Almost to Boston

Sorry about the delay in updating my blog. This week on the ship has been packed full with classes, review and final exams. I took my exams yesterday and I am officially done with my classes on the ship! Today consisted of packing and getting ready to get off the ship on Saturday. My room is so dull and dreary now without my decorations and pictures all over the walls. Everytime I walk in I am reminded that this voyage is almost over. Tonight we had our Alumni dinner and dance. I am very excited to say that I am an Alumness of a program now! It makes me sound so accomplished don't you think!? Dinner tonight was bread, soup, ceasar salad, spaghetti, vegetables and steak accompanied with wine and followed by champagne. It was a formal dinner so everyone is in their best attire and it is so fun to see everyone fancied up! After dancing... there was an amazing dessert bar filled with every kind of cake you can imagine along with every kind of pie you can dream of! I had pumpkin pie, chocolate cake and pudding. haha... I miss dessert so much!!! So after snacking on some desserts... I went out to the deck to enjoy the night... only to find that it is raining!!! I have been wanting it to rain and storm on this ship ever since we left Casablanca. I'm so happy right now! This night turned out to be a great one. My friends and I are about to watch a movie in my cabin before we go to sleep. I wouldn't be surprised if this turned into a sleepover night. This will be my last blog update until I get home. The internet on the ship is being turned off tomorrow morning. I'm back on Boston time and now it's just a matter of hours before I get to land!

Pizza and Peers

Each student on the ship has been assigned to a different "sea" based off of where they live on the ship. I am part of the Caribbean Sea. Tonight, our sea leader (also known as our LLC) threw us a pizza party in the staff lounge. It was so much fun! I haven't had pizza since Italy! On a side note, I have been very frustrated with a group project that I am working on. The project is for me theater class and our assignment is to present a play to the class. We aren't supposed to actually produce a play, we are supposed to say what kind of design, lighting, sound, and costume elements we would use in a play if we were making one. Our group decided a long time ago to make a video as part of the presentation. Last night the video was filmed and it turned out to be extremely innapropriate. I won't go into details in an attempt to keep this blog G-rated. Let's just say it is so bad that I sent out an email to my group expressing my concern. The two girls who are responsible for the movie insist that it is ok to drop the F bomb 57 times in a matter of 4 minutes and 34 seconds. They say that we are "adults" presenting to other "adults" and that we need to realize we aren't in kindegarten anymore. The other innuendos are extremely innapropriate as well and it just disgusts me. Two other students in the group feel the same and the three of us are just done with this video. I talked to my professor about it tonight, but it was not very much help. We present tomorrow and rehearse tonight so we'll see how this goes.

 

I turned in the last of my projects for the summer today! I only have one more class day and 2 exams until I'm done!!!!!!!!!!! I hope that the cloudy weather we've been having goes away soon so we can enjoy the sunshine on our way home. The waters are still very rocky, but I'm not sick so that's awesome! Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! I'll be back in the states in 5 days!!! Woo-hoo!!!

Goodbye Casablanca

After 5 days of staying in Casablanca, we finally sailed away last night. It was such a bittersweet moment. Our next stop is home. I can't believe that after all of this time I am actually on my way home right now. The captain came on the PA System again last night and announced that the waves should be pretty rough yesterday and today. He was completely right. The  waves were awful last night. So many students were sick last night and many are still sick today including me. I cannot begin to describe how rocky the waves are right now. I have been sleeping most of the day because of the sea-sickness medicine I've been taking. I have one more project due in two days and then I am done with assignments and presentations. I am so glad that the school part of this voyage is almost over. I haven't had a break from classes all year long! I am feeling much better tonight though, so thanks for your prayers! I will be in Boston in 6 days! I can't believe how quickly this trip has come and gone. I am very ready to be home, in my own bed, with access to laundry and my car! I miss my family and friends so much!! Tonight I am meeting with a few professional resume experts who are going to help me add this experience to my resume. I am very excited about that. I feel like this trip is going to help me so much in my future. I just need to get through tonight and tomorrow and take one more test and I will be done and ready to set foot on solid ground again. My things are all packed and my roommate and I are literally ready to get off the ship ASAP! I video taped a tour of the ship last night so everyone who wants to can see the place I've called home for the past two months. I can't wait to share my adventures with you. I love you guys!

