Ireland, Dublin Airport and my VERY SPECIAL luggage

MV Explorer departed Halifax on August 23, 2012. We arrived in Galway on 31^st of August. In the first day in Ireland, I went to the field trip for my Drawing at Sea class. We went to the various castles and sketched them. This was our first port; everybody was excited to enjoying the beauty of Ireland. The ship was docked in Galway for one day; however, we had given the option to stay in Galway and traveled ourselves overland to Dublin before ship leaves from Ireland. I decided to stay in Galway for two nights and Dublin for last twodays. On the second day, my friends and I explored Galway; we went to the cliffs of Mohr and experienced a windy/cold but beautiful day in Mohr. The  third day in Dublin, I did city tour through Semester At Sea field program.  We started our day with a trip to Phoenix Park. The Phoenix Park at 707 hectares (1752acres) is one of the largest enclosed recreational spaces within any European capital city. It was originally conceived as a Royal Deer Park, and we saw herds of deer roaming freely in the park. We visited Áras an Uachtaráin, the residence of the President of Ireland, dating from 1750 and is located in the center of the park adjacent to the United States Ambassador's residence, which wasbuilt in 1774. Afterward, we went to the Guinness Storehouse, Ireland’s number one visitor attraction. The Storehouse is modeled after a giant pint glass.According to the tour guide, if filled it would hold approximately 14.3 million pints of Guinness. We learned about the history of the world famous “Black Stuff”, and how in 1759, Arthur Guinness took out a 9000-year lease on the 4-acre site at an annual rent of £45. Dublin is also famous for its Georgian Squares, which were laid out during the Hanoverian period of the 1700’s as the city attracted new wealth and rejuvenation.  After lunch at the Storehouse, we went to Dublin Castle. In continuous use since its establishment in 1204 AD, Dublin Castle has played a prominent role in Ireland's history. The State Apartments are among the most prestigious Staterooms in the country and are open for guided tours. At the end of the day, I explored Dublin’s premier shopping district centered at Grafton Street. Grafton Street Located in the city center between St. Stephen’s Green and Trinity College, this pedestrianized street offers many fashionable stores. I stopped at Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland and located in an enviable position in the very heart of Ireland’s capital. Trinity College, on its 40-acre site, retains some of its ancient seclusion of cobbled squares, gardens and parks. The College is famed for its great treasures including The Book of Kells, a 9th century illuminated manuscript written around the year 800 AD, one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world.

We came back to the ship around 6 pm. I ate dinner in ship, connected with some friends to to experience the nightlife in Dublin. We wend to the Temple Bar, which is famous nightlife area in Dublin. I made some more friends from Ship as well as from Ireland.

September 3^rd, the last day in Ireland. I decided to spend this last day by wandering around Dublin city. I went out with Caroline and Emily; girls with whom I was traveling around Ireland. We stopped at shopping mall, tourist shop, and restaurant. Since my baggage was missing. I brought a sweatshirt and shoes.  We wondered around till 5:30. Since ship time is 6 pm, everybody should come back before 6 pm otherwise they get dock time, which means you will not be able to get out earlier on next port. For example, if some one comes back to the ship at 6:30, he/she will not be able to leave ship before 12 noons in next port. Every 15 minutes counts 2 hours dock time. Anyways, we came back to ship hoping that my baggage arrived but had not. Iasked chief James about baggage arrival and he replied, “Baggage should arrived at airport by now but not sure, but I am waiting response from port agent.” I became hopeless to get my baggage back. I came back to cabin, took a nap. After half an hour, I heard my name called. I went to the reception desk and chief told me, I should hurry and go to airport, agent is waiting for me. It was 6:40 pm and ship is leaving at 8 pm, therefore, I should come back to ship within 1 hour. I went out and got into the car. There was Irish man, however, I am very bad with name, and we introduced and head to Dublin Airport hoping to get my bag back. I had a chance to know him. He said he is working as port agent for 8 years, he was pretty aware about the world map. He knows Nepal when I talked about my birthplace. I talked about our trip and places we will be visiting.

