AROUND THE
WORLD WITH 1DREAM
April 20-30,
2011
DAY 1
April 21, 2011
Dubai
Greetings
from Planet Dubai, a completely different world than anything that we have seen
before.
When
we arrived at LAX, we met a group of amazing Australian Cheerleaders who were
in the United States for a cheer competition, needless to say Trevor Gee made
his way over to ask the ladies a few questions about life Down Under, but
unfortunately they denied his repeated pleas to perform a cheer for him.
After
a long 16 hour flight, we all have never been so happy to see sand, and lots of
it. Flying into Dubai all you see is
desert sand, it is everywhere!
Once
we we were off the plane we all experienced a wide array of smells, the
majority of which were not too pleasant.
100 degree weather and high humidity make it tough for Old Spice to work
the way we wish it would.
Customs
and passport control was a bit slow as there were several large planes that
landed within minutes of each other so the immigration agents where a bit overwhelmed. While going through customs on our way out of
the airport, the guards decided that Dylan Sweet looked a little "suspicious" so they decided to
take him off to the side and search his bags.
Dylan survived the search as his mom didn’t pack anything illegal into
his suitcase and we proceeded outside to our minibus which would take us the 15
minutes to our hotel.
After
checking in to the very nice Radisson Blu Media City, we had about 2 hours to
freshen up before our 1st excursion in Dubai. Several people slept, a few hit the pool and
eventually everyone congregated in the lobby for our 5pm departure.
We
had two options for our travels to the Mall of the Emirates, the largest mall
in the Middle East. We chose to take the
Metro on the way to the mall and we took taxis home. This mall is like a lot of things here in
Dubai, huge and excessive. Hundreds of
high end stores, a food court that was enormous and the world’s only indoor
snow skiing park, complete with chair lifts, luge runs and 28 degree climate
controlled insanity
Prices
in the mall were much more than we were accustom to. Ellie McPike was looking for a prom dress and
the $2,500 -$8,000 price tag on the dresses was just a bit out of her price
range. She promises to keep on looking.
After
two hours at the Mall, we were exhausted.
Many of us had only a few hours of sleep in the last 48 hours so we made
our way back to the hotel via taxis.
Dubai
is a very interesting place. The city is
a work in progress as huge skyscrapers are being erected nearly everywhere you
look, each new building seemingly trying to outdo the one next store in size,
architecture and “wow” factor.
The
demographics of Dubai are very interesting as well as only 25% of the 1.5
million people that live here are females… might be tough for guys to get a
prom date that’s for sure. In addition,
nearly 80% of the population is non-locals, with nearly 50% of the population
being from India or Pakistan. These two
groups comprise the majority of the working class labor group. Thus like many places in this world, there is
a huge division in social classes between the upper class and the working class
yet in our one day here, there seems to be a harmonious relationship between the
two.
Tomorrow
is an exciting day for us as we further explore Dubai and we will go on a
desert safari in the evening. We should
have some great photos as Trevor Gee and Ellie McPike have agreed to take a
belly dancing lesson.
We’ll
see you tomorrow.
Kyle
Clement.
DAY 2
April 22, 2011
Dubai
It's
Day 2 in Dubai and it’s still hot!
Most
of us were finally able to catch up on our sleep as we didn’t have to be down
to breakfast until 10AM. Thus with our
morning free time we all were able to work out, go swimming, and eat an amazing
buffet breakfast.
The
buffet breakfast had everything one could imagine, Western food, Asian food,
and of course the local cuisine. One
thing I found very interesting was there was a separate “Pork” station which
was located away from all of the other food.
With Dubai being primarily a Muslim country, they don’t eat pork
products, but to cater to the Western guests, the Radisson offered the pork
products. On a side note, the other
type of bacon offered was “Veal Bacon”. And
for all of you true Americans back home, yes there were frosted flakes :)
After
breakfast we had a little more free time and the three girls headed up to the
rooftop pool to enjoy some Middle Eastern sunshine. We had a 12PM departure to the Dubai Mall so
we didn’t last long in the brutal heat.
We’ve
all figured out that in Dubai, they do things BIG, and the Dubai Mall is no
exception. Absolutely enormous and
containing both an ice skating rink and an insanely large aquarium...our
science teacher at St. Joseph Mr. Madrigal would be amazed. We walked through a
tunnel with Hammerhead sharks swimming over our heads. We saw every imaginable
sea creature including penguins, eels and a special tank which contained all
the fish from Finding Nemo.
