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!

Day 2

Well today has proven to be just as adventurous as yesterday. I spend the majority of my day being completely lost. (Or as I more commonly call it... temporarily displaced...) Amanda and I spent the day trying to find the Hagia Sofia (pronounced Eye-uh SEW fee uh) We looked for it for about 2 hours which was extremely frustrating because we could literally see the building from the street. Most of the cities that we have been in so far have been designed by the Romans. They make very straight and very organized streets. I never appreciated the Romans as much as I do now. The streets in Istanbul are insanely confusing. Everything is uphill and on angles leading north then west then east then everywhere else! It is almost impossible to "go straight up the hill" to get to really cool buildings unless you can fly. Anyways... after about 2 hours of searching, we finally get to this monument only to find that it is not the Hagia Sofia... it is another building that looks very similar to it. In hopelessness Amanda and I stumbled upon this little cafe where we enjoyed some Turkish coffee and pastries. This was enough to encourage us to keep going and find this building! (Oh and while we were eating we rescued a drowning bird from a bird bath... but that is a different story... We have a video of it though!) We wandered about 5 more miles to another part of the city and finally gave up and took a taxi to this building. The wandering was worth the wait. It reminded me of the movie Aladdin. We saw the Saltan's tombs and a lot of other neat stuff. When it came time to leave, we decided to just head towards the water because obviously... our ship is on the water. We got to the water and our ship was no where in sight. In fact, all of the places that we could see were things that we recognized as we were sailing into our port not things that are around our port. We decided to walk into a store and ask someone where we are on a map. He showed us... we were on the furthest side of the outlet of land on the European side of Turkey. We needed to go to the clear opposite side of land, cross the bridge and get to the Asiatic side. Of course you can leave it to me that when I get lost, I not only get the wrong street... I get the wrong CONTINENT! Nonetheless, we made our way back to the ship on foot and arrived about 2 hours later. It was a great way to see the city, but I am simply exhausted and ready to pass out. Tonight Amanda and I are staying on the Asiatic side of Turkey and we are going to climb a random hill to watch the sunset. We're hoping for a good one! I really do like Turkey... I just need a better map! I would also like to point out that when you are in a foreign country and you are looking for a bathroom... it is extremely helpful to know what the word bathroom looks like in written language. One day you might find yourself standing in front of 3 doors. The first door you might choose might be filled with 20 men on their smoking break. The second door you might choose might be a storage closet for a bakery and the third door might be your bathroom. haha. THEN it is extremely helpful to know if you are a bac or a bacan... but that is a different story. haha.

Thank God they Pray!

I have no idea of where, when or how to begin telling you about my day. I guess I will start at the beginning and see how this goes. This morning, Amanda and I woke up at 5 AM to watch the sunrise as we sailed through the Bosphorous Strait. Europe was on our right and Asia was on the left. The Topkapi palace and other huge buildings were sprinkled across the land as we sailed by. It was such a neat and sentimental moment. We finally docked in Istanbul and then customs came on board to begin clearing us for debarkation. When Amanda and I heard it would be about 3 more hours until we were cleared to deboard, we went back to our cabins to take a nap! Once we finally cleared and got our Turkish Visas we got off the ship and began our explorations! Istanbul is defintiely the biggest city that I have ever been in. There are 12.4 million people who live in the city and that is not including children and tourists. The chaos of the roads, the weird smells in the air and the hundreds of thousands of people are just fascinating. As part of the country's traditions, we (as women) are not allowed to show our shoulders or our knees. In normal weather this might be ok, but today it was 96 degrees and 48% humidity. It was miserable. But there are literally no women here who show skin. Amanda and I did not cover our hair in the morning because the hair covering is optional now in Turkey. I could go on and on about the religious information that I have been learning about this culture, but you would be sitting at your computer reading for DAYS! Instead... I will jump right to the highlight of my day... the grand bazaar! Oh my gosh, it was the coolest thing in the world! Four thousand-two hundred shops are all crammed together in ONE place all selling amazing little trinkets. The entire experience was unforgettable. The moment I walked in the door, the salesmen (emphasis on MEN) are immediately trying to get you to come to their store. Someone told us last night that there are 4,200 shops and two men in every store who will want you to buy their product... that's almost 9,000 men all competing for your attention. It was quite overwhelming. I felt so rude just ignoring these people as they called out, "Hi pretty lady, would you like to buy a rug? how about some earrings?" The stores that Amanda and I did stop at were so different that stores that we are used to in America. Nothing has a price! You ask how much something is, they say a ridiculous amount and then you barter your way down to something reasonable... sometimes. Many stores assume that because you are an American, you have money and they will not negotiate prices with you. Overall it was a great experience. A big problem that we ran into was the constant gawking from these sales men. It made Amanda and I feel very uncomfortable. We didn't want to stop and look at a beautiful vase even if we wanted to because we didn't want these men to talk to us in a provocative way. It is hard to describe... Amanda had the idea that maybe if we covered ourselves (or the rest of ourselves) they would respect us more. We ended up covering our hair with our shawls and the difference in treatment was instantaneous. The men barely said a word to us anymore. They bartered with us very easily and they did not say stupid pick up lines as we walked by. I could not and still cannot believe the difference a shawl makes. The shawl and hair covering has just recently been dismissed by the government and is now optional. The women who wear it are discriminated against and cannot find jobs. Women in general do not work outside of the home. There is a 16% female employment rate in Istanbul according to the US Representative who came on our ship today. Something else I found amazing is that the state governed exactly what the churches would preach up until 3 or 4 weeks ago. The state would literally write down what the church was allowed to talk about and the church would listen. If you were caught reading a Bible or teaching your children anything but what the state has governed, it would mean severe consequences for you. I cannot imagine living in fear simply because of my religion. It is also odd to me the fact that the Turkey/US relations are not very well regarded. Turkey only has a 12% approval rating of the United States but in the grand scheme of things we rank 2nd on their approval rating! It is definitely an experience when you tell someone you are from America. The reaction is either completely positive or completely negative. I could go on and on about my day today but I don't think I could physically type out everything that happened to me today. This is the craziest thing that I have ever seen and I can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

 

Oh and the story behind the title of this blog... There was this one store where I wanted to buy some scarves from... he wanted 50 lira for 2 scarves and I refused to pay that much for two scarves. I told him that I would not pay more than 35 lira for both. He refused. We went back and forth and he finally agreed to letting me pay 35 lira as long as he got to have tea with Amanda and I. He wanted to meet us tonight for dinner, but we lied and said that we had a class to go to tonight. So we ended up having tea right there in his store. He kept talking and talking and asking us questions and just being chatty... then he had to excuse himself because he had to go pray. Amanda and I both left that store kind of silent and we just said, "Thank God they pray!!" It was so funny. It was very different to see the men in the bazaar getting out their carpets and kneeling down repeatedly to pray. I have never seen something like this before. I am loving this experience!

