Port Elizabeth

My arrival from Paris to South Africa was rather lovely. When I left Paris I was wearing a pair of jeans, a sweatshirt, a coat and scarf. When I got off the plane I no longer need to be wearing such wintery clothing items. I was happy to see the sun and pleasantly surprised by the airport in Cape Town. From Cape Town, Mary and I would fly to Port Elizabeth. We waited for a bus to take us from our terminal to our plane so we could board from the outside in the sunshine. I had never really boarded a plane using stairs to walk up into the plane, I had only ever been in a flimsy tunnel that you always feel are going to collapse. However, stepping up into the plane felt like I was in one of those cheesy, black and white romance movies getting on a plane never to return. The plane was small and the ride was short. We landed in the smallest airport in the world or at least it seemed like it. The picture above is me standing at one of two baggage claims. You board planes only from the outside, there are two desks to check luggage and get airline tickets.

Driving takes place on the left side of the road and all cars are stick. Jim, my faculty director, picked us up and took us to our flats. The Holiday Flats building called Langerry is right across King's Beach. Our flat is equipped with a small kitchen and bathroom, two bedrooms for five people and a balcony. The picture is from our balcony where just a ways past the robots (traffic lights) is the ocean. King's beach where soft sand touches the Indian Ocean. It is a gorgeous beach and everywhere you go there is an abundance of plant and animal life. We have come accustomed to the facilities in the area like the the Summerstrand mini mall area where the Pick 'n' Pay (Grocery Store), MTN (Cellphone store), and CNA (Odds and Ends) are all located. Not to mention the numerous restaurants that have been eaten at like The Mediterranean, Friends Café, Captain's, Barney's, Primi Patti, and Nando's.

I am starting to get used to certain South African mannerisms, phrases, and customs. I have developed a knack for converting Rand to Dollars and vice versa. Though, I hope I will not have to convert and it will come natural. I love the sun and pretty much everything about South Africa. The Indian Ocean is to your right. For the most part, it is rather warm. It is full of numerous fish like creatures such as sharks, jellyfish, octopus, squid, fish, etc. Fun fact: After a moonlit night, in the morning you will find lots of jellyfish washed up on shore which can be very fascinating to look at. The ocean and beach have tended to be the place to be during the day. This is where the girls tan and read, while the guys attempt to boogie board and surf. Our flat is located in a very wealthy part of Port Elizabeth, so what I see is very different compared to what the majority of South Africans see.

It has to be known that South Africa still has many problems that need to be sorted out. Where I live in South Africa is a luxury. In order to grasp the true context of the entire country, you must visit the parts that are destitute and poor. It is hard to think of myself living where I am, eating various foods, and experiencing relaxation when others are deeply struggling. Imagine driving through one of the most impoverished areas in the world in brightly painted double-decker bus filled with Caucasian students staring at makeshift shacks. This is Missionvale, one of the townships. Missionvale is horribly maintained the road are primarily dirt. The people are poor and the crime that takes place is horrifying. I have to remember that though this is an academic trip and somewhat a vacation that I am also here for volunteering.

Last Day in Paris

It was a sad but glorious day for me. I was leaving a city that I have grown fond of over the few days we have been there. The sites, the history, the people... it will all be missed. Though with disappointment of departure comes excitement for the next adventure, South Africa (where I am currently writing from). Don't worry their will be more pictures and blog posts for that, but I will finish the French Saga first. Mary and I ate breakfast for the last time at our hostel which was rather short. I had Coco Krispies, so my day was off to a great start. First stop was the Palace of Versailles, much of it would be closed because it was winter but we were hoping to see some of the inside but for Mondays the entire place was closed. We did not know this until we were halfway there. So one of the greatest historical places in the world was closed for our last day. I was at first rather upset but then I realized that this gives me a reason to come back to France. So our first destination of the day was St. Chapelle, where I did not see the Crown of Thorns because the relic was moved to a more secure place at Notre Dame. Yet as you can see this is an outstanding church that turned out to be my favorite, because of the delicate painting on the walls, supports and ceiling; and the stain-glass windows which from left to right, bottom to top tell the stories of the Bible. Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, Isaiah, Daniel, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Judith, Job, Esther and Kings are the books told through the stain-glass. The passion, Saint John the Evangelist and the Baptist, and the Apocalypse are also shown on the windows. After this we took a long two hour break at a cafe. We ate, talked and enjoyed a few coffees and tea before our next excursion.

