Semester at Sea Summer '09

SAS Remembered

2010-06-20T11:01:00.001-07:00

Today I went to a presentation given by one of the professors/directors of Freshman engineering at Pitt. It was directed at the parents of incoming freshman, but his opening lines about packing them off the first day they arrive got me to thinking about one of the greatest college experiences of my life: Semester at Sea.

Tomorrow, June 16, will mark one year since the day that I boarded the MV Explorer and began my journey around the Mediterranean. I remember the first time I saw the ship in the dock the first day that I arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I thought it was huge!! (Until I got a glimpse of some of the luxury cruise ships that could eat the MV Explorer as a snack)

But anyway, I don't want to make this a list of things that I did since that is already covered in the rest of this blog. I want to make this about the feelings and emotions involved in the whole trip and what has remained engraved in my mind.

I remember the way my room rocked in the waves and just the overall feeling of being in my cabin. Those late-night chats I had with my roomie. The feeling of the breeze on my face and through my hair as we sat on Deck 7 at night and played cards or just talked and stared at the ocean. Cramming the whole student body into the union for pre port meetings and waving our green sheets! Or better yet cramming into Nate and Eric's room for LOTR.Walking along the harbor in Pireaus on our way to the beach the first night and just taking in the sunset and expensive yachts and all of those other amazing views and feelings and moments that are forever ingrained in my brain. [Stumbling back to the ship after that first night on the beach and a bottle of Champagne...]

I think that I took the trip for granted. I didn't do as much as I should have. Called it a night a little to early. Woke up a little too late. Passed on experiences that I shouldn't have.

But you know what, I had the time of my life. I made so many friends that I hope to stay close with throughout my entire life. I had many firsts of my life on that trip. I changed so much on and became more of the person that I want to be. I realized that certain things that I did or ways that I acted before leaving, were childish and weren't getting me anywhere or closer to who I want to become as I grow. I feel that Semester at Sea is a life changing experience and I'm glad that I chose to use it as such.

And no matter how much I dwell on how amazing it was and how I won't ever be able to have that experience again, I have my "new" self. And this annoying need to see the world. Yes, a NEED not a WANT, a NEED. And soon.

But for now, I'm going to just look through my pictures, read my journal, watch all of the Real Sasers of Genius videos, and watch the voyage video and think about all the amazing things that I had a chance to encounter those 67 days. I hope those that just left for the Summer 2010 Voyage have just as an amazing time as I did.

GOOD LUCK AND BON VOYAGE SUMMER 2010!

and to those of you that find this somehow,

I MISS AND LOVE YOU SUMMER 2009 SASERS!

Sunsets, Sunrises, and Sad Goodbyes

2010-06-20T10:44:00.000-07:00

I know that it's a little late for me to be entering something from the actual voyage, but I didn't realize until today that I never wrote anything about the trip back from Morocco!

I'm going to need a little help from my Journal....

OK.. nevermind then.... I guess I didn't have time to write about anything after Morocco....

So from memory:

We had a finals week, but it wasn't too bad. Definitely a lot easier than being at Pitt! Then again that may have been because I only had 3 classes AND they weren't engineering classes.

Tim, Nate, Rachel and I played a LOT of pinochle. I know that we definitely played 2 games to 1000 points. It was fun. There really wasn't much else to do, so we all congregated in rooms and on deck 7 and 6 to just enjoy the rest of the voyage and to play some cards. We had some pretty intense games!

August 19th was our Ambassadors Ball. We all got all dressed up and went down to deck 5 for the fancy meal and then to the union for the dance part. The food was OK, but the rest was really fun! We had a chance to get a photo with the captain and his wife (they are Croatian).

The 21st was spent packing. We had an entire day completely devoted to packing and getting our suitcases to a certain area of the ship. It was a very sad day.

On the 22nd, we were awoken at 5:30 by Dia. We were headed into Norfolk. We all had breakfast and then headed up to the deck to check out the coast of the US. My clearest memory from that day was the humidity. We were used to walking onto the deck at 8am and being a little chilly. Not the case at 5:30am in Virginia in the end of August. We were automatically hit by this wall of humidity. Kids retreated back to rooms to throw on shorts and tank tops and shed their sweatpants and sweatshirts we thought we would need.

The ship took forever to pull into the port and then departure times were delayed. Instead of getting off the ship by noon or 1, we didn't get to leave the ship until around 3 or 4. We screamed across the small section of water at our parents touring the war ship next the our ship. It was a long wait. Erin and I were the last to leave. We sat and watched the rest of our friends from the deck as they joined the throng of students through Norfolk's Port.

And that was the end of a pretty awesome voyage.

