four security guards hired to "guard" the boat, yet we were told not to trust them and not to let them onboard. Our stay consisted of a visit to the LCB school, which is a self sustainable program. There, we helped them in their gardens and built garbage cans out of plastic bottles. After a game of basketball, we all arrived back at the Gulden Leeuw where we showed the students our daily tasks, how to harness up and climb. The next day we were introduced to the SYTO school, which assists with the AIDS Hospital. These would be the students we were paired up with for our home stay. Our day consisted of working gardens at the hospital and round table discussions about governments, education and culture/lifestyle differences before heading to our overnight stay. Upon arrival, I instantly missed my small uncomfortable bunk. Our residence was a small apartment with 15 people living there, not including how ever many children were there. In our room we were told there was normally four people that slept in that room (two in the bed, one on the floor and one on the balcony) so I guess now there would be six with myself and the other Class Afloat student. Our dinner of rice and fish balls(?) was laid out on a sheet on the floor as we watched a soccer game, I can only imagine that this was more of a prepared meal than they normally have. After the game and a quick tour of the neighborhood, we settled down for the night with three in the bed, one on the floor and two on the balcony. Although the living conditions were something that I have never seen before with not much to do, I will say they were good hosts since they allowed us to sleep in the bed, fed us a meal they probably couldn't afford and took us into a home that had no room for any more people.
This is not a country where you become overly confident and are always aware of your surroundings. With the local vendors, this became very real as I was approached by three guys overwhelming me to buy a shirt. Luckily, I was paying attention and realized the one guy pick pocketed my phone and I immediately wrestled it out of his hands.
The last day of our eventful port stay was spent visiting Gori Island, which acted as a slave trade depot at the height of the slave trade. They say this was the last piece of African soil many Africans stepped foot on before boarding slave boats towards the New Worlds.
We are set for our long 2-3 week Atlantic crossing as we head to Brazil just in time for Christmas and the unknown of what lies ahead as we cross the equator and the sailor traditions that go with.
Bye for now,
Easton
eleedahl@gmail.com
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