The Eiffel Tower was great for the second time; though the first time we went, there was a beautiful light show that we were privileged to see. This big metal structure stands at over 300 meters and is only 40 meters taller than the bungee jump I was considering to do in South Africa. So looking down that was pretty frightening. We took an elevator up to the third tier and took some foggy pictures up there. Surprisingly, there were a lot of things to do on different tiers. There was a restaurant, a bar, and an ice skating rink. I wish we could have stayed but it was very cold outside especially from up that high. At this point, the last of our trip was taken to the National Modern Art Museum which included works from Andy Warhol, Pablo Picasso, etc. 

This was located in a building called Le Centre Georges Pompidou, a modern art and science building which was established to bring history and culture to a different part of Paris. Pompidou was a French Prime Minister who brought France into an era of modernization and he wanted to prove that through this center Paris was not a city of a once-great, old Republic, Empire and Monarchy. It has now stepped into the present and is leading the world to the future.The ground was slanted inward toward the building. On the right, you entered the building and would take a tunneled escalator to the floor of which you desired. We were at the top looking at the many odd videos and somewhat random sculptures. Modern art isn't really my thing, I am much more of a renaissance man, full of fanciful and classical paintings and sculptures. However, Mary did very much enjoy Le Centre Georges Pompidou.  

After a good, last dinner at our first café, we hiked it to Le Gare du Nord and rode our way to the Charles De Gaulle Airport. I had so much fun at the Paris Airport though Mary was not amused by the security check but I was loving the people there. Mainly because our walks through Paris included myself speaking French at a restaurant or asking a person for directions and I thought my pronunciation and speed was rather horrible. I wish I could have been better at speaking or I could have practiced a tad more before I went on the trip. However, at the airport in Paris I forgot to take out my computer from my backpack. This would be a nightmare for most people because then you would have to take everything out of your bag for them to physically check and then put it all back. This would later require running toward your gate to make your flight. But instead she mentioned that I had my computer still in my bag. "Ton ordinateur est dans le sac." Your computer is still in your bag. "Oh, j'ai oublie mon ordinateur. Je suis désolé! Puis-je le récupérer?" Oh, I forgot my computer. I am so sorry, can I go get it? And she allowed me to go unpack it and run my things through again. After what I thought was going to be a fiasco, she told me in English that my French was really good but she could tell I was American. It made me smile that I received a compliment from a French person about my French speaking abilities considering they were lacking most of the trip. From that point, I was about to go from freezing rain and snow to sunshine and beaches.    

Paris

By the way, I am in Paris right now! This is my face currently...

It is the most exciting adventure I have had since going to Boston, MA; however I would hardly say the places compare. Paris is beautiful inside and out especially in the rain which is what it was doing weather-wise when Mary and I arrived. The plane ride there was a little uninviting from the crowd but the flight staff was superb. Not much sleep on the flight though, actually none at all. It was pretty stupid on my part. But the movies were not that bad, the two that I saw were "Crazy, Stupid Love" and "Jane Eyre." I really wasn't paying too much attention to the films though.

Most of my attention was given to the images in between the movies which showed our course of flight to France. A small plane icon moving across a map with green terrain and blue waters. We flew over Quebec, hit the tip of Greenland, glided through the Northern Atlantic Ocean, continued over Belfast and Manchester until we reached our destination. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to Paris!" The Stewardess pleasantly remarked when we landed at the Charles de Gaulle Airport. The metro was fine moving from the airport to le Gare du Nord, but then we had to walk to our poorly-lit hostel. (Which I would highly recommend staying at, called Le Regent Montmartre). It was raining, we had a large amount of clothes and bath items with us, and it was an 800 yard trek uphill after the 30 minutes we spent wondering trying to figure out where the heck we were going. After that somewhat nerve-racking journey, we figured out and became much happier.

Our first stop after dropping off our luggage at the hostel (to a nice French man who had lived in North Dakota for some time) was le Sacre-Coeur, a pretty white church which was rather gorgeous but nowhere near the grandeur of the Notre Dame. And to your right you can see the Arc de Triomphe which is the second most amazing monument I saw in Paris. The most magnificent architectural figure I have seen dedicated to a nation's military. On the walls are craved General's names and Military victories of the French which are quite a few during its empire days of Napoleon. We ventured to the top and took city view pictures of numerous other sites like the Eiffel Tower, La Grande Arche, La Tour Montparnasse, etc. This concluded our first day in Paris because Mary was feeling a little under the weather so we decided to check-in to our hostel and sleep the rest of the night. The next day (today) was breakfast in the morning, the most soothing shower ever and more lovely site-seeing.