After
lunch we explored the mall some more and then it was off to go Dune Bashing!!!!
It was not what we expected at all. We departed the hotel in a pair of Toyota
Landcruisers and enjoyed the 45 minute drive to the middle of nowhere where
sand was as far as we could see. We had a few people in our group that really
wanted to drive but after the initial climb of a 100 foot dune and subsequent
ride down the back side, we were all glad we were riding with professionals.
There’s no doubt the roll cages would have come into play if one of us was
driving.
After
about 45 minutes in the dunes, we made our way toward the camp where the
evening would continue with dinner and a show.
Along the way we stopped at the camel farm, not much more than a huge
fenced in area with about 100 camels feeding.
Upon arrival at the camp, everyone in the group was able to ride a
camel. Riding two people at a time, it
was quite an adventure and a memory I’ll have forever.
Once
we completed the camel ride, a few of us went dune boarding and Ellie McPike
was the star of the group as she road faster and further than anyone.
The
camp was the meeting place for about 75 other dune bashers. Within the camp you could get a henna tattoo
(we all did), purchase an artistically filled sand vase (a few of us did) and
enjoy a traditional Middle Eastern BBQ which was very satisfying although
lacking a little salt.
After
dinner everyone in camp gathered around the outdoor state where a Belly Dancer
put on a 20 minute show. Unfortunately
she didn’t ask for volunteers to join her on the magic carpet, but she did make
her way through the crowd and selected Trevor Gee to balance a cane on his head
and shimmy his shoulders while doing so, and we have pictures to prove it.
Tomorrow
will be packed with an early morning flight to Cape Town, South Africa which
will take 8 hours. As we fly west a bit
and south a lot, we’ll cross over the equator and gain back two hours thus
being 9 hours ahead of our friends in Santa Maria.
So
goodbye from Dubai… see you in Africa.
-Christine
Noe
DAY 3
April 23, 2011
Dubai – Cape Town
This
morning we woke up early for our early morning flight to Cape Town, SA.
Our morning began with a 5:45AM wake-up call and a quick and light breakfast at
the hotel. We were leaving the desert
and heading south of the equator to Africa.
Everyone in the group was extremely excited yet extremely tired as well
as it seems like we have constantly been on the move.
Security
and checking in was much easier at Dubai International Airport compared to Los
Angeles. It seemed more organized and quicker and we didn’t even have to take
off our shoes when going through the metal detector. . When we
arrived at our terminal we couldn't figure out why there was
not anyone waiting at our gate. When we boarded the plane, we found
out that the plane was not even half-full. Great news for us… not so
great news for our airline, but I don’t think an airline owned and operated by
the government of Dubai has to worry much about the bottom line.
Due
to the abundance of open seats our whole group was able to take not just a
seat, but a whole row in the back of the plane.
Being able to have a whole row and sleep for the majority of the flight
was a huge bonus and we were refreshed when we touched down on African soil 9
hours after takeoff.
Looking out the window as we were approaching
Cape Town I noticed that Africa has
an amazing beauty to it. It is full of mountain ranges and tons of
vegetation, compared to the dry, barren desert of Dubai.
After the
very easy customs check and baggage claim, we met up with our tour
guide (Frank). We boarded the coach, and began our 25 minute drive to
our hotel on the Waterfront. Frank tried to teach us one of
the three main languages spoken here in South Africa, Xhosa. This
language features a lot of “clicks” and so for the last 10 minutes of our ride
everyone was “clicking” away..
After arriving at our hotel we had an hour or
so to clean and freshen up before going to dinner. We went to the mall that is
right on the water in the marina. We split up and a few of us went to different
restaurants. Ellie, Christine, and I tried buying chocolate bunnies to surprise
our whole group for Easter morning presents. Little did we know that when you
try to pay with 10 Rand, in reality that’s about $1.50 so we ended up not
buying any chocolate bunnies and were very embarrassed when the store clerk
looked at us like we were crazy. But I
guess we are some times!
Our
group all met up again and we all walked back to our hotel which took us about
15 minutes and was a good way to end our day.
Our day of travel was relaxing
and a good time to catch up on lost sleep. Tomorrow we are attending an Easter
morning church service in the Nyanga Township then making our way up Table Mountain
and ending the day at Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned.
Happy
Easter everyone!
-Megan
Martino
Day 4
April 24, 2011
Cape Town
Molo! This
word means “hello” in Xhosa, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa.