Morocco, you have won my heart

2009-08-15T03:14:00.000-07:00

DAY 1

I love Morocco. It was definitely a better experience than Egypt. Don’t get me wrong, Egypt was awesome, but the experiences and the general atmosphere of Morocco suited me better. I had originally planned on doing 2 trips: Casablanca city orientation on the first day and the second day I was going to go to Rabat, the capital of Morocco. However, I really wanted to make it to Marrakesh for at least a day. I wanted to go hiking in the Atlas Mountains and I heard that Marrakesh is one of the best cities to get a real Moroccan experience. So I sold my trips and my friend Katie and I booked 2 nights in a hostel in Marrakesh.

We left the ship and headed to the train station. We had heard earlier that it might be a good idea to get first class tickets… yeah we didn’t. That was kind of a mistake. Our group of 7 for the train was split up and then the 2 other girls I was with and I ended up standing for the first 2 ½ hours of the 3 hour train ride. First we were standing in the front of the car by the bathroom and then we moved to the aisle outside of the compartments to wait for available seats. We should have just stayed standing! It was so hot in the compartments. The sweat just soaked through everything you were wearing. Cute huh?

The train station in Marrakesh is really nice. It looked practically brand new and of course there was a KFC and a McDonalds there. We got a cab into the medina to find our hostels. The taxi dropped us off outside of the Djemaa El-Fna which is the main square in the Medina. It was packed with women doing henna, snake charmers, people selling dentures (and single teeth?), and guys with monkeys. It was really sad to see the monkeys. They were all on leashes and in cages. The snakes were definitely ill treated as well. They were handled too much and you could tell that they were sick.

Long lines of fresh squeezed orange juice booths ran across the empty square. I don’t think you could have really found orange juice in containers in any of the countries we went to except maybe Croatia at the supermarket and maybe Varna, Bulgaria. The women doing henna were intense too. We learned the hard way that they will just come up to you and draw on any available part of your body and request being paid. She grabbed Katie’s arm and drew and then asked for 200 Dirham for each (she drew on me too). We paid her 100 each which was still way too much but only because she wouldn’t let us go.

The girls we were with actually had directions to their hostel from the square where as we only had directions to the square. So we decided to go with them and then ask for directions since it wasn’t supposed to be that far away. The experience was a prime example of language barriers! The woman that owned the hostel spoke Arabic and broken French and there were 2 other tourists there, both from Paris. One spoke Arabic and French, the other spoke French, broken Arabic, and English and no one on our end spoke anything but English. So we were talking to the one girl that spoke English and French. She was then talking to the lady in French and broken Arabic and was asking for help in French to the other girl that spoke Arabic. It was hilarious. But we were eventually told to just head to Café France.

We headed down the alley and eventually found our way to the Riad Rahba which owned our Hostel. We checked in and followed the guy back down the alley and down another alley to our hostel. It wasn’t that bad. We were taken upstairs to a room with 5 beds in it… bed is a general term really. They were these foam mattresses that had body imprints in them. The different rooms on the top floor shared a bathroom which again wasn’t bad. We weren’t really planning on showering maybe just a quick rinse. Especially since we wanted to go hiking the next day. After checking in, we went back to the Riad to book our tour to the Cascades d’Ouzoud the next day. Then we went out into the square for dinner and to shop.

Dinner was alright. I just had some sort of pasta and then we went into the souks which were Morocco’s version of the bazaar in Turkey and Egypt. I must say, they were definitely better than both Egypt and Turkey. They were really clean (well as clean as you can get in Morocco) and there were so many different shops. The people were also a lot nicer. We didn’t get screamed at as much. Most of the shop owners greeted you when you walked in and then let you alone until you asked about something. They had semi-reasonable prices too. Bargaining is definitely an art! You have to get over feeling bad about asking for something for a lower price and when they laugh at you, you just have to get over it and keep asking for the lower price. They usually buckle in the end. We didn’t really get anything that night, we just wanted to gauge prices and stuff. Later that night after getting lost in the souks (which were 3 stories and outside) we walked through the square again to see the difference between day-life and night-life.

And boy was it different! In the time that we had spent in the souks, the square had completely transformed. People had set up little restaurant grill places EVERYWHERE just rows and rows of them and then there were rings of people watching drum performances and others were playing some carnival games. The number of people had easily tripled since the afternoon. We watched some kids try and get these rings that were attached to giant fishing poles around the neck of soda bottles. It was practically impossible to win! We met a guy there named Rashim who talked to us a bit about the square and the music that was going on (Berber music – the people from the villages in the mountains) and he told us about his travels in the US. We decided to grab some cokes up on the terrace of a café on the outside of the square to see exactly what we had just fought our way through. The view from above was breathtaking. There was easily over 5000 people in this square just EVERYWHERE eating and drinking orange juice, playing games, playing music and listening to music, dancing, everything. It was amazing and definitely something you have to experience when in Morocco! It was really nice to relax in the cool air too after a long day of sweltering heat (and wearing pants). It was even cold enough for a sweater. After sitting atop the room and watching this scene for an hour or so, we headed back to the hostel to get some sleep before our hike the next day.