Out with a bang!

The event that I had been looking forward to this entire voyage has finally come and passed... I went ziplining today!! Semester at Sea organized a group of 17 of us to go to Marrakesh yesterday and spend the evening hanging out in the souks (basically the same as the Turkish bazaars). We had dinner at a place very similar to Medieval Times. The dinner was some sort of meat on a skewer, couscous, fruit and bread. The meat ended up being lamb... but it wasn't bad because I didn't know what it was until about 4 hours after I ate it! We woke up this morning and headed to the High Atlas Mountains in Northern Africa. When we got about 90 minutes up the mountain we got out of our mini bus and headed over to see what kind of ziplines we were up against. The first one that I saw stretched from one mountain peak to another mountain peak. I think my heart froze, started racing, froze, and started racing again. I had to distract myself from thinking that I was about to slide across a wire attached from one mountain to another mountain (voluntarily too!!). I had to tell myself to not think about it which was extremely hard as I was being harnessed into my gear. The first thing we did was a rope bridge leading from the platform to the first mountain. It was 124 wooden planks long. Each plank had a 14" gap between the next plank. Oh and the view from between each wooden plank stretched down for about a mile. The entire bridge was rocking and shaking as we all made our way across the bridge as slowly as possible. By the time I reached solid land, I couldn't tell because my legs were shaking just like the bridge I just left. My head started spinning and I had to pull myself together because now waiting for me was the first zipline course. The guide hooked up my straps and pully to the wire and before I knew it, I was jumping off of the side of a mountain towards nothing. It was the most amazing thing I have ever done! I had the best time ever! Ziplining was not scary at all! I could have stayed out on those ziplines for hours. It was the most incredible feeling, just soaring above nature in the peace and quiet. I loved it! Each zipline we did became longer and steeper, but it just made it more incredible. This experience has been my favorite thing that I have done on this trip so far. It was the perfect way to end my voyage. I started this voyage as a completely different person than who I am now. I love looking back at all of this and in some weird way... ziplining seals the deal. I've officially changed for the best and I can't wait to see what crazy thing I get to do next!

 

We leave Morroco tomorrow evening and then we sail for 7 days across the Atlantic. On the 8th day around 6:30 AM we will be pulling into Boston, MA very anxious to get off the ship. (So anxious in fact that I've already packed most of my things...) It is going to be so nice to be on solid land and just relax for a little bit before starting school again. It is also very stressfull knowing everything that I will need to get done in just one week before I begin school. Maybe I'll take next summer off to make up for the time that I've missed this summer and last summer as well! (Then again... maybe not!)

 

I am going to need those awesome thoughts and prayers as we cross the Atlantic again! I miss you all and can't wait to see you soon!

Ready for Marrakesh

I am about to head out with some of my friends to go explore Casablanca and see what we can find in this otherwise boring city. Between each country our ship invites one student from the next country onto our ship. The student from Casablanca told us that you can see everything in Casablanca in less than half a day. When she said that I knew we were going to be in trouble! As a side note, I have never been more appreciative of traffic lights, laws and enforcement! As we are riding around in buses in the country... it is literally a free for all. I usually just hold my breath and hope for the best. I can't wait to see a police officer again radaring people on the freeways. I can't wait for traffic light cameras to flash as people run red lights. I can't wait for a crosswalk where people actually stop driving before you set foot into the street. Our guides joke (in a serious and logical way) that the cars won't stop but they also don't want to hit you... so you have to literally step in front of them hold up your hand and then they screach to a stop in front of you. If any of you have seen Mulan... there is one scene where the grandma decides to see if a cricket is lucky or not. She tests his luck by crossing the street with her hands covered by one hand and the cricket in the other hand. All of the carriages around her on the street get into a huge accident because they don't want to hit her, but she successfully makes it accross the street and claims that the cricket is a lucky one. <--That is exactly how I feel traffic is designed in Casablanca. Next time you see a cop... instead of panicking and wondering what your speed is... think of me!!

Hello Casablanca!