Today
was quite the adventure and full of amazing experiences. Our wonderful day began with an interesting
arrangement of flavors at the bountiful breakfast buffet. Along with the various foods that are
familiar to us, there were several that were not including the very interesting
granadilla fruit, which was surprisingly delicious despite its mucous like
texture and odd looking innards.
After
an eye opening drive through the townships and informal settlements we began to
get a history lesson on apartheid and the injustice which was done and is still
felt today. When the apartheid laws were
revoked, thousands of “black” South Africans moved to the cities where the work
was. However they could not afford to
live in any type of home so they established “informal settlements” which is
basically just a collection of aluminum siding joined together to make a shack
of no more than 10 x 10 feet. In the
past 3 decades Cape Town’s population has grown from just around 1 million to
nearly 4.5 million people with over a million people living in these deplorable
shacks.
These
living conditions are not only small, but also not sanitary. Running adjacent to the township was a small
river which consisted of the town waste and garbage. Recent years have seen electricity wired to
the majority of the homes, but community restrooms are still found on the
outskirts of each neighborhood in the form of 50-100 outhouses. Our guide, Frank, told us all about the
various social issues that occur due to this extreme living condition and the
huge problem with alcoholism that is found within the townships.
After
the eye opening and depressing drive through the township we arrived at the
best experience of the trip so far. We
met up with Thabo, a friend of the 1 Dream program and he took us to Easter
Sunday church at his local township parish, St. Mary’s Catholic Church. The church was jam packed with an amazing
collection of people. For all of us who
have attended a Catholic mass at St. Joseph or anywhere in Santa Maria, today
was an experience that we had never witnessed before. Mass began at 9:30 and until it ended at
11:45, there was a constant supply of amazing songs, rhythmic dancing and an
energy that I have never felt before.
The mass was said both in Xhosa and English (2 of the 11 official
languages), but I’d say 75% was in Xhosa and all of the songs were in Xhosa as
well. So for the majority of the mass,
it was difficult to understand what was being sung or what was said, but we all
felt the presence of a community that really loved the 2+ hours that they spent
together on this rainy Easter Sunday.
At
the conclusion of the mass, we were told to introduce ourselves to the
congregation and they welcomed us with a huge round of applause. We could not imagine a better way to start
the day and my heart was warmed like never before.
We
were scheduled to hike Table Mountain after mass, but because of the rainy
weather this trek had to be postponed until tomorrow. So we instead went to lunch and got ready for
our early afternoon trip to Robben Island, the prison home of Nelson
Mandela.
Robben
Island is located about 7 miles from Cape Town and I would compare it to
Alcatraz, but further out in the middle of the ocean. After a 30 minute boat ride through not so
calm seas, we arrived on the island. Our
great tour guide was a former prisoner of the island and he gave us some
incredible first-hand accounts of life in the prison. The highlight of the trip was seeing Nelson
Mandela’s cell which was so small, some taller members of our group would
barely be able to lie down within it.
After
the two hour tour came to a close, we began the 10 minute walk back to the
ferry. During our walk, David Eaton
received a huge burst of energy and joined me as we chased down a couple of
African penguins who were crossing the road in front of us. We received more than one stare from other
people in our group wondering what these crazy Americans were doing, but who in
Santa Maria can say, “I chased an African penguin before!”
On a
more serious note the experience of the prison showed us how far South Africa
has come in such a short amount of time. We are excited to see what new adventure
this awesome country has in store for us tomorrow.
Uhambe! (Goodbye)
-Ellie McPike
Day 5
April 25, 2011
Cape Town
Today was a great day to go sightseeing. The rainy weather from yesterday had
disappeared and although still a bit cloudy and cool, we were ready for another
adventure.
We took off on our tour at 8:30 with Frank our tour guide
leading the way. Headed around the
peninsula was our goal for the day and we enjoyed the spectacular scenery as we
passed some of the most beautiful vistas that I have ever seen.
Our first stop was Cape Point and as we entered the national
park we discovered our primate friends, a troop of baboons, on the other side
of the road in the bike lane. Our driver
slowed down so we could take a closer look at these wild creatures. Most of the cameras pointed toward a mother
baboon with her baby riding on her back.
Then Frank informed us that they were primates meaning that they carry
their young on their back and front along with their distinct rotating thumbs
that allow them to use their hands in the way we do. In the park there are 10 troops with 40-50
baboons within.
Continuing along the left side of the road, we came across
the next foreign animal, Ostriches. We
would soon learn that ostriches have knees that bend backward, yet they travel
at a surprising speed of 60 km/hr.