DAY 2

We woke up at 7am to get ready for our hike. We headed to the hotel that we had booked the hike through and waited for our guide to show up. The cost of the hike wasn’t bad. It was 300 dirham for transportation to and from the area which was a little over a 2 hour drive. 300 Dirham translates to about 37.50 which really isn’t bad for a driver to and from the area. The drive was fine. It was still chilly out, so the breeze in the van was welcomed. We stopped about ½ way through the drive to grab water and for a bathroom break before arriving. The scenery was great. It kind of reminded me of Chile with the mountainous terrain that was all desert like and sandy and covered in different desert trees and cacti. The countryside was stunning in it's own way. We drove past and through several Berber villages and everything. I started wondering about the nearest hospital. I don’t think they really have doctors or anything in these small villages. Just curious. I wish I had a chance to talk to one of the locals about this. Driving through Morocco it was easy to see that agriculture was their main means of income for the entire country. There were different farms everywhere. I don’t really know what they were growing, but farms were littering all of the valleys around the river beds (which were dry).

We got to the village where the waterfall was and were greeted by a tour guide. All together for our group of 5 it was another 300 dirham which was about $8 each. Really? Haha $8 for a tour guide around the waterfall is REALLY good. Especially compared to some of our other tours such as the Vatican. He was really nice too and it was convenient that he spoke English and French since the family we were with spoke only French. We walked through these wild olive groves and along the river until we clambered over this wall to find ourselves standing on the edge of this steep cliff with the waterfall directly to our left. It was gorgeous. I mean, I’ve been to Niagra falls and it’s amazing since the falls are so big and grand, but this was beautiful in a different way. The earth was red and there was green all around the area since it was damp pretty much all year and it was one of the few places that lush vegetation grew in the country. The falls were broken into different parts too, it was just beautiful!

We hiked down the side of the cliff on the one side of the falls and learned about the different plants and trees in the area. All of which were medicinal or had some other cosmetic or food use. Our tour guide picked us some fresh Lavender. It smelled amazing. It was amusing to see that instead of using refrigerators, the little cafes and such around the river and falls just let the cold spring water run over the bottles. It was really cool watching their different engineered set ups to get water over to the bottles or to different areas of the camp sites. Yes camp sites. Apparently it’s a big thing to rent a camp site and camp near the falls for a few days for vacation in Morocco. We walked across the river at the bottom of the falls and watched all of the local and visiting Moroccan children and boys swimming in the water. None of the women were swimming, just dipping their feet in. Which was normal for me now since we had been to Egypt and Turkey before now.

We ate lunch at a little restaurant near the falls. We had some sort of chicken kabob with curry seasoning, fries, and fresh melon for desert. And no GI issues! I stocked up on my pepto before and after every meal to avoid issues with my stomach, but I do know a lot of my friends did get sick. Which is completely understandable because there are really no food handling laws and water purification laws for a lot of the places in Morocco. Well I don’t know of any. Probably something else that I should look into. That could have been an interesting global studies paper topic… oh well… ANYWAY…

After lunch we headed back to the top of the falls. On the way, we had a chance to feed peanuts to the wild monkeys that lived in the trees around the camp sights. They were so cute! The one monkey just grabbed all of our peanuts and stuffed them in his mouth before the other one came. There was even a baby monkey climbing and swinging around in the trees!

We got back in the van and then all passed out on the way back to Marrakech. When we got back, we went back to the hotel and met up with Rachel. Up until now, I haven’t mentioned that I did spend the last 9 hours not knowing where my passport was exactly. So here is the whole story. I had to have my passport with me since I was staying in a hotel. I kept it in my money belt for safekeeping. And I haven’t actually worn my money belt since being in Italy since I bought a purse that I could keep tucked under my arm, zipped, and in such a way that they would have to tear it off of me and touch me to open it, so I had just been keeping my money belt in my purse.

ANYWAY, I had the ticket for the hike in there and when we got to the hotel, I had to show it to them. I did and then I THOUGHT I put it back in my purse. Apparently I didn’t because when we got to the van I had realized that I didn’t put it back in my purse but thought that I had put it in my book bag which was under the main desk at the hotel. So I spent the day pushing this to the back of my mind and everything until I got back to the hotel and could actually do something about it. So here we are. Katie and I met up with Rachel at the hotel. I grabbed my bookbag right away and pulled everything out of it in both pockets realizing that I had indeed, misplaced my money belt. Not only did I not have my passport, but I didn’t have my credit card or ship board ID card with me either. Those were both in there along with another 300 dirham. Go me right? I ran down to the desk and asked them if anyone had turned in a passport. Both of the guys working there got really worried and then started checking through all of the drawers and everything. It wasn’t there. No money belt, no passport. I ran into the lobby of the hotel where there were a bunch of cushioned benches and tables that we were sitting at that morning and checked under all of the cushions and under the bench. Just when I had given up hope, I found the waist belt of the money belt poking out from under the table cloth. WOW. I was SO lucky… no one had taken it. I don’t even think anyone had seen it. I had just saved so much money and stress! (Haha aren’t you glad I didn’t tell you about this when it was happening mom?) So that is how I almost lost my passport.