The Louvre Museum all day was my hope, sadly I was thinking our heads would hurt after being exposed to too much famous art in such a long time frame so we went from around 9 or 9:30am to 2 or 2:30pm guesstimation time... but the building itself is gargantuan and immensely intricate with thousands of statutes standing raise to the middle and attached to the building. What beautiful and delicate curvatures! The building is almost as beautiful as my face on the left next to the Mona Lisa. lol Just Kidding! However in a non-joking manner, I am standing feet away from one of the most famous and widely discussed paintings within all of Leonardo Da Vinci's work. And it is all due to the interesting smile that Mona has positioned on her face. There is so much more to show all of you though.

Going through the exhibits was the most fun I could have asked for; though, I wish I could stay here for a week and spend most of my time at the Louvre. The reason being is that I know in my heart of hearts that it would be well worth it. I also know that I only covered probably less than a quarter of the museum's art because the building is so massive, the art is everywhere, and there are numerous pieces. I have purchased some postcards for myself to send to a lucky few while I am gone with paintings on them (Grandma & Ma). This next picture is the courtyard for the Louvre Museum with glass pyramids where light shines into the lobby areas of the museum. It also includes numerous fountains, a statue of King Louis XIV and the Arc de Triomphe du Carrousel- a mini Arc de Triomphe which imitates one in Rome (for Septimius Severus). It is used to commemorate the Napoleonic campaign to take over Europe (mainly the Empire of Prussia and the victory at Austerlitz). It has two gold angels at the top with corroded copper horses and chariot to accompany the angels. We also encountered one of my favorite paintings by Delacroix called "La Liberté Guidant le Peuple," Liberty Guiding the People. This happens to be my blog background now but I will be changing it soon because I am leaving tomorrow night at 11:30pm French Time for South Africa.

We also visited Le Pont Neuf, a famous bridge called the New Bridge, however it happens to be the oldest bridge in Paris that crosses the Seine River. In Bourne Identity, Jason calls Conklin to meet him at the bridge which Conklin does but Bourne is a no-show. The bridge was commenced by Henri III and finished by Henri IV, who was assassinated. A statute of him and his horse was put there in Henri IV's honor. Notre Dame was spectacular with ornate stain glass of King David, Jesus, the Mother Mary, Disciples, and Saints that I rarely knew the name of. There were massive columns that lifted up a ceiling. The celing was so high, it seemed to break through heaven. Every church that Mary and I walked into had service or mass or prayer going on, so silence was key and no flash photography. This made pictures in the churches pointless because they are so dimly lit. We attempted to go into Saint Chapelle, a church right next to the Notre Dame that has the tallest stain glass I have seen in pictures and it houses some of the greatest relics in Christendom history such as the Crown of Thorns. It was commissioned by Louis IX and it is one of the most finely preserved churches in all of the 13th Century. However, Saint-Chapelle was undergoing construction and a few of its entry doors were closed. Disappointingly, we could not find anymore. :( We will try again tomorrow though. There was a bird market near by which made me quite happier after being turned down at the last church. Finally, we went to the ever so popular Eiffel Tower. Though our batteries were dead on our cameras, so again we will visit the most iconic symbol of France tomorrow. Stay tuned!

Magically Disappearing

Hello and Welcome to my travel blog! I will be using this as a form of communication for family, friends, church members, coworkers, everyone and anyone who wants to hear of my travels to France and South Africa! This is all very exciting, yet extremely new to me. I have not been out of the continental United States before and I have only flown in a plane once to Boston for Model United Nations. Luckily, I will have Mary to keep me in check during the traveling. Though I am sure we will be too preoccupied with the beautiful views, the monuments, etc. Happily, I can imagine my classmates and I doing our volunteer work near Port Elizabeth. It will be jolly good fun.

Though, it can be exciting to think about, it can also be nerve-racking. (it practically takes an entire day to get to France, or so says my airline ticket). Life outside of my shelters of home and school can be quite different and I need to constantly keep that in mind. 
I keep thinking that I am not just getting on a plane and going somewhere. It is almost as if I am unorthodoxly leaving, or from a more fanciful perspective; magically disappearing. This is why I chose the name for my blog "Time to Disapparate." It is obvious that Harry Potter has inspired me. I can remember the first time Harry disapparated with Dumbledore, he even dispelled to Harry that most people get sick or vomit after disapparating their first time.

"The next thing he knew everything went black; he was pressed very hard from all directions; he could not breathe, there were iron bands tightening around his chest; his eyeballs were being forced back into his head; his ear-drums were being pushed deeper into his skull."

I almost get this type of sensation, not physically but mentally and emotionally, when thinking about leaving. It is not necessarily a bad feeling, but it can be at first. However, I know once I take that leap of faith I will be more comfortable with traveling; I may feel more adventurous and be more eager to try new things. I realize that this is going to be fun but also an eye opener and I can't wait to get started. Isn't it amazing how one can feel that way? Almost two weeks from now, I will be in completely different parts of the world. This calls for a celebration!