Meet Ray Schnei, the goofs and gags guy! Ray’s
a nice fellow who makes sitting in the back seat of the cruiser and singing “Are You with Me” (Mexican Skies) look fun.
Ray grew up in State College, Pennsylvania, where
his father, Dr. Donald Schneider is an astronomy professor. Ray chose to stay
there for college despite the cold winters and is a junior studying Geography,
which Ray describes as a hobby. For Ray, South Africa has always been a place
of interest. As a human geographer, he is drawn into the rich history of the
country and feels that “Africa is overlooked.”
Ray was the last student to arrive in South
Africa. He spent 10 hours in the Detroit airport on his way here, which he used
to research the country. As we went from the airport to the hotel on the first
night, I was impressed by Ray’s knowledge of the country. Maybe his knowledge
of the country, the boxers (short shorts) and a jersey (sweatshirt) he wears,
or the way he responds “Ja!” are the reasons he gets confused for a real South
African every now and then.
Ray has been really intrigued by the
stereotypes South Africans hold of Americans. Most recently, we have been
(wrongly) assumed to be billionaires with answers to all of the world’s
problems Previously, it was presumed that we all were carrying guns. When we
ate at a seafood restaurant, De Vette Mossel, in Mossel Bay, the restaurant owners played country
music for us Americans, thinking that was everybody’s music of choice.
De Vette Mossel was a
highlight of Parks & People 2016 for Ray. For one thing, the food was
amazing! We had a multicourse meal that left us feeling stuffed. We shared
dinner with our friends from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU),George, who had been with us through the Karoo. Ray really connected with that
group, and it was in the Karoo where Ray really adopted his South African
persona.
Another highlight for Ray was our Science
Fest at the Donald Woods Foundation. Ray loved seeing the group come together
and put together the experience for the kids. Ray took lead in the coloring
room and was quickly challenged by the language barrier, but made the most of the experience anyhow. Did I mention it was Ray’s 21st birthday? He
was in bed by 9:30 PM, per the usual.
While Ray has been mistaken as someone who
doesn’t like the outdoors, he does. He didn’t particularly enjoy our camping
outing because he would prefer to be back home by dinnertime. He now knows that
sleeping under the stars is not his jam, and he would have preferred to be back
in one of the cabins at home base. However, cooking dinner was a highlight of
the experience. In particular, Ray still finds it funny that Keonna upended the
freshly made pasta dinner before anyone had the experience to enjoy the fine
cuisine. Don’t worry…Neil & I shared our pasta allotment and everyone got
fed!
When asked for a quote about the experience, Ray kept it simple, "This trip was fun."
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