Rachel, Katie and I went out and did some shopping and then had some more dinner and hung around the square a little more. It was really relaxing and fun. I got some shirts and this awesome cushion for my apartment. It was a pretty eventful and tiring day.

DAY 3

Today we woke up around 9 and rinsed off again and headed back out into the market after checking out. We wanted to get some last minute shopping done, hit up the internet café and then get back to the ship in time for dinner. Which all worked out very well. I got a pair of earrings, a cheaper henna (only 50 Dirham for my calf/shin/foot), and some other random things. We got a cab back to the train station, had a McDonalds lunch, and then hopped back on the train. The 1st class section was sold out, so we had to sit 2nd class again, but since Marrakesh is the first stop, we were able to secure seats for the entire journey. We were extremely lucky to have a girl in our compartment from Morocco who had gone to an American high school in Marrakesh and who goes to college in Ohio. It was really great talking to her about the differences between Morocco and the US and everything. She said the main thing she misses when she is at school is the food in Morocco. I am glad we had a chance to talk to her, she was really nice and gave us some ideas of where we should go in Casablanca and other cities we should visit if we make it back to Morocco. After our long train ride back, we got a cab back to the port and then the shuttle back to the ship. The rest of the evening we just relaxed and took nice long showers.Or two.

DAY 4

Today was pretty uneventful. We just went out to the shops around the area in Casablanca. We all had to spend the last of our money since the currency in this country was controlled. Meaning we are not allowed to really take it out of the country. So I got some more jewelry, added to my henna and got a coke in a glass bottle so that I could save it! It looks really cool with the Arabic on it. I wanted pillow cases too for my couch and ended up getting 3 for 150 dirham (about $19). He originally wanted 140 for 1, so I think I did pretty well. After that we just went back to the boat and chilled on the 7th deck.

Overall I really enjoyed Morocco. I think I will definitely return. There are so many things that I want to do and places to go! I would love to go back to Marrakesh too. I felt a lot safer here than I did in Naples, Italy and in Egypt. It felt a little cleaner than Egypt as well which was very welcome! Anyway, so we’re on our way back to the states now! And I should probably get to writing my papers!!!!

Sunrise at the Pyramids

2009-08-02T01:40:00.000-07:00

Day 1

I am not going to lie, I didn't do much today. My head cold that EVERYONE on the ship has finally caught up with me, so I slept in and just lounged around on the 7th deck until everyone returned from their trips. I didn’t really want to go anywhere anyway since I was alone and this really isn’t where you go wandering around alone, especially if you’re a girl.

But, when I went on my ATM adventure with Rachel, I saw that almost everyone was in a full hijab with only their eyes showing. Those that were not, wore headscarves and full body coverage. Only very seldom did you see a younger girl, around our age, in only a long skirt and long sleeve shirt and nothing over her head. It was definitely different than Turkey. I was hit on by a 10 year old boy! We walked past him and he started screaming after us, asking us what our names were and how we were pretty. It was interesting.

I talked to one of my friends that did a city orientation, and he said that he drove past the beautiful beaches and the women were all swimming in full dress including head scarves unless it was a private beach for a hotel. My other friend Katie was on a tour of the library of Alexandria and she stubbed her toe on the stairs and at the top she bent down to check it because it was bleeding, and she said when she stood up, 3 men were standing right in front of her and asked her if they could take her picture and when she said no, they took it anyway. She then looked around and guys were just taking pictures of her on their cell phones. That is so awkward.

During pre-port, we had one of our fellow students, a girl that is from Cairo originally, speak to us about it. She said, very bluntly, that men will come up and touch you if you make eye contact. They know it’s not OK and if you scream they will go away, but they will grab you. Definitely different than any of the countries we’ve been to before.

So the next few days should be interesting. A lot of my guy friends are on 5 day trips and others are just staying in Cairo for a few days so that limits the extent to which I’ll be going out. I know sounds lame, right? But I would rather wait for them to get back than to go out with just a group of me and two other girls and have the sun go down and us still a good ½ hr from the ship.

Day 2-3

Cairo was pretty intense, not going to lie. First we left Alexandria and drove down to Cairo, which took about 2 ½ hrs. It was really interesting driving through the countryside. You would see these gated communities that were made up of condos and such, then nearby a billboard advertising the community and it would not look anything like what you actually saw. No green grass and trees, no shopping centers and pools. Just homes, some unfinished, sitting around in the sand with maybe one or two palm trees scattered here and there. Then outside of the gated/walled communities were some fields growing crops and then small shacks built with reeds that people were living in. The poverty here is really bad, especially since the recession hit. It wasn’t as evident in this part of the countryside as it was around Cairo.