            Finally, we arrived Airport. He ran fast to be done in time BUT he found out that luggage claim place was already closed. There was a phone in the wall near by entrance for calling emergency luggage claim. We tried calling them for half an hour , but no body picked up.  I noticed his face going pale, as did my face. He was sad being not able to help me and I was hopeless again not to get my luggage back. He went to door and knock, though nobody responds. Now, we have only 25 minutes till ship leave the port. I was afraid not being able to get into the ship. Finally, around 7:35, I noticed smile in his face that gave me some hope. He said, “Yah-ho! Come with me”. I followed him, “show them your passport and get in. There you can find your luggage, and come back that way, I will be waiting for you. Don’t worry, go fast we will be fine.” There was security check; I showed them my travel documents. I got in and found out that port agent had told them my story about missing luggage and ship is leaving soon for UK. Security guard helped me to do a fast search and gave my luggage back. Yay!!!! Now, getting back to the ship is a bigger issue. I carry my big bag and ran. Agent went to parking lot and starts his car; I ran fast and put my luggage in car. He said, “We have to drive fast otherwise ship will left without you.” He drove his car out the underground parking lot. I remember him saying, I don’t care about getting ticket for speeding but you have to be there in time.” He drove faster, finally we made to the ship at 7:53. Crewmembers and both Deans were waiting for me. As soon as I got in, they folded the ladder and closed the Gangway. The ship started to leave the port at 8:00 pm.

 

 

Ireland- the First Port Fall 2012

08/31/2012                          

Yes, finally this is the day we got to the land after 9 days. We arrived in Galway, Ireland at 8:00 am local time. I had a field lab on Friday, the first day, for my Drawing at Sea class. I woke up at 7:00 am, took a shower and headed to the Union (Ship meeting hall). Everybody was awake that early in the morning. I saw many excited and curious faces on the shipthat were going to explore Ireland within a few hours. Since we had field lab in Galway, we (I and Drawing at Sea, classmates) were first to land.   Due to the small Galway port and our huge ship, the MV Explorer parked quite far from the land. Therefore, we took a tender to get to the land. After a few minutes, we entered the tour coach and headed toward Kinvara (a small village outside of town).  We had the opportunity to learn the history and culture of Ireland. According to the tour guide, most of the young Irish college students enjoy their weekdays in college, and go back home on the weekend to eat delicious food cooked by mum. He also mentioned that today is the first day the high school students are going back to school after a long summer vacation. I looked around Galway through my window on the coach. It seems green and very clean, though I noticed the road is quit narrow.

 

After an hour, we stopped at a grocery store to use the ATM. Some of my classmates got cash and bought snacks. I purchased shaving razors and shaving cream. It has been about 10 days since I have shaved my facial hair because my shaving kit was in the bag (which was still missing). We proceeded on our tour. Our tour guide gave us a lot of information about Galway and Ireland on the way to the castles.

 

We arrived to Fiddaun Castle around 10:45 am after walking about 20 minutes from the FordFamily Farmhouse. We sketched the Castle, took pictures and then moved on to our next destination, which was Kilmacduagh Round Tower. We did the same things, sketched, took pictures and learned about the round tower. After 15 minutesfrom the round tower, we arrived at the Pier Head Restaurant and Bar in Kinvara. All of us were very excited to test Irish food. I ordered breaded breast of chicken with mushroom sauce. It was very delicious; they brought my food with Irish potatoes on the side (it is the culture of Irish restaurants to serve potatoes at every meal). As with others in the group, I enjoyed my food. Next, we went to the Dunguaire castle, Claregalway Friary and Menio castle before we got back to Galway town.

 

I noticed that Ireland is a land of castles and towers, each filled with history and character dating back to Norman times. We spent the day sketching castle ruins in thebeautiful Irish countryside. At each site, we sketched rugged stone fortifications, towers and ruins utilizing drawing technique learned in class. Drawing on site, I developed the sense of proportion, scale and distance while enjoying the historic landmarks and stunning landscape of county Galway.  Over all, it was productive, enjoyable and a great day. I had lots of fun seeing the beautiful countryside of Ireland.