Goodbye Bulgaria

I visited a Child Advocacy Center today through Semester at Sea. I knew that it was going to be an emotional day, but I was not expecting to be in tears within the first two minutes after entering the door. When we walked up to the doors of the center, we were greeted by one of the workers at the center. She directed us into a room where the kids were all standing and waiting for us. There were 16 kids ranging from 3 years old to 16 years old. They sang us a song about the colors of the rainbow. Every child was smiling and and so happy that we came to see them. I sat there and my eyes were filling up with tears. These kids are the children of gypsies/prostitutes in Bulgaria. These abandoned children are the "lucky" ones. The government was trying to reward families for bearing children so the mothers of these chlidren would have the babies, receive the monetary reward from the government and then abandon the babies in the street. The babies are usually adopted out quickly, but the older kids usually find themselves at this home until they are 18. After the show, the kids came and took me by the hand and showed me around. One girl took me over the the translator and asked her a question. The translator laughed and said, "She is asking why you can't understand anything she says!" The girl's name was Juliette. She showed me her garden and her slide. We blew bubbles together and took lots of pictures. I will never forget her! I felt such a pain inside of me. I wanted to take all of these kids home with me. I'm the type of person who wants to rescue people. I want to teach them, send them to school, clothe them, and love them. While I was there I felt so powerless but then I remembered that God is all-powerful and he already has his hand on these kids. I got their email addresses so I can email them the pictures that I have from today. It was such a lovely way to end my stay in Bulgaria. This country was the replacement country for Egypt... but now I can't picture myself going anywhere else but here. I just felt the boat start to pull away from the port... 20 more hours and we'll be in Istanbul for another great adventure.

Espress Yourself!

The adventures continued today as Amanda and I roamed the city of Varna. We left the ship in the late morning and stumbled across a cafe where we could eat a late breakfast and early lunch. The menu was only in Bulgarian... so we pointed at a few things and hoped for the best. We ended up getting chicken kebaps, potatoes with cheese and what we can best describe as garlic bread. It was delicious!! After that, we went looking around some shops as we made our way to the beach. We stayed at the beach all afternoon and then we decided to go find some dinner. We ran into an Italian place that sounded really good and was really cheap! We went in and had a 3 course meal complete with lasagna, pizza, ice cream, lemonade, and two espressos all for 11 lev! (which is about $8!!). After stuffing ourselves we decided to go shopping again!!! We found a bunch of places with cute dresses but they were closed! I'm going to go back tomorrow to make some purchases. We walked back to our ship and found out that we can't bring cherry juice back on board so Amanda and I are currently in our pajamas about to head down to the beach to sip on some cherry juice and watch a movie!! haha Our ship treats us like kindergarteners! Then again... there are the stupid people who abuse the system and make the rest of us pay the consequences. (Sorry I'm still a little bitter.) Oh well. We're going to have fun anyways. Oh and the reason that I called this entry "espress yourself" is because the sugar packets in the italian restaraunt that they gave us with our espressos had that logo on them. We felt it was a good slogan for our day!

Ithaka

I stumbled across this poem the other day and it really meant a lot to me. For me, Ithaka is my hopes and dreams... everyone has their own "Cyclops" and "Poseidon" in their life as do I... but the knowledge that I will gain and the experience I will gain will far outway any obstacles along my journey.

 

Ithaka
-------
When you set out for Ithaka
ask that your way be long,
full of adventure, full of instruction.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - do not fear them:
such as these you will never find
as long as your thought is lofty, as long as a rare
emotion touch your spirit and your body.
The Laistrygonians and the Cyclops,
angry Poseidon - you will not meet them
unless you carry them in your soul,
unless your soul raise them up before you.

Ask that your way be long.
At many a Summer dawn to enter
with what gratitude, what joy -
ports seen for the first time;
to stop at Phoenician trading centres,
and to buy good merchandise,
mother of pearl and coral, amber and ebony,
and sensuous perfumes of every kind,
sensuous perfumes as lavishly as you can;
to visit many Egyptian cities,
to gather stores of knowledge from the learned.

Have Ithaka always in your mind.
Your arrival there is what you are destined for.
But don't in the least hurry the journey.
Better it last for years,
so that when you reach the island you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting Ithaka to give you wealth.
Ithaka gave you a splendid journey.
Without her you would not have set out.
She hasn't anything else to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaka hasn't deceived you.
So wise you have become, of such experience,
that already you'll have understood what these Ithakas mean

Jeep Safari!!

Today was my first day in Bulgaria and so far it is off to a fabulous start! When we woke up my roommate and I went to get breakfast and then we went to a meeting with the US Ambassador from Bulgaria. It was very interesting talking with him and hearing about his work. Soon after that, I went and got my passport and headed off to my first Bulgarian excursion: A Jeep Safari!! It was so much fun! There were jeeps waiting outside of our ship for the trip that my friends and I quickly jumped on. The driver took us up the most magnificent mountains along the coastline of Bulgaria. We took a turn and soon enough we were off-roading through what felt like an Amazonian jungle. It was a moment filled with laughter, screams and lots of bumps! Our first stop on the trip was a whiskey distillery. They showed us how they make their whiskey and then we got to taste it. It was 48% alcohol and absolutely horrid. I could not even sip it. After another quick jump back in the jeep… we turned a corner and found ourselves amongst thousands of sunflowers. I think the entire group just went silent as we took in the view around us. The hills looked like they were rolling with gold. I decided to frolic through the fields to take pictures! It was childlike… but oh so amazing! Our next stop was a bee farm where we got to taste homemade honey. After honey-tasting, we went to a shooting range! Yes mom… I fired my first gun! It was actually a lot of fun! I missed the target both times, but it still was a memory I will never forget! Our final stop (but not our final adventure) was a restaurant in the middle of no where. It is an old Bulgarian home that they have transformed into a tourist restaurant. We ate kebabs and watermelon and then… out of no where… six men came down playing bagpipes, drums, guitars, and so much more. We all went out to this dirt square in the center of the home and they taught us a Bulgarian dance. It was so unique and fascinating. Our tour guide’s name was Nia and she is 18 years old. We asked her if she wanted to come out and show us the town tonight and she said yes! So we are going to go hang out with her tonight after dinner. The port that we are at is very nice. It is within walking distance from a beach which is actually extremely rare. Many Bulgarians have cautioned us about swimming in the sea here because of the extremely strong currents. They said that there are many people who drown every year and almost all of them are tourists who think they will be ok in the tides. So… I am going to stear clear of the seas and stick to the mud baths! Tomorrow Amy and I are going to attempt to find the mud baths in Bulgaria. Maneuvering around the city is extremely difficult. The language is completely foreign to all of us… the worst thing is that because this is not an extremely popular tourist town, the signs no longer have any English on them. Today Amanda and I just walked up to a menu and pointed to something to order because we did not have any idea what else to do! We ended up being happy with our order, but I have a feeling the next 2 countries will be the same as what we are dealing with now. It definitely keeps life interesting though!! 3 more days in Bulgaria and then only 2 more countries… it is going by so quickly!