Coming into Cairo, the city just sort of sprung up slowly. The apartment buildings and the roads are all covered in a layer of sand and dirt. Most of the thinner inner roads were just dirt roads and not paved which was different than any other city that we’ve been to or that I’ve seen. About 90% of the buildings were unfinished too. Anywhere from no glass in the windows to even the stairs leading to nothing where the next story should be, or sometimes just beams that should holding up the ceiling over another story holding up air instead. Our tour guide explained to us that people would never finish their homes and buildings because if they were unfinished, they didn’t have to pay taxes. It was really interesting. Maybe only a handful of the apartment buildings were finished and they were all the older ones.

Cairo’s streets and everything were covered in litter and mud/dust. There were people EVERYWHERE. Usually at some point in time in a city, you drive through an area that is nice such as a business district or the rich district. We did a lot of driving around in the city, and I saw nothing like that. The business buildings were surrounded by dirty side streets and unfinished apartment buildings and homes. The areas around the pyramids and the sphinx and other tourist areas were just as dirty and poverty stricken and litter covered. The dust is to be understood since the city is situated on the edge of the great Sahara desert, but the litter is awful.

It was really weird driving around and seeing that some people even had livestock while living on the edges of the city and camels. Where did they keep them!? It was more understandable in the homes that were farms on the flood plain on the edge of the Nile, but these were just random homes with sheep flowing out of them. Gotta do what you gotta do I guess!

Our tour guide was very informative. She talked to us about the way the women dressed and said that the full face covering was something bad that was brought to Islam. I was unaware that it was a bad thing, but she said it was a habit that Muslims learned from the Bedouins who covered their faces from the sand. Instead they adapted it to make their women cover their faces so that no one could look upon them save the husband. She told us that when praying or making the pilgrimage to Mecca, your face must be uncovered. I didn’t know this about Islam, I just thought it was something that was just done. I do wonder about the lifestyles of those that do cover their faces and those that don’t and those that wear form fitting clothing instead of the full hijab. It would be really interesting to learn about the differences in their faiths, families, and how they were raised.

We also learned that there are 75 million people in Egypt and that there are about ½ million more men than women. Bedouins marry around the age of 14 or 15 and their dowry is in the form of camels. I was told by the one shop keeper that he would give me 1000 camels for my friend Rachel. I asked him what I would do with 1000 camels and his dad said he was lying and that he didn’t even have 1 camel. Needless to say, I still have Rachel. Bedouins can also have a second wife when the first reaches the age of 40. After that, the second wife, usually around 25 or so, keeps the house and takes care of things, while the first wife is the supervisor, so they usually encourage a second wife. Hey, I would too!! They also treat their small boys/sons with venom from poisonous snakes (except the Viper) and scorpions like a vaccine, so when they are older, they are basically immune to the venom. I thought that was really interesting. Murderers, Rapists, terrorists, and drug dealers are all executed for their crimes. Apparently drug dealing, of anything even hashish, is punishable by death. Pretty crazy! Especially since we don’t even put to death those that have murdered and raped in the States.. then again sometimes we don’t even keep them in jail. They’ve reformed! Put them on probation! The gun restrictions in Egypt are very strict. To carry a gun you have to apply for a license and you have to meet many criteria such as living in the country, using it for hunting or if you have a high risk job. The initial license is $5000 and then each year you must renew it and it’s still a few thousand dollars to renew. And that is USD not Egyptian pounds!

She taught us about a few of the images in Egyptian culture too. The scarab beetle is a sign of good luck and wealth. If you see a scarab beetle, a great fortune will come to you. The ancient Egyptians saw it only out during the day, pushing it’s egg in front of it, so they believed that the sun god was a scarab beetle that pushed the sun across the sky during the day. Today’s version of the devil, the red guy with the fork and the spiked tail, is from ancient Egypt. She taught us about cartouches, which are pendants with your name written in hieroglyphics. Each letter adds a different characteristic to your personality. So if you have an A in your name, you have the characteristics of an eagle – powerful and strong. She only told us a few of them, but there was a paper passed around with each of their meanings, I was sleeping at the time though, oops! If you have a double of a letter, it means that that characteristic is very strong in your personality. J – which is a snake – means intellect, L – the lion – means you’re controlling and bossy, m – an owl – means you are wise, and B – the mouth – means you’re very talkative.

Anyway, so on to things that I actually did in Egypt!

On the first day of my 2 day Cairo visit, we first visited the Step pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara, the oldest pyramid on earth and the one that lead from the mastaba shaped pyramids to the smooth great pyramids. After walking around there, we went to visit the Mastaba of Ti which is one of the best decorated mastabas from the old kingdom. They did a great job preserving the drawings etched into the outer layer of plaster on the inner walls. We had a chance to go inside and walk around the tomb. It was really cool to see the pictures depicting life back in Ancient Egypt. One of the best things about visiting this site was actually seeing the boarder between the Sahara desert and the flood plain/oasis on either side of the Nile. The fertile land and all of it’s green trees and grasses just hit an invisible barrier and the desert stretches on and on after that.