 

Around 6 pm, the driver dropped us in the town for those who didn’t want to go back to ship. About half of the shipmates went back to ship. I was very curious to see nightlife in Galway but I didn’t have any plan. Basically, I did not have hotel reserved yet. I did not know whether I am going to find one or not. After walking about 30 minutes around the Galway town by myself, I found a park. I saw many Irish young people hanging around the park. I enjoyed taking pictures and observing them. I was trying to find Wi-Fi for my phone to connect the Internet, so that I could call home. I searched around and did not find one. I went to the tourism information center and asked for the public phone to call home. The lady there showed me the direction. I was searching Wi-Fi side near by and luckily I found the Wi-Fi and did not have to go to the phone booth. It was the hostel’s Wi-Fi and I moved to the hostel in order to connect Internet. Luckily, I found my friends on the hostel. I hung out and chatted with them, and decided to stay in the same hostel. Till 9 pm I was with them visiting around and taking pictures. After a while I got lost –visiting Galway town myself I found another group of friends and I joined them. I went to their hostel. There were lots of Semester At Sea people there. I met Anna there, and she was chatting with a man. He was drinking beer and giving suggestion to young people. I introduced myself to him, however I do not remember his name now. I told him that I live in Pittsburgh, PA in USA but was born in Nepal. He replied to me with “Namesta”: he know how to greet in Nepali. Additionally, he talked about the geography and culture of Nepal. He explained to my American friends that they are not real “American”.  “Real Americans were the Red Indians.” He talked about US history and tried to explain how white people took over from Native Americans and stole their land.  

After a few minutes, Anna told him that she saw him with guitar. Anna asked him to singsongs for us. He was very nice; He brought his guitar and started singing songs. We enjoyed his songs. I asked him the permission to record him singing and he replied, “Of course ya---doo.” Later, we thanked him for the songs.

 

Next, other SAS people joined us and we left for a bar; to drink and dance and have fun. Wewent to the bar, I drink little bit and enjoyed people drinking and dancing. This was the first time I entered the bar. Since drinking age in Ireland isonly 18, all SAS kids got into the bar. It was fun night. I cannot write all here……….

The Hospital system of South Africa: Tygerberg and Heart Museum

                           OnOctober 22^nd we visited the Tygerberg Children’s hospital and the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town. Tygerberg hospital is a tertiary one located in Parow, Cape Town which was built primarily for the black population. It was officially opened in 1976 and is the largest hospital in the western Cape. In Tygerberg hospital we learned about work performed by a non-profit organization called HOPE of Cape Town, which was created to helpprevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

            Next, we visited The Heart Museum located in Groote Schuur Hospital. Groote Schuur is a government-funded teaching hospital situated on the slopes of Devil's Peak in the city of Cape Town. It was founded in 1938 and is famous for being the institution where the first human heart transplant took place. These two hospitals are within the same area, but they differ in the economic and social statuses of the people they serve. In addition, these hospitals do not operate in the same ways.

            In Tyberge Hospital we had the opportunity to learn about The Hope Cape Town Association. It is a non-profit organization established in 2001 in the Western Cape Province specializing in the fields of HIV/AIDS and TB prevention, outreach and education. A representative from HOPE Cape Town Association, Sr. Pauline Jooste, a senior professional Sister, gave us a presentation on the HIV outreach program and education. Hope Cape Town opened at Tygerberg Children’s Hospital to provide treatment, care, and education to children affected by HIV/AIDS in a friendly and family-focused environment. According to Sr. Jooste, HOPE Cape Town has been training and employing community health workers in various underprivileged areas in the greater Cape Town. She claims that HOPE is currently active in 18 communities located within a 200 km radius around Cape Town. Hope Cape Town helps single household mothers with no income, very little education, who might not have electricity or running water, to insure good health of their children and themself. They teach mothers to make healthy food for their children and provide education about HIV/AIDS.