A Magical Moment in Turkey

Our ship just entered the Bosphorous Strait as we are on our way to Bulgaria. As we approached it, almost the entire ship population was out on the deck watching the distant lights glisten against the pitch black sky. As the lights got closer, they almost seemed to twinkle and there were hundreds of them just scattered across the hills of Turkey. In the distance, it looked like we were heading straight into land. Our professor came up onto the deck with us and explained that the blue glistening lights in the distance are actually a bridge that we will be going under. We stayed out on the deck in awe of the Tokapi Palace and the largest castle in Europe on our left and the Asiatic monuments of Turkey on our right. The bridge began changing colors and lighting up like a lazer light show at Disneyland. As we finally went under it, fireworks went off and the entire ship cheered with excitement. I was taking so many pictures and so many videos that my camera ended up dying. It turns out that having a dead camera is the best way to enjoy the moment. We went under another bridge and this time my friends and I (along with tons of random people) had a huge group hug and cheer. I cannot describe in words how amazingly beautiful this night has been. We’ll be in this strait for the next 20 miles. There is no way that we are going to be able to sleep tonight… I am so perfectly content with this moment right now...

Mixed Emotions about Greece

This morning I woke up and ate breakfast on our ship overlooking Greece. The part of the city that we can see right now is all industrial so I'm not too impressed with the breathtaking views... yet. I'm kind of in a bad mood right now though because my roommate and 8 other girls are going traveling and renting a villa and then my other really good friend is going to another city for the entire trip. That leaves me... alone... in Greece. I'm not too sure how I feel about that yet. Our ship just cleared for debarkation but I don't know if I should leave or if I should stay or what! It is such an odd feeling and I truly dislike it. I know that I was not invited to these two trips because I am the "mom" of the group and I don't drink like these girls do/want to do. I am fine with that, I just wish they would have told me before today and yesterday so I could have made plans. Luckily I have some trips lined up, but I have 3 days with absolutely no plans that I need to figure out. Wish me luck. So all in all, I'm not sure how I feel about this welcome to Greece...

Update!

Hello Again! I haven't updated this thing in a couple of days because the internet on our ship has been down. People have literally been walking around twitching as they try to cope with the internet withdrawls. Since I last talked with you... we have left Croatia! I loved how picturesque the country was. It is just packed full of history and beautiful seaside homes. The island of Korcula apparently had it out to get me... the first time I went there it was 112 degrees and apparently the hottest it has been there in 100 years. The second time I went there I fainted. So I'm going to be happy with the fact that I tried twice and something just wasn't meant to be for me on that island. I am currently sailing in the Adriatic Sea down the coast towards Greece. I cannot believe that by this time tomorrow I will be in Greece! I am now 10 hours ahead of those of you in California. Greece seems like it is going to be a lot of fun. I have a few trips lined up here and there and then 3 days just free to explore. I have learned to love my free days to explore on my own. It is so much more relaxed and obviously less tourist-like. I love learning what our guides have to teach us, but sometimes it is so hard to try to take in the moment when you're being pushed from one spot to the next on a very strict time schedule. I have a question for anyone out there who is willing to answer it... What's new in the US?! The students on the ship and I haven't heard a newscast since June! We were all talking about it at dinner last night saying how we feel so disconnected from the latest happenings in our home country. Hopefully everything is just as amazing as we left it! I have more classes today and then a preport meeting for Greece tonight. Oh and guess what!?! We are having a Toy Story 3 movie night tonight!! YAY!!! I also joined a Bible study on the ship which is going really well. We meet tonight right before the movie =) It should be lots of fun! (especially since I'll wake up tomorrow and be in Greece!)

Long day, Beautiful night

My day has just been extremely long. You know those days when you wake up on the wrong side of the bed, well today was one of those days for me. Having a sinus infection is not the best way to start any morning, let alone a morning that has to be starting at 6:30 AM. Everyone on my trip today was just exhausted before we even left the port. As soon as our bus pulled away and made its way to Tristeno, Ston and the Island of Korcula, everyone was asleep. Really... they should know... we are college students not early risers!! The first stop we had at Tristeno was beautiful but extremely hot and humid. You can't feel a single breeze in this whole country until the sun sets around 9:30 pm. Our tour guide was just taking us around this beautiful botanical guarden like the heat was nothing at all to her. Unlike most tours, we got to see how olive oil was made before machines came into the picture. Remember donkeys... they used to spin a wheel around as it turned a wheel to press out the oil from the olives. Hard, old fashioned work has been completely replaced by machines except for one press that is still powered by donkeys in Dubrovnik. Anyways, we got through with this stop and made it to Ston about an hour later. No one was outside in the cities today because it was so incredibly hot and there is very little shade to be found. Despite the fact that I was "extremely" excited about seeing the salt fields in Ston, I opted out of the tour and just sat on a bench to people watch. Sorry Ston... I was trying to save my energy (and my water) for Korcula. Korcula is the birth place of Marco Polo. (Or at least his legendary birth place.) We toured the incredibly hot island and then made our way to have lunch at a hotel in the area. Our first course: hot vegetable soup. I was extremely sad that it wasn't something cold! We had a few more warm courses that were delicious but then we got an awesome dessert fruitcake thing. It had layers of fruit-flavored cakes and pudding along with whole peaches and bananas. It was so refreshing! After that, my friend Mary and I went shopping in air conditioned buildings! We then dipped our feet in the water to cool off before our 3 hour journey home. My funny moment of the day: Amanda (my roommate) and I have a new phrase that we walk around saying. If some says Kuna, we just smile and look at each other and say Matata. Then we break into song, "It means no worries, for the rest of your days, it's a problem free philosophy, hakunamatata!" The ship just looks at us like we've lost our minds but deep down inside I know they're jealous they didn't think of it first! haha. Thanks for the emails I've been getting from you guys. It is so neat to wake up to an email from someone just saying hi. If you ever want to email me... use layoung@semesteratsea.net instead of my other email. Have a great day!!

Cliff Jumping in Croatia

For all of the worriers out there... you should probably just not read this one (That means you Nana...). First of all, we have officially arrived in Croatia. Amanda, Kelly and I went to the old city (downtown area) this morning. We got on the wrong bus, went way out of the way and then got on the right bus and ended up in the downtown area sometime around 12 when it only takes 30 minutes to walk there. Oops. Anyways... we got there and looked around and it was just amazing. To think that less than 20 years ago this place was in the midst of a genocide and an intense war is amazing. There are still houses where you can see the damage from the shells and air attacks. We met some girls at a place where we stopped for lunch. They were studying abroad from Yale and they gave us some ideas for what to do while we're here. Once we left lunch (which by the way was 380 kunos!) We headed down to the main part of the city which is where we ran into other SAS students. They were on there way to go cliff jumping. Amanda's face immediately lit up and my face immediately dropped. Cliff jumping is for insane people, I am not perfect but I like to picture myself as sane. I agreed to go but resolved in my mind that I would not be jumping. I didn't have a bathing suit so it led to an amazing and logical excuse. Once we got to the cliffs... adrenaline took over and before I knew it I was jumping off of 30 foot cliffs in nothing but my new dress from Italy. It was the most thrilling and most amazingly beautiful experience I have ever had. The waters were so crystal clear and they are extremely salty. The saltiness keeps you floating really easily. Before we knew it there were about 25 students from our program all at this cliff jumping off into the most beautiful water I have ever swam in. I still can't believe I did it, but I am so glad that I did. For any of you who might not believe me, I have multiple videos of me jumping in! For those of you who want to pretend like I didn't do this, just know that I'm ok and I won't be able to do it again for the rest of the time that I'm in Croatia (sorry Nana!). I am absolutely loving Croatia. The city we are in is not a tourist city so it is so nice to be able to see locals. The kids here are so nice too! It is so nice to see families in town and be able to see a grocery store. I don't even remember the last time I saw a grocery store. I definitely need to visit it soon. I'm running out of snacks for my cabin, laundry detergent, razors and q-tips. It's all part of the adventure that I'm on right now. My roommate and I along with a few of our friends will be heading out tonight to have some wine and get internet access to call home. I'm excited to talk to my family again!!