After this we headed back to Giza to get some lunch at a hotel that had a view of the great pyramids. It was crazy just driving past them. I mean, in Italy there were roads just kind of driving around the Coliseums and such, but these are one of the ancient wonders of the world, the only ones still standing, and there is just a road driving right in front of them.

After lunch we headed to the Archaeological museum in Cairo to see different statues and treasures from each of the dynasties that ruled over Egypt starting in 5000 bc! Some of the statues there were SO old and preserved very well. We went upstairs and the rumor was that King Tut’s stuff including his mask were in San Francisco. NOT! They were all here except a few random things and his mummy, but his mask, all of his sarcophagi and jewels and everything were here! We had a chance to walk around and check them out including the 4 gold plated, stone burial chambers. It was really awesome just staring at his mask that they found covering his head and shoulders in the grave. We walked around the museum a little longer. Saw some mummies including some mummified animals like a giant alligator and this really HUGE Nile perch. People back then mummified everything! There were mummified snakes and cats and birds and random things. Its ridiculous to think about how they came up with ways to do this. The scientific research that must have gone into determining the best embalming formula and the best way to get all of the organs out of the animals and humans. Really gross at the same time.

Following this, we checked into our really amazing hotel, The Conrad, watched, in English, Pirates 3 and then went to watch the famous light and sound show at the great pyramids and the sphinx. Definitely not what I was expecting. I don’t know… We were told that people fly from around the world to see it and everything, but I just wasn’t as impressed as I thought I would be. I mean it was really cool, but they just lit up the pyramids in different colors and projected slides and some short movies on the wall of the temple and some colors on the sphinx while some Egyptian music played and the story of the ancient pyramids was told. It was great as far as educational value and to give yourself a sense of how incredible the pyramids and everything were and how much history happened at the foot of the sphinx, but if you want something outrageous and entertaining, this really wasn’t it. It was good, but no crazy lazer show.

We FINALLY had dinner around 10pm and headed straight to bed since we had a 4am wake up call planned!

The next day, well morning, the phone woke us up at 4am sharp. After showering and watching some High School Musical 2, we headed downstairs and grabbed our box breakfasts and went out to the bus. We napped a bit on the way to the pyramids. They opened the pyramids at 6am for Semester at Sea Only! WE were going to be the only people there to watch the sun rise over the pyramids. Pretty sick huh? We got there and it was a little brighter, and then we watched as the sun slowly climbed over the 2nd pyramid. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced in my life. Of all of the SAS trips I’ve taken and all of the things I’ve seen and done, this was definitely the best. You can’t really top watching the sun poke it’s head around one of the 7 ancient wonders of the world while you sit on a brick wall in the Sahara desert. If you can think of something, name it!

It was really amazing and words just can’t describe how you feel when you just watch the pyramids. It was really cold there too. I definitely appreciated that. It’s been so hot everywhere. But that’s beside the point. We took pictures and then we headed down to an area between the 1st and 2nd pyramid where we had more photo opportunities. From here, we got tickets to go inside of the pyramid, but first we went back up to the panoramic view and had a chance to ride a camel. Which was awesome. I’m kind of sad that I didn’t sign up for the 4 day camel trek and camping in the Sahara in Morocco, but I think I’ll live! The 10 minutes I was on the camel was good enough I suppose. My camel was pretty chill; I liked him.

After this we headed back to the 2nd pyramid to go inside. Quite the experience. It was so hot in there and there was next to no oxygen. Our tour guide warned us that we shouldn’t go in if we have any sort of respiratory issues, heart diseases, anything, because she had someone die in there who had a history of heart disease. It’s really short, but it’s really difficult to breath. You climb down this ramp while you’re crouched over and then get to the bottom and walk a few steps before your crouching over again and climbing up to the burial chamber which is this giant room with the date that it was discovered painted on the wall. You just look around a bit, take it all in, maybe lay in the stone burial chamber and then head back out the way you came in. It was pretty awesome to think that I’ve been inside of a pyramid!

After this we headed to the bazaar. We were given far too much time there. I got a sweet coin skirt though that’s about it. Perfect for belly dancing class! We were all tired and hungry after waking up so early and it was getting hot outside.

We headed to the Nile after this and our boat cruise/belly dancing show. It was really interesting. The food was OK. I realized I’m not really a fan of Egyptian food.Well at least what we were served. The boat was really cool though and it had a deck where we could sit and watch as we cruised up the Nile. After this we all boarded the buses and headed back to Alexandria. Everyone was basically passed out on the bus, it was hilarious. We were all so exhausted.