We just arrived in Casablanca this morning. The waves last night were pretty vicious! Luckily I slept through most of them. Today I took a tour of Casablanca with Semester at Sea. We went to the new mosque in the city which is the third largest in the world. The inside was amazing. It is built on top of the Atlantic Ocean... and yes I said on top... It has a roof that folds open and glass sidewalks inside to look at the ocean underneath. After the mosque, our group went to the city center, a shopping area and a catholic church. The catholic church had stained glass all over everywall. It was beautiful!

 

Ramadan is happening right now so there are no food vendors and there are no open cafes or restaraunts. Our ship is also berthed at a shipping dock so we are very far from the majority of things to do in the city. I personally have no desire to go back out in the city tonight. It is almost 3 here... Tomorrow I want to find a hamam and take a bath! I am excited to get to Marrakesh as well. I've heard that it is a lot better there. I guess we'll see! It's hard to imagine that in 13 days I will be home.

May I Have Your Attention Please...

I just got back to my cabin from eating dinner. While we were eating, the captain came on the PA system and said, "May I have your attention please. This is your captain and I have an announcement. Please store all heavy items under your bed or in your secure cabin drawers tonight. We will be experiencing extremely rough waters at approximately 5 AM tomorrow morning as we sail to Morrocco. I repeat, please stow all heavy items under your bed for rough waters tomorrow. Thank you," Half of the ship cheered and the other half of the ship cringed. I'm going to put on my sea sickness patch tonight and hope for the best for tomorrow. The rough waters are only supposed to last from 5 - 6, but if it's bad enough for the captain to warn us... I'm not going to take any chances. Thank goodness we'll be in Morrocco by 8 am. I will let you know how this turns out!

Thanks Dad

Tonight I went to a lecture given by a woman who lives in Egypt and is sailing with us until Morrocco. She told us so many things about Islam in Northern Africa. I have always been unfamiliar with the Islamic religion but she put it into words that were easy to understand! She talked specifically on the woman's role in the Islamic faith and the progress that they have made in Egypt. Of all of the things I learned tonight from her presentation, the biggest thing that stood out to me was when she talked about marriage customs for the Islamic religion and the Islamic family. Up until 2008 (which is 3 years ago....) girls were typically married by the age of 15. In 2006 a new law came that prohibits girls from marrying until they are 18. However, this law is only valid in Egypt. Often times, the father of the family will sell his daughter to a Saudi man (usually a widower) at the age of 14. The lecturer told us that in 9 out of 10 situations the daughter will come home in less than a year either with a child or pregnant. The idea of family honor is also a huge ordeal amongst Islamic communities. Up until 2006, if someone violated your family's honor in any way, you could kill them with little or no consequences by law. After a new law was passed in 2006, if you killed someone because of family honor you will spend life in prison. As I was sitting there listening to the presentation I kept thinking that these situations must have been extremely common in order for the government to issue new laws about these topics. I can't imagine being 14, sold by my father, married to a stranger and bearing his child.

 

As a lovely accompaniment to that lecture, I went to Bible study tonight as well! Funny enough... we talked about Mary (the young virgin who bore Jesus!) It was odd to make the comparison between the two time periods and the two situations. After the study some girls and I gathered for a worship session in an empty classroom. When we are sailing back we are going to try to reserve the piano and I am going to play worship songs for everyone. One girl on the ship happens to have sheet music for all of the songs and I happen to be able to play them!

 

So I want to take this moment to thank my family especially my dad for not selling me to a widowed Saudi Islamic man when I was 14. I never thought I would appreciate it as much as I do right now. Please keep me and my ship in your prayers because there are lots of horrible sicknesses going around on the ship. 25% of the ship currently has it and many more have already had it and recovered from it. It is such a suffocating feeling watching all of the sicknesses around you knowing that I am stuck on a boat with all of these germs! I wash my hands every chance I can and there is hand sanitizer all around the ship. I just need to make it through Morrocco and I'll be set... oh and by the way... I am 4 days away from ziplining!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

10...9...8...

