Hi all,
Just a quick update from our end as we've had a number of questions and concerns from those back home. Here's a quick summary:
We arrived in Cape Town via the MV World Odyssey on March 14, 2020. Students and staff could disembark between the 14th and 16th at their own pace. It was a couple of emotionally brutal days for us as we mostly spent our time hanging around the gangway on deck 5 and tried to give students the send off they deserved. There were lots of hugs and tears. It was hardest watching the ship kids. This has been a positive and profound community for them and they were pretty emotional. They will miss their college friends and the other ship families. It was also hard to see the voyage part of our adventure end, particularly considering it's early conclusion (we were supposed to conclude the voyage on April 20, 2020).
Since our arrival in Cape Town, we knew we'd be in a race with the virus. We have been closely watching the virus spread since January. It's one of the big differences between us and most of the folks in the US. Our lives have been altered by corona virus for months now, not just days or weeks. We followed it's explosion in Asia, it's spread to Iran and Italy, and it's boom in the rest Europe and the United States. We knew that Africa and South America would follow, just on a later timeline.
Our decision, believing we were in a race for time, was to try to enjoy South Africa for as long as possible, and then make our way home before the inevitable explosion of corona here (hopefully also avoiding the worst of things in the United States).
South Africa, and Cape Town specifically, is truly an amazing place. We'll do a more detailed post with pictures of all of our adventures here so far, but damn, we are smitten. Both of us regularly fantasize about the possibility of moving and working here, or figuring out a way to spend more time to really get to to know this place. The city itself is beautiful, filled with fabulous restaurants and museums, wonderful urban planning, a beautiful waterfront, and people of all backgrounds, races, and religions. Outdoor options abound: swimming, running, hiking, paragliding, and surfing are all easy options here. People seem about as exercise-obsessed here as the folks in Colorado! Since our time here we've enjoyed the Botanical Gardens, playing with monkeys, a safari at Aquila Nature Reserve, visiting Boulders Beach and seeing the indigenous Jackass Penguins (honestly, they sound EXACTLY like donkeys and are the funniest little creatures you'll ever see), hiking Lion's Head mountain, enjoying the beach, and spending loads of quality time with our fellow Semester at Sea voyagers. We have had a blast.
But you can't talk about Cape Town, or South Africa really, without talking about apartheid and the centuries of subjugation and oppression. Racial divides are stark and the gaps (social, economic, geographic) are wide. Everywhere you look you can see the history and feel the pain of unhealed wounds and unpunished crimes. But it really gets you thinking about the United States as well. For most Americans, all the land is stolen land, and the economic disparity along racial lines is clear if you're paying any kind of attention. One of the things about travel is that it changes how you think of home as much as wherever you are. You can be all the way over in South Africa to learn to see racism and oppression in the US in a different way.
We've been following the virus on worldometer daily and have also closely followed the State Department's website and South Africa's decisions related to protecting the people here. Shortly after our arrival, museums and large gatherings were closed down, and then on the 24th the President announced a 21 day "lock down" starting at midnight on March 26th. We had already purchased plane tickets to return home on March 28th. When the President made the announcement, we were unclear how this would affect international air travel. We tried to gather as much information as possible but things changed pretty quickly. At one point, our flight got cancelled and then got reinstated 1 hour later with a message saying that since the flight was reinstated it was unlikely to be cancelled again. One day later, it was cancelled for good.
What we now understand is that the State Department was lobbying to repatriate any remaining Americans in South Africa through the full commercial flight on United on the 28th (our flight along with 200+ Americans) but the South African government wouldn't bend on the "lock down" to let the plane fly. So, this is where we stand now--March 28th, day 2 of a 21 day lock down in Cape Town, South Africa. If the President holds the line, airplanes are not likely to fly anytime before the conclusion of the lock down, leaving us here for at least another 19 days.
I really admire the South African President for his swift and decisive action on this (even though it leaves us without a ton of control over our individual situation right now). Corona is dangerous and South Africa is uniquely poised to have a terrible problem on their hands if they don't get a handle on this thing early. Wealth disparity here is significant. We've opted out of any "poverty tourism," but we've definitely seen people who are extremely poor residing next to some of the most ridiculous mansions I've ever seen. In some of the townships, it wouldn't be uncommon for multiple people to share one small space, a tough scenario when trying to avoid spreading germs. Apartheid, unsurprisingly, had had lasting social and economic effects on the South African people and you can observe it easily in how people live. Many people here will also likely experience significant financial hardship as a result of the virus. Also, about 20% of South Africans are HIV+ meaning that they might be more vulnerable to the health impacts of the virus. Having had the privilege to visit and enjoy Cape Town, we are hoping that this beautiful country can weather this storm and get back "to normal" as quickly as possible.
The truth is, we have mixed feelings about our current situation. I (Jen) mostly wish I had an animal to shove under the covers of the bed to snuggle with. And I wish the South African guidelines were more akin to those in the U.S. which allow walking or exercising outside (not allowed here, probably for good reason). We don't at all want to be any kind of burden on an already "stressed situation" in South Africa (whether that be financial, medical or otherwise). But the truth is, none of us were at all excited about the idea of taking a flight through Newark or any airport for that matter. What we hear and see on TV about how the US is weathering this pandemic is pretty bad, and other countries (South Africa included) seem to have learned from the mistakes of others. Plus, we weren't originally scheduled to be home until May 4, so we have already put things in place to be handled at home until then.
And, the truth is, our current digs are pretty amazing.
We're set up on the 16th floor of a beautiful apartment building with an amazing view of Table Mountain and Lion's Head. We have four balconies, 3 full bathrooms, 3 beautiful bedrooms, a big screen TV, washing machine, and a fully functioning kitchen. Plus, it's summer weather outside. We have fast internet and tons of activities and books that we packed for the voyage (Today we launched paper airplanes from the balcony. It. Was. Awesome). Because we were prepared to be away from home for 4 months living on a ship, we have crafts, games, books, costumes, and a bunch of other random things we never would have had had we just been on a 2 week vacation. We have 10 grocery stores within walking distance of our place, one of which is pretty much the South African version of Whole Foods.
We know that we are in solidarity with the 1 BILLION people around the globe who are experiencing one form of "lock down" or another. Like many of our family and friends, we are trying to figure out how to entertain ourselves, be respectful of one another, prevent the kids from having 16+ daily hours of screen time, complete work projects (Jen needs to wrap up 3 Semester at Sea classes), and get our kids engaged in homeschooling. We'd like to look back on this time together as a special part of our family story. Today I asked Chris what success looks like in this situation. He said a passing grade would be "no one murdering anyone." He said a B would be "no one THREATENING to murder someone" (so far for today we're hoping for the D...LOL). But we are not suffering. This is a pretty great place to hunker down. The chances of us getting corona here are super low compared to Colorado or the air travel it would take to get there.
This is an unprecedented situation for the whole world, and as citizens of the planet, we're also in it! We feel so fortunate that we are all together, we are safe, and absolutely maintaining our sense of humor and "sanity." We have wonderful family and friends (both in Cape Town and at home) who we are enjoying communicating with electronically. And, on the back of our SAS adventure, we are all too familiar with itinerary and schedule changes. We've honed our abilities to be patient and flexible!
We are sending our love and positive thoughts to all who are suffering in one way or another right now, whether that be financial stress, physical stress, boredom, anxiety, or (like us) are just doing our best to stumble through a truly unfathomable series of events. We're hanging in there and we hope you are too! At some point we will be home, but who knows when. In the mean time, we're 7 or 8 hours ahead of most of you all so holler back if you want to video chat with us or the kids. Be well.