After getting back to the ship, we had dinner, and then me, Rachel, and Erin went out to the shops by the port and got some souvenirs and our cartouches. They sold the cartouches on the bus, but they were more than double the price of Muhammad’s and I really liked his better. I’m really excited to get mine! He’s bringing me a hand made leather chain too. He was really cool. He gave us free shot glasses and the other shop keepers gave us bags and bags of things for like $10 USD. It’s nice to not have to really leave the area. I know I should be more outgoing and everything, but the bit of time I did spend outside of the port area was pretty insane. I’ll probably head out the last day for a bit or today or something. Depends on what time Nate gets back from Cairo. Hopefully he’s still alive after staying in a hostel!

Overall this has been a good trip to Egypt. I wish I would have had a chance to get to Sharm el-Sheikh, the beach resort town on the Sinai Peninsula. Tim is there now. I’m jealous. Some of the best snorkeling in the world is around there! The Red Sea is supposed to be amazing. Maybe next time when I come back to Egypt!

I’m not sure I’ll make it back to Cairo. I would like to see Luxor, but mainly the Sinai Peninsula. It was a 10 hour bus ride from Cairo and Cairo is a 3 hour train ride to Alexandria, so I would have had to go the first day and come back the 4th/5th day and I probably still would have gotten dock time. I think in Morocco, I’m just going to go to Marrakech for the first 2 days and then chill in Casablanca the second 2 days. I’ll have to see what’s going on with everyone. Most of my friends are doing the 4 days trips again. I would like to get into the Atlas Mountains as well. Well we have 5 days between Egypt and Morocco to figure that one out!

$20 bunjee jumping and a jeep safari

2009-07-28T11:09:00.000-07:00

DAY 1

Bulgaria was the perfect mid-voyage break. No one knew what they were expecting really because SAS has never stopped in Bulgaria before. We had to tender the first day, which means that our ship was anchored off shore and we had to take tender boats to the port. We got off the ship at 9:45 am and about 8 of us headed to the bridge for bungee jumping! I was pretty sure that I was going to do it, but not 100% positive. We got to the bridge REALLY early, at about 11, because one of the girls saw on a website that it opened at 11. However, the people that run the whole business, adrenaline extreme sports, didn’t show up until 12:30. (which the interport student told us when he called his boss at the travel agency HOWEVER, some people don’t like to listen) We just sat around at the bridge waiting for these guys to show up. Then when they did, it took them about an hour to get everything set up and then another hour for us to get forms signed and to get ready to jump.

I guess now I can let you all know that I changed my mind about bungee jumping when we got to the bridge. It didn’t look so fantastic and I realized how high it really is. It turns out that it was a really good idea for me not to do it because I wouldn’t have liked it anyway AND everyone now has bruises because of the ankle straps and I would have had huge issues with my ankle. So good choice! They would have been carrying me to the ship!

So everyone except Russell and I did the whole thing and they all loved it! Everyone wanted to go again. Nate had a perfect fall. He did exactly what they told him to do. Rachel was looking at the horizon until she fell off then she just about dove which they tell you NOT to do. It was hilarious. She’s fine.

After that we walked back to the beach. We all picked up water bottles for 90 cents! Not US cents, but leva!!! It works out to about 64 US cents and these bottles were huge. First official cheap water of the trip!

The shopping center area was really nice. It’s a bunch of roads/sidewalks that have been closed off to cars with all sorts of restaurants and bars and casinos everywhere. It was really fun walking through there and window shopping. I do want to head back there and check out what kind of deals I can get on awesome European fashion! I saw an Escada store too and flipped out. Moving on. We stopped to get lunch at this one restaurant that was recommended by the tourist center. It definitely wasn’t that great. I was very disappointed with the food, but it was inexpensive and we were all starving so it didn’t really mater. Afterward we went to the beach by walking through a section of the sea garden.

The sea garden is this whole section between the beach and the city of Varna that is just a giant flower garden/park with all sorts of things throughout it like the aquarium and the planetarium and the dolphinarium! We’re doing a day of –ariums tomorrow. Should be fun! Hopefully I get some shopping in too! The gardens were really nice, well the part that we walked through to the beach.

The beach was beautiful. It stretched pretty far and it was SO sandy!! I didn’t go in the water yesterday since we didn’t get to the beach until around 6 and it was cooling off. It has been pretty hot here, but not humid so that is definitely nice. We decided that instead of going back to the ship, we were just going to get some wine and chill on the beach. We had a bottle of red and a bottle of white and just sat around and talked. It was really nice hanging out with everyone for a while without being shoved into a crowded bar or even an outside bar with loud music. Grace’s dad has been on SAS and said that the friends you make here, you make for life, and I definitely see that happened with everyone, or at least some of us! I definitely want to make it up to Vermont to visit Rachel and Nate and Tim are right in Pittsburgh, so that should be easy!