Rwanda

No, it's not a typo and yes I said Rwanda. Allow me to explain... I just listened to a presentation about a man who started a project called The Anne Frank Project. It is a movement helping countries recover who have been involved with genocide. In Rwanda in 1994, 1 million people were murdered usually by a machete within 100 days. That's 10,000 people each and every day. The man who started this is actually my theatre professor. His main goal is to correlate that theatre is a universal language and that theatre can help people express their pain, accept their situation and move forward to their future. He showed us videos of the kids who became orphans during this genocide and how they all live in churches throughout the towns. The new president has helped them get access to education up until 9th grade. When I was in Spain last summer, I heard about Semester at Sea and became completely set on attending this program. I feel like this lecture that I heard tonight is my new passion. I don't necessarily want to uproot my life and live in Rwanda, but I just feel like I want to get involved in any way possible. As of right now, I want to attend the annual Anne Frank project at my professor's university in Buffalo, New York. I am going to have breakfast with my professor and his wife tomorrow morning just to debrief all of these emotions that I am dealing with right now. I have always said that for my future classroom I want to have a sister classroom in another country. It would be such an amazing opportunity to teach my students about another culture as well as provide resources to the classrooms in countries such as Rwanda. I am not sure what God is preparing my heart for, but I feel like it's something big and I can't wait to see what is waiting for me in the upcoming chapters in my life.

 

Oh! And we just passed through the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. We are currently right in the center of the Strait and Sicily is on my left and the boot of Italy is on my right. The sun just set and the lights of the city are literally glistening in the night sky. I just sat up on the deck with Amanda and Randy and we just took in the moment. (Oh and we saw dolphins!) It has been such an amazing night.

Treacherous Night Ahead

Breaking News: Our ship is heading towards the Strait of Messina. This is the little strip of water between Sicily and the "boot" of Italy. According to ancient Greek legends, the strait is home to two gods Scylia and Charbdis. Charbdis is famous for causing a whirlpool to swallow your ship and Scylia is a 6 headed monster with four eyes on each head. She is known for eating your ship's crew as you pass by. Charbdis is closer to the cliffs of Italy and Scylia is closer to Sicily. Mount Etna (Europe's largest volcano) can also be seen as we sail through. Last year the lava was visible...

 

Even though I know that I shouldn't be concerned about the Greek legends, the captain warned us that the waters tonight will be extremely rough and that we will be getting tossed around a lot. What concerns me is that in all of the rough waters that we've been through so far he has never warned us about them. So if he didn't consider those waters rough enough to warn us... how bad are these waters going to be!? During his explanation he also announced that a pilot will be coming on board to assist him through the narrow passage way. (Did you hear me just take a giant hesistant gulp?) We will be passing through tonight from 9 pm - 10 pm my time so 12 pm California time. If you happen to think of me in that time, just be greatful that you are standing on solid ground! We are getting our cabins all cleaned up so that things don't fall over and break. I feel like I'm preparing for an earthquake! It's quite odd. Let's hope that those greek legends are simply legends and that Mt. Etna is sleeping peacefully as we sneak by.

 

Here goes nothing!

 

(Oh and plans are official... we are going to Greece with the presumption that matters there do not worsen within the next week.)

Ciao Italia

Seven days have never gone by so quickly in my life. It feels like I just got to Italy and now here I am 7 days later and our ship is making preparations to sail away tonight. I had such an amazing time here though. I literally saw things that I never dreamed I would ever see. I wished in the Trevi fountain, I saw the Sistine Chapel, I tasted wine in Orvieto, I had gelato in the streets of Rome… it felt like a dream. My roommate came back from her trip today which means that I now have my laptop charger! I am so thankful! (Mr. and Mrs. Hanes… if you’re reading this, thanks so much for bringing this to Italy!) Tonight’s agenda consists of dinner and then homework. Funny thing: when you’re in Italy you have absolutely zero motivation to do homework. Funnier thing: when you do not do your homework… it piles up on you and leaves you with 3 five page papers that need to be researched, written and turned in by tomorrow. Funniest thing: I am still sitting here on my computer updating my blog rather than writing the essays. Oh well. When we are finally in the middle of the Mediteranean again I might find some motivation. So Ciao for now! I have two more days of sailing until we reach Croatia. I am not sure what to expect there, but I am still excited. The ship is announcing their decision about Greece tomorrow at 9:00 AM. My fingers are crossed!

Driving through Italy

There are always those little things in life that completely amaze me... today it was a field of sunflowers. We were driving to Orvieto to explore the underground caves from 2700 years ago when I looked out my window to see miles and miles of the brightest yellow sunflowers I have ever seen. I could feel my face just light up as I stared out the window of my bus. I wanted so badly to just get out and go run through the fields. (Yes I would have looked like a 3 year old... but when is the next time I will be able to run through a field of sunflowers in Italy?!) Instead I took a few pictures and just enjoyed the view. Some people grow sunflowers instead of grapes or olives in order to produce sunflower oil. It was simply beautiful.

 

My trip today to Orvieto was lovely. I learned that I am slightly clausterphobic (sorry if that's spelled incorrectly...) In order to get down into the caves we had to crouch really low as we climbed down stairs for about 5 minutes. I couldn't wait to get to the bottom and be able to stand up. Knowing that I was 40 meters underground was kind of creepy though. After exploring the caves, my friends Shametrice, Chris, Evan and I all went to lunch and to explore. We accidentally stumbled upon this amazing cliff that overlooks the entire valley of the surrounding city. I felt like I was in a movie. I couldn't believe the views that I was seeing. I found out that it is possible for me to upload pictures at the wifi cafe in my port (aka subway) so you can plan on seeing them either tonight or tomorrow morning. :)

 

Tomorrow night I am going out with some friends to do a wine tasting event in a nearby town. I'm hoping they'll have a shipping service so I can send my family home some delicious Italian wine! After wine tasting, our ship will be departing Italy and heading to Croatia. I have no idea what to expect in that country, but that makes it all the more exciting!

Vatican City

Never once did I think that I would ever be inside the Vatican City. Never once did I think that I would see the original paintings of Michaelangelo. Never once did I think I would visit St. Peter's Basillica. Yet somehow I did it all today. My morning began with a tour of the Colloseum (the inside this time) which was interesting but extremely hot and extremely crowded. After that, we ate lunch and headed over to the Vatican Museum. I loved seeing the sculptures and the hundreds of rooms as we made our way to the Sistine Chapel. I cannot begin to describe the wonder inside the rooms that we were in. It was so amazing to see all of these amazing paintings from many famous artists all inside one building. The Sistine Chapel was beautiful. I don't think I can find any words to string together to allow you to experience what I saw today. Right after seeing the chapel, I made my way to the Basillica. It literally made me speechless. The immaculate details in all of the rooms and the sky scraping domes were incredible. I just stood there and took it all in. Yes, I was in Rome inside St. Peter's Basillica... hah. I still can't believe it.