Now that I am sailing towards Morrocco... I am techincally getting closer to my home! Both last night and tonight we gained an hour back in our day. I remember sailing out towards Spain and losing an hour each night. By tomorrow I will be 8 hours ahead of my home instead of 10. I'm crossing time zones! The waters two nights ago were extremely rough. Luckily I went to sleep and woke up to calm waters once more. Last night our ship had a live auction to help raise money for future SASers. Some of the auction items were trips to China, Montreal, New York and Virginia as well as a map signed by the captain, a chance to steer the ship, a chance to raise the US Flag in Boston, first off the ship in Boston etc. The map signed by the captain sold for $400. The trip to China sold for $2300 (and that is without a flight!). The prices were outrageous! I have no idea how everyone could afford to spend their money like this. I was hesitant enough today to buy 3 cookies for $1.95 let alone a $400 map! My goal before we get to Morrocco is to finish all of my classwork. I have one essay left for my global studies course which is due in 3 hours... I have 2 essays left for my Race, Class and Gender course... and 1 essay left for theater along with a final presentation of a play.Then THAT'S IT! I can't believe how close to the end we're getting. For any of you who might care... I am going ziplining in less than a week. I am sooo excited! I hope that the weather is nice, that the ropes are strong, and that the trees are trimmed!!!! It should be an awesome experience!

Goodbye Turkey!

Today I ventured over to Asia! I took a tour of the palaces of Istanbul on the Asiatic side. It was a long exhausting day. We started at 9 and visited various palaces all day until 5 this evening. The first palace was amazing. The smallest room in the palace was bigger than my entire house. The carpet in the smallest room in the palace cost more than 7 of my houses put together. The largest carpet in the palace cost 35 million dollars. The majority of the tour was rather long and depressing. It was so hard to stay interested in these rooms. They all looked the same and we weren't allowed to take pictures of anything inside. It was extremely boring by the time we got to the fifth palace. The Saltan sure lived an awesome life though. When I got back to the ship, I turned in my visa paperwork for Turkey and headed to my cabin to shower. Once I got to my cabin I realized the electricity was out! No showers, no toilets, no internet, no air, no refrigerator... it was pretty much the perfect way to end my day. Oh and I have so much reading that I need to do for tomorrow along with a huge test that is in 2 days. We'll see how this goes. I am very anxious to leave Turkey. Overall, this country has definitely been hard to adjust to. If I wasn't a girl I think that I would have been able to relax and enjoy this country more instead of spend my time hiding inside veils and hot clothing. Most of the guys are saying that this has been their favorite port so far. Most of the girls are saying that they could have done without this port. It's very interesting to see the different experiences we have all had. I am glad that I came and experienced everything I did, but I do not think I would choose to go back here anytime soon. We just got the announcement that all of the students are on board and all of our passports are turned in. It is currently 6:15 PM over here... we are supposed to be on the ship at 6:00 but we have never had everyone on the ship this early before! Hopefully we'll get to sail out sooner than 8 tonight and start making our 5 day journey to Morroco tonight. Goodbye Turkey!

Turkey so far...

Well... Turkey has definitely continued to be interesting! Today Amanda and I ventured to an island off the coast of Turkey on the Asiatic side. It is so difficult to travel around this area because the language is completely unlike ours. Today I visited the theater of the oppressed. It was such a neat experience. We did a bunch of improptu activities that were a lot of fun. They really challenged you to get out of your comfort zone and they reminded me that it is good to play! It is ok to act weird, look silly and have fun while you're doing it! After the theater, my friend and I went to a few stores to explore before heading back to the ship. Once "home", I came into my room to get my laundry ready for tomorrow! You do not understand how exciting this is to me!!! Laundry day is a gift from God on this ship!! We only get 4 laundry days in the entire voyage. For some people this is fine because they brought their entire wardrobe with them... unfortunately when I was packing I cut back on the clothes in order to only take one bag. I have been hand washing my clothes in the sink and hanging them on clotheslines in my room for the past 3 weeks! I cannot tell you how amazing it will be to have my clothes washed by an actual washing machine and dried with a dryer!! (Sorry for the extreme enthusiasm... but between laundry days and bananas at lunch... we need to keep life exciting!) Tonight I went to a Sufi Dervish ceremony. In simple words... I went to an underground room where 6 men wore white skirts and spun around in circles for an hour straight while 4 other men played hypnotic music. The entire ceremony is based off of religion and their culture so it was very interesting. However, the music and the lack of "entertainment" was very soothing and it was very difficult to stay awake. I just got back to my cabin now and my friends are all out at a festival. I'm looking forward to a quiet night by myself. I will be in Asia all day tomorrow and then our ship leaves at 8 PM tomorrow night! Morocco here we come!