Another fact of these birds is their ferocious territorial instincts (so
if you ever come across one, don’t get too close!).
We finally reached the Cape of Good Hope, which was first
discovered by Bartolomeu
Dias in 1448. Vasco de Gama was the second explorer to
reach the Cape.
Our next destination: Cape Point—the south-western tip of
Africa. We got our first exercise of the
trip with an inclined hike to the top of the peak. After many jackets were taken off and many
people were huffing and puffing we reached our destination at the
lighthouse. All conversations ceased at
the sight of the view of a lifetime. At
our left sat the calm Indian Ocean and to the right the raging Atlantic. The middle was the dividing of two very
different tides. This image will stick
in my memory forever as one of the prettiest places I’ve been. As we left this historical site we looked
forward to our next endeavor.
On the way, we stopped by Boulders Beach that was the home
to hundreds of penguins. These penguins
migrated from Antarctica because of the warmer climate. We came across a penguin that had lost one of
its feet. It was appropriately named
“Pirate Penguin” because it used its functioning foot and his severed leg to
walk. The hobbling walk or this penguin
won the sympathy of everyone!
We got back on the bus and arrived at one of the townships
of Cape Town called Nyanga to do our basketball clinic for nearly 100 children
aged 4-15. We hung out with the kids,
shooting hoops with them while having tons of fun. We were split up into groups of 2-3 to be
coaches that ran different stations—shooting, dribbling, and passing. Each of us coached their respective skill to
the children and most of them seemed to catch on.
After this the Cape Town Raiders hosted us in a
fight-to-the-finish basketball game. We
ended up winning by 13 after struggling initially adjusting to the cement
court, rubber basketball, and spring loaded rims that reminded us of the rims
at a carnival, where no matter how good of a shooter you are, the ball just
won’t go in! .
We took pictures and played with the kids. David Eaton-Kittrell (Crespi HS) was
definitely the most popular of the 1 Dreamers.
This could be due to him teaching them his skillful dancing moves including
“the dougie” and “the cat-daddy.”
This was a rewarding experience that opened our eyes to a
different side of the world. Though we
were of different races, cultures and backgrounds, one game united us. Basketball.
What took only three hours of our day, would inspire these
young African kids for a long time and be in the memory of all of us American
kids forever. Tomorrow we head to
Johannesburg, leaving behind Cape Town, one of the most beautiful cities in the
world, but the thing that most of us will miss the most, are the amazing people
we met along the way.
See you in Jo’burg !
Ryan Echols
Arroyo Grande High School
Day 6
April 26, 2011
Cape Town –
Johannesburg
Another
morning in Africa and another early wake up call.
We
all met in the lobby for breakfast at 7AM, and then boarded our bus for the
ride to the airport at 7:30AM as we continued on our journey to the airport.
We
all agreed that the plane ride this morning was quite uncomfortable. We flew Mango
Airlines, the South African “low-cost” airline, similar to Southwest in the
USA. I saw with my knees to my
chest the entire flight as the legroom would have even made my good friend
Anthony Murillo uncomfortable. As the drink
trolley made it’s way up the aisle, Brad Zimmer and I ordered a couple of
waters… we were unaware that on this “low-cost” airline we’d have to pay for
water. When the nice flight attendant
asked for 20 Rand (about $3.00), we politely handed her back her water bottles.
After
we landed we went straight to the basketball clinic which was held in SOWETO
(South Western Township). Tom Mott
played tour guide, explaining several of the historical aspects of this
township including the only street in the world that two Nobel Peace Prize
winners grew up on (Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela). This clinic featured about 40 kids, 25 of
which were under the age of 10 and thus we quickly diverted from basketball and
decided to play games the kids could relate to… and games Kyle Clement could
relate to also. The games we played consisted
of “red light- green light”, “duck, duck, goose” and “Simon says”. In my eyes the kids’ favorite
game was “Simon says” because they all laughed when the other kids messed
up.
Tom
Mott, James Purchin, Ryan Echols and Brad Zimmer worked with the older kids and
actually taught them many new drills for them to improve their games. After about an hour we started the actual
game, playing on an outdoor court, with bent rims and 20 mile an hour winds only
added to the experience. During the
game, the little kids did arts and crafts with Megan Martino, Ellie McPike,
Christine Noe and Trevor Gee. They
painted small mirrors, which we will
take home as souvenirs, with messages to all of us. A few of the kids even managed to paint
their faces, fingers and clothes!