 

On a side note, I found myself extremely irritated today with the general attitude of the people in my group. Everyone was complaining about the heat, or the crazy amounts of tourists, or being bored, etc. I was getting so frustrated because this is such a once in a lifetime opportunity and even though it was 103 outside and 95 inside, and even though there were 7 cruise ships that were taking a tour of the Vatican at the same time as us, and even though it took 6 hours to complete the tour... I will never have this chance again. It is so easy to be able to tell whose parents sent them on this trip and which students actually worked extremely hard to get to this opportunity. I am going to do my best to find internet tonight in my port somewhere to upload some pictures. I'm not making any promises, but I'll put them on facebook if it ends up working. Two more days of Italy! (Oh and the decision to keep Greece on the itinerary or not will be finalized on Friday. Please pray for the people who are making the decision to have amazing discernment!)

Roma e el "amor" de mio

At long last I made it to the picturesque city of Rome. The weather today was cloudy, hot and rainy. I kind of liked the change of pace though. I took a bus to the city of Rome and arrived this morning around 11 AM. The first thing my group did was visit a famous museum filled with ancient sculptures and treasures dating back to nearly 2700 years ago. It was very neat! After the 2 hour tour, we had free time until 6. I ventured out into the city with 5 of my new friends. We first found a place to enjoy lunch right next to the Colluseum. This also happens to be where our waiter decided that he has found love at first sight when he saw my smile. While it was the typical Italian flirtation...It was actually quite hilarious. I got some great pictures of the Colluseum as well as the Trevi Fountain!! My Italian is improving a little although not much. Workers and shopkeepers have been giving me items at a cheaper price than what is listed simply because I am attempting to speak their language. They seem to appreciate it a lot. Tomorrow I am going to tour the Vatican city and visit the Sistine Chapel. I will also be able to go inside the Colloseum which should be amazing! It's going to be quite warm though because we have to cover our shoulders and our legs before going inside these places. I also think that I should let you know that pizza in Italy is fantastic. I know that it's sort of expected and well known that pizza is delicious here, but oh my gosh, it is the best pizza I have ever tasted. I am also really just liking Rome a lot. It is so beautiful and easily accesible. Roman towns are built with lots of things crammed really close together so it makes it really easy to see everything you need to. In fact, on top of this one hill in Rome, you can look out and see the top of the Vatican, the edges of the Colloseum, the statue in front of the Spanish Steps and the top of the Trevi Fountain. I really enjoyed my trip there today and I'm so glad I'll be going back tomorrow. Oh and to make a great day even better, when I got back to my cabin, I had letters from my mom and brother waiting on my door. I almost jumped out of my skin because I was so happy to hear from them. Ciao!

A Rainy Welcome to Civitavechia

This morning I woke up and went to see the wonders of Civitavechia only to look out a window to see that it is raining! For those of you who know me well... you know that I adore the rain so Italy part two is off to an amazing start. Because of the rain we had to sail at a slower speed and we're not in port yet. I'm very glad I have a bus tour of the city today though. I can't wait to see Rome! On a side note, my roommate is gone traveling Italy which means I have the cabin all to myself. I really don't like it at all!! I miss my friend!! The captain's assistant just made the announcement that our pilot is on board and we are preparing to berth! I'm going to go put some warmer clothes on and then head out to explore!

Mount Vesuvius

Today I climbed, no wait... I conquered Mount Vesuvius in Italy! I woke up this morning at 6:30 AM and took a bus to the mountain. I hiked the mountain to the very top with 70 other students from SAS. It was probably the hardest thing I have ever done. My feet were killing me, but it was definitely worth it. I got to the top of the volcano and could see the entire city of Napoli and Pompeii 596 km underneath me. The Bay of Naples was also visible along with the islands of Capri and Anacapri. Oh and let's not forget the steaming volcano that I was standing on top of while admiring the views. The volcano last erupted in 1944 during World War II. It is still very active and scientists have monitors all over the top of it to keep a close eye on the activity of the sleeping giant. It was so peaceful at the crater of the volcano. It was weird being up there because I know that one day it will explode again, yet at the same time, there I stood on the edge of the crater just taking in the moment. I took so many pictures, but one of them was absolutely amazing. My friends and I went off the main trail that circles the crater and we went and sat on the actually edge of the volcano. The four of us were sitting there trying not to move as a German family took our picture. The man actually ended up taking a video with my camera instead of taking a picture, so I now have footage of me sitting on the lip of the volcano with my friends. It was an awesome mistake. Tonight we are sailing to Civitavechia and I am going to Rome in the morning. I am extremely excited! My feet and legs are killing me though, so for now I want to just take a nap. I can't wait to show you all my pictures. I was going to upload some at the internet cafe in Naples but 4 people have had their laptops stolen right out from under them as they were sitting in the cafe. I don't want to take the chance. Oh! Happy Fourth of July!!!

The Island of Capri

A lady who is sailing on our ship with us this summer has been on 20 voyages over the course of her life. She was talking to me about a week ago and told me that one of the trips that I will take will be my "wow moment". It will be a moment when I will just find complete assurance in the reason that I went on the trip, it will be the moment that I just find myself completely happy with who I am in life and who I am aiming to be. That moment came for me today on the Island of Capri.

 

I could go on forever about this incredibly beautiful island about an hour off the coast of Naples. It was simply magnificent. However, I am going to skip the minute details and jump right to my favorite part of the trip: Anacapri.

 

The island is situated with three levels. The first level is the beach and the shoreline. The second level is Capri and the third level is Anacapri. It is located 589 km above sea level and has a complete 360 degree view of the surrounding crystal clear waters. The views were simply breathtaking. I found myself once just sitting on a rock over a cliff and just smiling. I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be in that moment just soaking it all in. I took a ski lift to the top of this incredibly steep mountain overlooking the entire island. When I got to the top, there was a giant spot where people can go and look out over the land and enjoy the scenery. I know this sounds crazy, but it almost brought me to tears. I was so thrilled to be able to see the sights. I cannot describe in words how amazingly beautiful the view was. Two of my friends and I just sat on "top of the world" and just stared in awe. We were all completely silent as we just let the moment soak into our memories. I took over 400 pictures just of the view today. It is officially my new favorite spot in the entire world.

 

It was weird having such a moving moment like this and knowing that I am going to remember this for the rest of my life. I cannot wait to be able to show you all the pictures and share the memories that I've made with you guys. I've started a video that I'm going to show you all as soon as I get back. I am having the time of my life over here.

 

We leave Naples tomorrow. I won't really miss it very much. The city itself is kind of disappointing. I don't feel safe here at night and it is very run down and old. I saw Pompeii and Herculaneum yesterday and I'm climbing Mt. Vesvius tomorrow. After that, our ship departs and we head to Civitevechia, Italy. Tomorrow night my friends and I are sleeping outside on the deck of our ship and the captain is going to turn off the lights on board so we can gaze at the stars as we sail from one port to the next. We are also having a burger night on the ship to celebrate the fourth of July. I am very excited!!