            South Africa has higher number of people with HIV than any other country in the world. In her presentation, Jooste mentioned that HIV is more prevalent in the black population than with white. Due to the lack of health education, medical facilities, and low average income, many in the black population are unable to avoid contracting HIV and other chronic and viral diseases. Despite a low budget, Tygerberg hospital is working hard to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS and improve the lifestyle of the low-income population who are mostly black South African.

            Since HIV/AIDS is very dynamic medical field, HOPE frequently gives training to community health workers and HOPE employees at Tygerberg hospital. These health workers go out to the public and organize free health clinics. They also conduct awareness programs, provide free condoms, and do HIV assessment tests. We met some student volunteers from Germany and United States who are supporting the mission of Tygerberg hospital to help HIV infected mothers and children.

After visiting Tygerberg hospital, we visited the Heart museum and learned about world first heart transplantation in Groote Schuur Hospital. This hospital is famous for first transplantation conducted by University of Cape Town educated surgeon Christiaan Barnard on the patient Louis Washkansky. This hospital was much more advanced and more economically supported than Tygerberg hospital. Groote Schuur is the chiefacademic hospital of the University of Cape Town's medical school, which provides tertiary care and instruction in all the major branches of medicine. It is an internationally acclaimed research institution and is world-renowned for its trauma unit, anaesthesiology and internal medicine departments. Groote Schuur attracts many visiting medical students, residents, and specialists each year who come to gain experience in various fields.        

In Heart Museum, we learned about the first heart transplant conducted by Christian Neethling Barnard on December 3^rd, 1967.  We visited the room in the Museum where Surgeon Barnard performed first heart transplantation to his patient Washkansky. Although Washikansky requested heart transplantation very early, it took a long time for Christian to find best-fit heart donor. Due to the racial issue in South Africa, transplanting a blackheart to white receiver or vise versa was impossible. Once Christain found a black donor who was a best fit for Washkanshy, but due to the different skin color Christaiwas was not able to perform the heart transplantation even he and Washkanshy wanted to. Louis Washkansky was 54 years old who was dying of diabetes and incurable heart diseases. Finally, Barnard found another donor; the heart came from a young white woman, Denise Darvall, who had been fatally brain damaged in an accident on December 2^nd, 1967, while crossing a street inCape Town. Although the Darvall family was in sorrow of losing a mother anddaughter Darvall’s father agreed to give permission to have his daughter’s heart be the first human to human heart transplant. After securing permission from Darvall's father to use her heart, Barnard started performing the transplant right away. Washkansky lived for 18 days and then died of pneumonia.   L            Learning about HOPE Cape Town in Tygerberg hospital and its mission to control HIV/AIDS and help HIV positive people was impressive, and being in the first transplant hospital was fascinating. However, the Tygerberg hospital is playing a moreimportant role in helping regular South African citizens. Furthermore, the amount of money spent in these two hospitals is vastly different. Groot Schuur hospital spends more money on securing the health of wealthy elderly people, extending their life expectancy by performing heart transplants and other major surgery. On the other hand, Tygerberg hospital is putting all its efforts to improve the health condition of low-income people including young, women and children. Looking at the HIV/AIDS, Malaria and TB status of South Africa, the hospital system in South Africa should more focus on preventing, curing or controlling those diseases rather than spending bigger amounts on elaborate and lavish healthtreatment. Though it is good to have modern technology and advance medical facilities, I think hospitals in South African should give more attention towards reducing HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria problems, which should be easier, less expensive, and more productive than decorating hospitals with modern facilities. Groot Schuur Hospital has many divisions with more doctors including the Heart Museum where as Tygerberg hospital is struggling to even collect money for helpless people. It is very necessary to increase the number of doctors and health workers on Tygerberg hospital than spending money on maintaining and decorating Groot Schuur. 