The
first half of the game ended with us ahead by 4 points. It was tough to play in the conditions but we
were having a great time. The highlight
was when Ellie McPike, begged to get in the game and responded with a 3-pointer
from about 6 feet behind the 3-point line that she swished! We are convinced that the only reason it went
in was because of the 20 mile per hour winds that mysteriously altered the
balls course.
As
soon as halftime ended a torrential downpour occurred. The rain was bouncing off the pavement and we
all hurried for shelter. Today was the
first time in history 1 Dream has had a rainout for a basketball game. It’s always fun being part of history!
With
the game being cancelled, we headed to the Radisson Blu Hotel in Sandton (a
very nice area in Johannesburg). This
hotel is 21st Century with all of the technology, architecture and
interesting bathrooms which feature a floor to ceiling window from the shower
to the living part of the room. A little
rough on the privacy!
A
team dinner was soon to follow and now we are sitting in the lobby of the hotel
finishing up our webcast for the night and the us 6 St. Joseph kids are
reminiscing about our four years together and how the memories we’ve made the
past week will always be at the top of our lists.
Tomorrow
we are headed to the Apartheid Museum and to Botshabelo, an village for people
affected by HIV and an orphanage for kids who have lost parents due to the
terrible disease. It should be another
amazing day.
-Dylan
Sweet
Day 7
April 27, 2011
Johannesburg
The time: 7:45AM
The place: Raddison Blu Hotel
The author: Trevor Gee, age 14, Freshman at St. Joseph High
School
I just love these early morning wake up calls. Luckily I don’t need my beauty sleep but a
few in our group definitely do. The
breakfast in the hotel was another huge buffet and like all the other ones we
have eaten, delicious! After putting down as much food as possible we embarked
on our charter bus to the Apartheid Museum.
Upon arrival we each received a ticket which told us what
race we were, either white or non-white.
Receiving these tickets that told us what race we are was a cool effect
and there were separate entrances to the museum for each race. I was a non-white.
For those who don’t
know what the apartheid was basically it was extreme segregation and racism
which occurred here in South Africa long before I was born. Going through the
museum we saw many interesting exhibits and we all learned quite a bit. There was a huge portion of the museum
dedicated to Nelson Mandela, whom I call a South African super hero. Honestly,
I’m not much of a museum guy, but I did learn a ton of information about something
that I knew nothing about before I left Santa Maria. So now when I return to Santa Maria and you
see me around town, feel free to ask me anything about Apartheid that you can
think of, because I am now the local expert.
After the museum we had a thirty minute drive to eat a
traditional South African lunch at a place called McDonald’s. According to Tom Mott and our tour guide we
were about fifteen minutes from the orphanage. After about thirty minute of
driving around and asking directions we discovered that we actually had gone an
hour in the wrong direction. Personally, I blamed Tom Mott, but deep down I
think the person driving the bus should know where we are supposed to be going,
so Tom Mott is no longer in my dog house.
So, we got focused, energized and embarked on a two hour
journey to the orphanage, Botshabelo. Upon arrival at the orphanage we were greeted
with open arms. The ladies that run the orphanage told us that 95% of the kids
that are there have been abused, either physically or sexually and there are a
few that are HIV positive as well. It
was amazing that the kids that have been through so much terrible stuff could
still have smiles on their faces
After the introduction we were then assigned a member of the
village who served as our tour guide to lead us through the village and
cemetery. My guide’s name was Thami, and he was 17 years old. He was really interesting he told me about
how much he wants to travel the world. We all walked up to the top of the hill where
the community cemetery was. There were
probably about 50 above ground graves, some had markings saying who was buried
there, but most did not. It was really
sad when the kids would take us to the graves that involved people in their
families. One kid who was about 5 years
old showed us his little brother who was 3 when he died. Another showed us where his dad was
buried. So sad.
When we finished walking through the village we all gathered
in an open room to watch the kids dance. The kids who lived there were really
good dancers, almost as good as me and I was actually invited up to show the
locals my signature moves. I amazed
them.
Music and dance seemed to be very important to these kids
and they all had smiles on their faces as they watched the dancers. We all
ended up going up and dancing with the kids. Ellie McPike had a really strong relationship
with a child name Kye who would not leave her side the entire time we were
there.
It is a love hate
relationship with getting close with kids like this. Love because you develop a
connection and get to know them, but hate because you know that you know you
will probably never see this person again. I’m glad I have had a chance to
experience this while I’m young because now I know I want to go every year I’m
in high school and can’t wait to go see these kids again.
-Trevor Gee
