The Voyage Ends

When dropped off at the port in England...

                                    

                                     

Morocco and the End of the Voyage

We arrived in Morocco and headed by train to Marrakesh. This beautiful city has two distinct parts: the old city, or “Medina”, and the new city. We had the opportunity to stay in the Medina in a riad, which is a very old house that has been converted into a bed and breakfast. It was over 200 years old with a tremendous amount of charm and character. The pictures below do not do it justice.

The End   Rick's ppt on the Arab Spring (Winter)

We leave for England tomorrow and will be at sea for three days. During that time, Rick will give (and grade) all of his final exams and we will also say good-bye to some wonderful new friends.

We read at some point that what you remember from a trip or experience are two things: 1) the highs and lows, and 2) how it ends. So, you should always try to end on a good note, as this will be a big part of how you remember it. We are hopeful that these last few days – until we disembark in Southhampton, England on April 16 – end on a good note.

Africa

Cape Town, South Africa  Rick's ppt 1 and Rick's ppt 2

Cape Town was one of our family's favorite port visits. The city is stunningly beautiful, as are the surrounding mountains and countryside. Rick took one of his classes on a field lab visit to the University of Cape Town to meet with with Prof. Shose Kessi who focuses on post-colonial psychology. She has written extensively about the need to de-colonize South Africa universities, many of which only began admitting students of color in the 1990s! Rick's class also visited the District 6 Museum and the Institute for Justice & Reconciliation, which continue to research conflict resolution and the lingering effects of apartheid. It's fascinating (and sad) how racially separated and unequal South African society continues to be even 20+ years after Nelson Mandela and his ANC party won the country's national election and transitioned to democracy.

We also had time to learn about the surrounding areas and their history, including the Cape of Good Hope.

 (penguins in the background)

Garden Route Safari (one of the most enjoyable experiences on the voyage):

Ghana   Rick's ppt on Africa and foreign aid

After departing from Cape Town, we sailed for about a week up along the western coast of Africa to Ghana, which is one of Africa's most successful and impressive democracies. There we attended a (very loud) Easter morning service followed by participating in Ghana's other passion besides Christianity: soccer/football. The U.S. beat Ghana in the last World Cup (2014), but Ghana knocked the U.S. out of the two previous World Cups in 2010 and 2006. The boys played a pickup game with other SAS students and Ghanaian club players.

The next day we traveled to Kakum National Forest for tree climbing.

Our time in Ghana concluded with Rick taking his Global Health students to visit two public hospitals in Accra. There he and his students toured maternity wards, HIV/AIDS clinics, neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), pediatric wings, and even morgues. Although it felt invasive of patients' privacy, the hospitals' clinicians invited the students to watch two births as they were happening. It was an intense and educational visit to say the least...

Celebratory dinner with Tim and Ben's algebra and biology tutors (Maddie & Lauren) 

Has Tim ever been so academically motivated? :)