 

I am having the time of my life and I am so glad that you guys can catch a glimpse of what I am experiencing through my blog. Feel free to email me at anytime! Love Always, Lindsay

Good Morning Italy!

I woke up this morning and my ship was in front of Italy! I am so excited!! The view is exactly what I pictured it to be. I feel like I'm watching a movie because the view is so perfect. I am going to Pompeii today, so it should be lots of fun!!!!

 

 

Yippity Skippity We Won!!!

Yippity Skippity! (that is dedicated to my roommate Amanda…) Our team won the sea Olympics!!!!!!!! We had so many fun competitions like flip cup, relay races, tug-o-war, jeopardy, dean says, synchronized swimming, float your boat, limbo and wheelbarrow races. It was amazingly fun! Our Caribbean Sea tied for first place with the Baring Sea. We did a dance off for the first place prize and our team won! You can look for pictures on the semester at sea website under “current voyage”. They should probably be uploaded by the end of this week. It was so much fun! The prize… for those of you who might be wondering… is (drum roll please) we get to get off the ship FIRST in Boston when we get home!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After another 10 days at sea I think I will truly appreciate this prize. I forgot to mention earlier that on the Semester at Sea website you should be able to find our ship’s current location as well as pictures and video clips. The website is www.semesteratsea.org for those of you who want to see. You’ll click on the “Voyages” tab and then click on “current voyage” either on the box on the right hand side or the bar on the left hand side. I hope there are not embarrassing ones of me on there… haha Italy is just around the corner!!!!! We just passed two islands in between Spain and Italy. One was an island belonging to France and I'm pretty sure the other one belongs to Italy. We have our preport meeting for Italy tonight where they will give us all of the information about our visit there and the trips we will be taking. I am pretty excited to see a new country!!

Goodbye Barcelona

The past 4 days have completely flown by and as I write this, our ship is an hour away from leaving Spain. Today Amanda and I went to a café for breakfast and then walked around the Gothic Quarters of Barcelona. We went shopping for a couple of hours and just enjoyed the atmosphere of Spain one last time. I love the culture here so much. Everything seems so calm and laid back. After a long day of walking around, Kelly, Abby, Amanda and I took the metro to the beach. The water was freezing!! My favorite line of the day is when Kelly said, “Uh guys… Is this a nude beach??” It was NOT a nude beach, but we will just say that bathing suits are 100% optional in Spain. We could only stay at the beach for 20 minutes before we had to get back on the ship around 4 pm. Amanda and I got to our cabins and I just fell right asleep. We did not get back to the ship last night until around 3 am and we were up and out again this morning by 10. I cannot wait to sleep tonight!!!

The story of the hour is that someone is missing from the ship. We were supposed to be on the ship by 6 pm and he is no where to be found. All 700 students are here except him. His name is Alex… so hopefully he gets here before we leave at 8 because the ship will leave without him if he’s not. (They announced that to us in our preport meeting.)

One day of sailing awaits us tomorrow as we make our way to Italy. We’ll be arriving there on Saturday at 8:00 AM. I am kind of disappointed because all of the girls that I have been hanging out with are all doing an independent 5 day trip throughout Italy. I really wanted to go, but I have SAS trips for every day that we are in port. I am going to be able to see everything that they are seeing, I just will not see it with them. I guess I will just need to make new friends! For tonight, Amanda and I are having a movie night in our room and then we are going to write some essays that are due next week. I am still having an amazing time and I am so excited to see what Italy has in store for me!

Yesterday and Today in 1000 words...

How do I even begin to attempt to portray the past two days in Barcelona? I feel like I’ve been here for such a long time because I am getting such a good feel of the city now. Yesterday, Amanda and I went out with a different group of friends to find somewhere to eat breakfast. We slept in until 1030 and missed breakfast on the ship by a good 2 hours. Oops. After wandering the streets for a while we finally found a place to eat some sandwiches. Our plan for the morning was to make it to La Sagrada Familia one more time because we wanted to see the inside of it. We had 8 people in our group (seven girls and one guy)… needless to say, the girls all wanted to shop and spend their time in the stores while we made absolutely no progress towards the church. Around 1430 we realized that we had only gone about 1 mile from the ship and we had about 7 more to walk before we would get to the church. So we started our journey swearing that we would not stop for anything. Did you know that if you buy a pair of shoes and wear them for the first time on an 8 mile walk you will most likely get blisters?? Needless to say… I stopped the group one last time to run into a store to buy some new shoes because I did not want to walk a roundtrip walk of 16 miles with a blister. We finally made it inside La Sagrada Familia. It was astounding. The detail in the inside was incredibly thoughtful and designed so intelligently. Arches towered towards the sky and stained glass painted the walls allowing just enough light inside the building. Spiraling staircases allowed guests (who paid an extra 3 Euros) to go up to the balcony of the church and just sit in amazement. Since Amanda and I had already been to the church before, we decided to head home early. We got back to the ship and took an amazing 2 hour nap before heading out again. That night we went out to La Rambla again and just walked around observing everyone. For dinner, we decided on an Italian restaurant in a main square outside of the city. Spain’s entire time schedule is so much different than ours in America. When you get to a restaurant, you order a drink and it comes about 10 minutes later. Appetizers are brought out about 30 minutes after you’ve been seated and the main meal comes about an hour to 75 minutes after you’ve arrived. It takes a lot of effort to sit back, relax and just enjoy being in the moment instead of rushing to chow down on food. A man sat down at the table next to ours and by the end of the night we had struck up a conversation together. He was from Holland and on a business trip to Barcelona. He told us story after story about his wife and his 3 boys back at home. We sat and talked with him about the government, soccer (futbol), football (futbol Americano) and so much more. After Amanda and I finished an entire pizza by ourselves… we ordered an espresso for dessert. The three of us just enjoyed each others company for the next hour or so and we ended up not leaving the restaurant until around 015. We said our goodbyes and then Amanda and I walked back to the ship for the night. It was such a pleasant night. I cannot begin to describe how much I love just sitting and talking with people at street cafes and restaurants.

Today, I went on a Semester at Sea field program trip to Tarragona and Montblanc. These are two Roman cities along the coast of Spain. Our bus left this morning at 900 and we headed out! Our tour guide took us to a rock quarry first to show us where the Romans got their materials to build these cities. It was so deep and so incredible to know that these people were able to literally harvest rocks out of the ground to use for buildings. When we got to the city a few miles later, you could see the same exact coloring in the buildings as you could see in the quarry. The correlation was amazing and something I had never thought of before. We took a tour of the city and then got 20 minutes of free time. I was so happy because I found a frozen yogurt store! I felt at home all over again and I enjoyed every minute of that treat! We then got back on the bus and traveled another hour to the next city: Montblanc.

This city was built 2300 years ago also by the Romans. The architecture was incredible. They did not use any cement or anything to hold their buildings together! When we got there, it was time for lunch at a local shop. We all sat down and got a salad, then chicken, then pulpo (octopus) and shrimp, next was a flan and then an espresso. The food, minus the octopus and shrimp, was really good! We then took the bus all the way back to the ship. One of my favorite things to do now that I am in this hot humid sticky weather is to shower! I am so glad that we have access to the ship while we are in port. Amanda and my friends are out right now, but they usually come back around 2000 to take a nap and then head back out for the night. I figured I would write you all a mini-book to read while I wait for them to come home.