Field lab in Ghana- Ecology ( In Ghana, we went to the Shai Hills reserve and the Akosombo Dam)

At the Shai Hills, we saw baboons (Papio cynocephalus), ostriches (Struthio camelus), antelopes (Kobs) (Kobus defassa), and insectivorous bats (Microchiroptera).  The habitat was a tropical savanna - hot climate followed by rainfall, which is perfect for these species. Kobus usually live near water and occupy floodplains and gentle hill country with good grass cover. They feed on grazers, with aquatic species included in the diet in some areas. Baboons sleep in large trees or on cliffs to be protected from predators. They feed on a wide range of plants, including flowers, seeds, fruits, resin, bark, leaves, roots and bulbs. In addition to that, baboons love bananas, which we saw in the reserve. Since baboons are omnivorous and so they also hunt small animals and insects that live in the savanna.  According to my view, the habitat was not managed well in Shai Hills to maintain the population of these species. I found that the total population of animals is low. We saw a few baboons walking around for food, two antelopes, and a fewbats, but overall we did not see a lot of wildlife during our visit. According to our tour guide, there were only four ostriches in the reserve. I believe the goal of management of Shai Hill is mostly for the benefit of tourists. Parkrangers were living on the reserve to help tourists learn about the habitat and ecosystem of the reserve, but it is important to properly manage the habitat in order for these people to continue ecotourism. 

At the Akosombo Dam, we saw a facility that represented the second largest artificial reservoir in the world.  The dam was built to provide electricity for the American aluminum industry. The dam construction resulted in the flooding of the Volta River Basin, which subsequently created Lake Volta (Hinchman, 2010). As a result of its construction, it displaced many people and caused enormous detriment to the environment such as erosion, low rainfall, and higher mean temperature. During the time of dam construction, the agricultural productivity in the surrounding area starteddeclining, causing a great impact on human health. People became the victims of water-born illnesses such as onchocerciasis (river blindness) and malaria due to the presence of aquatic weed along the lake and surrounding area (which provides the necessary habitat for black fly, mosquitoes, and snails) (Hinchman, 2010). During the construction of the dam, local people experienced the loss of their land, creating unplanned migration and resulting in loss of their primary means of income such as fishing and farming (Hinchman, 2010). However, after construction, the dam became a source of economic activities and benefited some industry. It created new fishing, farming activities along the shoreline, and tourism. Furthermore, the generated power has provided some electricity forGhana, while also supplying power to the neighboring countries of Togo and Benin. Akosombo Dam is responsible for 70% of the power in Ghana. Even with the power generated from Akosombo Dam, an increasing demand for electricity is causing the Ghanaian government to encourage the building of other small dams around the country.

The forest in the hills and lands surrounding the dam and lake are tropical rainforests. They have a hot climate and heavy rainfall, which promotes rapid growth of green plant species. Additionally, a variety of small apes, othermammals, reptiles and birds live in the neighboring forest (VRA, Akosombo). Since Ghana is not an industrialized country but well-endowed with natural resources, ecotourism is very important for the economy of Ghana. According to the world fact datasheet, Ghana has low life expectancy, high mortality, and high death rates. In addition, the economy of Ghana is also very poor and the population is growing. Since there is low infrastructure and few facilities, I believe the human population of Ghana is beyond carrying capacity. As our tour guide talked about Ghanaian tradition, he told us that most parents hope for a son in order to keep their family name alive; this has had a great impact on population growth. Families birth more children on average because if they do not have a son right away, they continue to try for one. Due to the high population density, the lifestyle in Ghana is very poor. We saw many small huts made out of soil and thatch.

According to Hinchman’s notes on the Akosombo Dam, Ghana paid for 50% of the construction cost but Ghanaians only receive 20% of the electricity whereas 80% was contractually assigned to an American-owned aluminum plant (Hinchman, 2010). Since dams on rivers shared by two or more countries create conflict, I recommend that the Ghanaian government be aware of the conflict while signing the contract for the benefit of a foreign country rather than encouraging local ecosystems. Constructing small dams across the country whose electric power can be primarily used by Ghanaians will be of more benefit to the Ghanaian economy.

 

References:

1. Hinchman, Sandra. 2010. Notes on Akosombo Dam. Semester At Sea Fall 2010.

2. Volta River Authority. Akosombo . Akosombo Investment and tourist brochure.

3. World fact datasheet.