We leave Barcelona tomorrow. I do not think I will be able to share any pictures with you until I get home. The internet here is so unreliable. I will be in Italy in two days! Tomorrow is going to consist of sleep, sleep and more sleep followed by a class and then more sleep. I am sad to be leaving Spain, but I have a feeling Italy is going to be fantastic… You are in my thoughts and prayers! Love you!!

Adventures in Barcelona-Day 1

This morning I woke up to find myself berthed at a port in BARCELONA!!!!!!!!!! My roommate and I jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes and ran outside. The view from the 8th deck of our ship is amazing. Barcelona is built on a slight hill so you can see the entire city in one panoramic view from the top of the ship. We scarfed down some breakfast and sunscreened up for our first great adventures.

 

First of all, I am going to warn you that this blog is going to be extremely detailed because so many of you have been telling me that you are living through me on this trip... so here goes.

 

Our ship is berthed at Port A in Barcelona, Spain. In order to disembark the ship we have to go down through an airport like building and walk across a 1.2 mile bridge. (GREAT way to burn off the breakfast you just ate AND to gaurantee that you will get sweaty before you even get into town.) It is a wonderful 75 degrees here today and the sun is shinning brightly. Before we disembarked, a US Embassy representative got on the ship to discuss the dangers of the city and certain areas that we should avoid. EVERYONE has been warning us about pick pocketing. Thanks to my friend Nikky... I have an awesome purse that sits over my shoulder, has a pouch, a zipper and a lock on it. I only took the essential things that I would need for the day and left with the mindset that I might not return with the things I brought.

 

Anyways... after the mile walk to get off of the port area, my four friends and I made our way to La Rambla Calle. It is the main street in town where there are tons of shops and street performers. It was incredible because you could actually see who the pick pocketers were! They eyed you up and down and as soon as you made eye contact with them they would cover their face with a newspaper or turn the other direction. Soon after finding this incredibly long street, my friends and I went to a house designed by Gaudi himself! It is such an interesting design. You should look it up... it's called Casa Batllo. It is simply amazing and unique. We didn't go inside, but it was still cool from the outside. Next, we made our way up to the Ciudat Central (center of the city) where we watched the current protesters who are camped out in the roundabout in the plaza. They are protesting the government's actions in Spain. There is a 21% unemployment rate and the people are demanding change. Funny enough... there are birds all over this plaza. It was like a Mary Poppins movie. The birds covered the ground to such an extent that you couldn't walk. My friends and I found out that my roommate Amanda has a fear of birds... and soon enough someone scared the birds and they all took off flying at once. I have it on video. It is amazing. haha.

 

Soon after this, we decided to go to La Sagrada Familia. Look this building up as well. It is breathtaking! This is a cathedral that Gaudi was working on before he died. His death resulted in an incompletion of the project and just recently the government has decided to continue building it. The view is simply astounding. It is 12 euros to get inside... I might be going back soon because I really want to look at the architecture inside.

 

One of the more interesting notes of my day... When my friends (Randy, Amanda, Kelly and I) were attempting to figure out the metro for the first time, we were kindly helped by a homeless man. He came up to us at the screen as we all stared in confusion. He was so helpful. He spoke English and he was the friendliest person I have met in a long time. I don't know how to describe it, but there is something about traveling in foreign countries that puts you in new situations where you are forced to just go with the flow of things. Don't get me wrong... I am extremely cautious and always have my guard up, but there are times when you truly need the help of others (Even if he is a homeless man) and you just have to accept it. He told us that we were in the wrong station and he walked us to the new station we were supposed to be in. He warned us about pick pocketers and he just started talking about his day and how he hopes that we enjoy our stay. While hesitant, I was so glad he helped us. He will be one of those random people that stick out to me in my memories of this trip.

 

After getting back to the ship that evening around 5:30, I had to quickly get ready to head out again to go to a Flamenco show at 5:45. I was kind of looking forward to the show, but for the most part I was not expecting very much. We got to the show and sat down to a four course dinner and consecutive show. I barely remembered to eat because I was so mesmerized and enthralled by these Flamenco dancers. I video taped so many of their dances because I simply loved the show. I know this sounds crazy, but it made me tear up because I enjoyed it so much. (by the way... The second course they served us was Paella. **Reed... look it up and see why I didn't like it... haha)

 

After the show, Randy, Kelly and I went out to explore the city again. We found a cafe outside of town and decided to sit down for some drinks. I finally got to have my cafe con baileys that I have been missing for an entire year. I was so happy! Funny story: this lady was walking by the cafe with a mini white dog. Kelly commented on the cuteness of the dog and went over to it. I was the only one in the group who could speak Spanish so I served as the translator for the group. The dog's name ended up to be Randy. Randy (the person) found this hilarious and began to have me explain to this couple that his name is Randy too. Soon enough another group sitting at the same cafe became involved in our laughing conversation. We spent the next 3 hours sitting and talking with these Spainards about their life and their hometown and the futbol teams and just life in general. It was the coolest thing! I did a lot of translating, but these men spoke decent English as well. Their names were Carlos, Diego and Luis. We all took a group picture at the end of the night and then headed home. I learned so much about Spain and the culture just by sitting and talking with these people than I have ever learned in a classroom.

 

We headed back to the ship and crossed the mile long bridge once again and finally got back to our temporary home for the remainder of the voyage. I am so glad that I have this opportunity. When I stepped off of the ship today I just couldn't stop smiling. Suddenly all of the sea sickness and loneliness and second guessing myself vanished. I had an awesome day and I can't wait for another one tomorrow. It is now 222 in the morning here... so I need to get some sleep. Thanks for reading this mini-book/blog entry! I will keep you posted on exciting happenings throughout my trip. I have 2 more nights and 3 days left here, then it's one day of sailing until we arrive in Italy for the next 6 days. I can't wait!

The Coast of Spain and Slumber Parties

First of all, allow me to attempt to explain the beauty of the night sky interupted by the glimmering shore lights on the coast of Spain. It is simply beautiful! Last night almost the entire student population crowded onto the decks of the ship to watch as we sailed along the coast. I can't believe that we are here and that within 23 hours I will be in Barcelona.

 

On a side note... what better way to celebrate the fact that we are now in Europe than with a sleepover!!?? Last night my roommate Amanda and I pushed our two twin beds together and brought in another mattress and bed from another cabin. Together, her and I along with 3 other girls all had a sleepover! We painted nails and watched movies and just had a blast. It was so much (very needed) fun after such a long journey across the seas. I am still so incredibly happy that I have the roommate I have. Almost all of the other girls that I have met are jealous of Amanda and me. There are so many people making illogical decisions aboard this ship. It simply amazes me.

 

We have one last day of classes today and then we don't have class again until July 6th! I'm quite happy about that. Maybe now I will feel like my summer has begun.

 

Things that I miss about home: My bed! My ceiling fan, my family, thoroughly cooked eggs, a washing machine, my car, easily accessible forms of communication, my job, my boyfriend, my friends, being in tune with what is going on in the world and solid ground.

 

I hope that I will get to hear from you soon!

LAND!

Just a quick update... I am currently able to see both Europe and Africa right now! The fog is horrible but nonetheless we are sailing between the two continents on our way to Gibraltar to bunker. I am so glad that we are almost there! It is the coolest thing because on the port side of the ship we see Spain and on the starboard side of the ship we see Morocco. No words can describe this feeling! (Unfortunately it is so humid out right now that every time I try to take a picture, the lens of my camera fogs up...) You'll just have to trust that the view is incredible!

One Eye on the Horizon

Today is the day that we are supposed to see Europe and the tip of Africa!! Everyone is so excited! We will be passing through the straight of Gibraltrar and bunkering there for a few hours before heading up to Barcelona. We will arrive in Barcelona in 2 days. There's not too much time to be distracted because we have a major test today for one of the classes that everyone is required to take. I'm nervous because I was sick all day yesterday so I haven't studied. I have all morning until 1335 to get a feel for the material though. The waves are much better today. It looks like winter outside though. It is cloudy and cold and the water is still pretty rough. We can tell we're a lot closer to land because we have been passing multiple carrier ships and cargo ships. It is quite encouraging. I have to send a shout out to the best roommate in the world who helped me so much yesterday while I was doubled over with sea-sickness. She turned in an assignment for me and did her best to nurse me back to health. It was exactly what I needed. Thanks Manda!!! Other than that... I'm so excited to eee land, to bunker, and to finally be in Spain. I have no idea what I was thinking when I signed up for this trip... sailing across the Atlantic. Twice. Yep I'm insane. But... it has made me rethink the distance of God's love for us... One scripture says he's removed our transgressions as far as the east is from the west... let me tell you. IT'S VERY FAR. haha. Love you all and I can't wait to hear from you soon!!

Woah... everybody hold on.

I have literally heard 10 or more people say, "Woah! Everybody hold on!" today as we have been crossing through some of the most difficult waters we've experienced so far. My sea sickness was back this morning. The ocean is filled with white caps on every wave. People are rolling off of their chairs, falling down stairs, tripping as the floor seems to roll up beneath you as you're walking down a hall... I've never seen anything like this before. I got super sick in class because I could see the horizon going up and down through the window. Right now I'm sitting in my room on my bed and I am literally holding on to the wall to keep my balance... and I'm SITTING. It's absolutely insane. We are making a pit stop at Gibraltar to fuel up tomorrow! After we get there we will no longer be out in the middle of no where and we'll be able to see land surrounding us again. My personal theory about why the water is so crazy is because we are approaching the mouth of the Mediterranean and the various currents from the Atlantic and the Med are crashing together. I could be very wrong... but it sounds smart! All of my books just slid off of my table. I need to go pick them up and attempt to get some reading done before class. Wish me luck and take a moment to appreciate the solid ground you are standing or sitting on right now...

The Amazing (Slippery) Race

Tonight our ship had an amazing race style competition. Our team consisted of 8 people and we all were running around all 8 decks figuring out different clues.  There were 480 students competing in the race. All things were going well until it started storming. The ship was rocking like crazy and all 480 of us were slipping all over the place. So we were doing well until we stopped doing well and ended up coming in 10th. It was a lot of fun and of course... we celebrated our loss with ice cream cones on the deck under the midnight stars. I've been feeling really homesick recently! I miss driving and being able to just get in my car and go to a movie. I miss my bed. I miss my family! But enough dwelling on the things that I can't change... tomorrow I am heading to class (just like every other day...) but I'm going to entertain myself by attempting to run on the treadmill with my roommate. We've decided that we are going to successfully balance on one even if the waves are crazy. We might just go back to the elypticals after a few anticipated moments of falling flat on our faces. :)

 

Random fact: Every night at dinner we have some sort of pasta and some type of potatoes. We are kind of getting sick of it. It is now the running joke on the ship...

 

I am putting on a show for the ship towards the end of the voyage. It is a class project between me and 6 other really fun people in my group. I am actually excited about it!

 

But I actually need to stop updating you because... THERE IS A HUGE STORM ROLLING OVER THE SHIP!!!!!! I must go outside and be in the rain and watch the thunder and lightning!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am so excited!!! Love you guys!! Have an awesome day!

Location Not Found

Hello everyone! Well our ship experienced its first storm last night. The waves were pretty rough but for the most part we were able to sleep through them. The skies are pretty dark today though and I get a very erie feeling knowing that I am stuck in the middle of the ocean no matter what kind of weather comes my way. My computer has a weather detector on it and today the icon says "location not found". I laughed when I read that because it is so true. At this point who knows where we truly are... it feels the same as yesterday and looks the same as the day before that. Nothing but water. EVERYWHERE.

 

For those of you who know me really well (which is probably most of you...) You will appreciate this story:

My roommate and I were in bed last night about ready to fall asleep when I thought I heard her crying. I asked her if she was ok and she said, "yeah I'm fine!" It was quiet for a few more moments and then she said, "I get really homesick everytime I start to fall asleep," I started thinking about it and those were my thoughts exactly. Something about not having a hug from someone for almost a week is really strange... and I miss it! Just as I was thinking that she said, "Would you mind if we started hugging each other at least once a day?? I just miss hugging people and being hugged..." I almost started crying and I said, "Of course!!" So we got up and hugged each other and felt sooo much better and then went to sleep. For those of you who know me... you should be able to recognize that this girl is an answer to my prayers!! She and I are becoming such great friends. I love it. 

 

I slept through breakfast this morning. The ship's time changes every day. So at the beginning of this voyage we were at Eastern Time and since then we have lost an hour a day. So today it feels like we are waking up at 4 AM just to get breakfast. I decided to skip it and just sleep in. My first class is at 1045 thankfully so I have the option of doing that.

 

We are doing an "Amazing Race" on the ship tonight. The team that wins gets to deboard the ship first in Barcelona. I'm pretty excited! It will be something fun and finally different to do. Well I think that is the full update from over here. I hope you are all doing well!

It just hit me.

Throughout this trip I have been dissappointed in myself for not having a 100% enthusiasm about the trip. Of course I have loved the voyage so far... but there have been parts of me that feel let down and other parts of me that have labeled me as simply insane. I just got back from one of my classes and found this email in my inbox. It just hit me. I am on my way to the most amazing places in the world and I am brilliantly excited. Feel free to take a look at the email I received--

 

Your itinerary for Rome:

 

0830              Depart ship. 1½-hour drive to Rome
1000              Arrive at Colle Oppio coach Park. (Meet local guide at Ostiense)  & drive  to the Colosseum.
1015              Visit the Colosseum and free time for photos
1200              Lunch served at a local restaurant  (1½ hours)

1330              Drive to "Fra Albenzio"  & walk to  Vatican Museums
1400              Begin guided tour of Vatican Museum and Sistine Chapel
1530              Leave Vatican Museums and walk to St Peter's Square
1630              Guided visit of Saint Peter's Basilica. See Michelangelo's "Pieta'" and Bernini pulpit.
1630/1715   Leisure time on own after guide speech to take pictures and free time before meeting guide

                        and begin walk to  via della Conciliazione

1730              Walk to via della Conciliazione
1745              Return to Civitavecchia. Guide departs in Rome

1915              Arrive at the ship

Now do you all see why I am so excited?????

This is going to be amazing. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.