Alright, can’t wait to see what else Bulgaria brings!!!

DAY 2

Today in Bulgaria we all slept in. Everyone needed some recovery time from this whole trip. It’s crazy. Right away we were thrown into classes for 7 days straight and then we were in a port and right after that it was like BAM port, BAM class, BAM port and you never have any time to just relax! Which is ok because you really want to keep going and see everything in the ports. So it was nice to just relax a little. We went to the beach for a few hours after that. It was so nice. The beach is so close to the ship. Every other port we had to walk a distance to the beach or even in Greece we had to go to an island to get a great beach. But here, we just left the port which took 2 minutes and then walk along the sea wall and then here we are, beautiful golden sand beach! The water wasn’t as clear as the Mediterranean, but it was still really nice. Little bit more seaweed than the Medi too, but it’s OK. I think this might be our last port that has a good beach or well, a beach at all. I’m not sure how Egypt and Morocco will be. I know I really won’t be swimming in the water there anyway. Especially after reading this paper I have to write a summary on for Oceanography. NOT the cleanest water.

After chilling on the beach we came back, ate dinner and then went out and got some more wine and went to the beach. It was such a great time just sitting on the beach and thinking “Wow, I’m in Bulgaria”. It’s breezy and cool at night which is definitely a relief after some of the countries and cities such as Rome. But, we’ll soon be heading to MUCH warmer places!

DAY 3

Today we walked around the town and watched some of the volleyball championships. It was really awesome. All week they had these volleyball courts set up. Apparently it’s the first beach volleyball tournament held in Bulgaria that is recognized by the FIBV. So we were sort of a part of history! We watched the end of the Latvia vs. Brazil match and then went out shopping. We all wanted to stop at McDonalds but didn’t because none of us were hungry. Apparently McDonalds is insane here and wealthy people are really the one people that go there and it’s supposed to be really nice inside. This is really weird for us from the US! I didn’t have a chance to see inside though. The corporate headquarters are here in Bulgaria as well. I had no idea until I found out that it was a trip you could take through SAS, but I am planning on going on a jeep safari!!

We watched the finals of the tournament: Germany versus Brazil. Germany won it 2-1. It was pretty awesome. I forgot that one of my friends from Germany plays beach volleyball! I was really hoping he was there, which would have been awesome, BUT he wasn’t. After that we went out to dinner with Nate for his birthday and then we went out to a club down the beach. It was a really cool place. The atmosphere of the club was really interesting though. It was kind of open air and it was built around trees which was really amazing. Nate celebrated his 21st in style! Called it an early night to get up nice and early!

DAY 4

Today was AWESOME!!! I bought a ticket for this trip from this girl that decided not to go on it. Which was crazy on her part since it was the best trip I’ve been on so far! Well one of them. It was called Jeep Safari and Picnic and it was fantastic. We were picked up in these awesome old open jeeps. Ours sat 6 so we had one up front, 3 in the middle and then me and nate sat in the very back facing each other. We drove out of Varna into the country of Bulgaria. It was so beautiful!

Our jeep was like 60 years old and definitely had some age issues. It wouldn’t start a few times and then it would keep stalling and he had issues with it not wanting to shift or not wanting to stay in gear. Definitely made the trip more interesting! We drove up to this one lookout where we could see all of the Golden Sands resort and took pictures and such. We got back in the jeeps and went up the paved road a little farther until there was a dirt path that cut off. Off road time!!

It was soo much fun! We drove through puddles and through the woods and fields. The drivers were cutting each other off and then racing across the fields and stuff. Our driver was awesome! I don’t remember what his name was but he was really funny. We took a picture with him after our picnic. Anyway, so we were racing through the fields and then driving through the woods and stuff. We stopped to taste some Rakia which is Bulgaria’s national drink. It’s a type of Brandy. I passed on it, but others bought beer and were drinking it in the back of the jeeps. It was hilarious. Then we hopped back in our jeeps, went off roading some more and then stopped at a random farm where honey was made. It was really good! They gave us samples and were of course selling more beer. Our third stop was this other random place where we shot some bb guns and again had some more beer. We went off-roading a little longer until we reached where our picnic lunch was. We had delicious home made bread, then the Bulgarian salad which was made with white cabbage with a side of a whole tomato and a cucumber. We then had chicken skewers with a baked potato and some sort of roasted pepper. It was all really good.

Some of the jeep drivers played instruments and sang, so they gave us a show and we did some dancing and they sang songs for the people from the different countries that were there with us as well. The line dances I did sort of recognize.We then drove back to Varna on the highway, but the Bulgarian countryside is amazing. It was so nice to just drive around in the open jeep with the cool wind! I needed a sweatshirt! I’m really excited for fall at home now!!! BUT I still have 2 VERY hot countries to make it through first! There is a jeep safari in Egypt, but I signed up for an overnight Cairo trip. I want to try and get some people together that want to just see about booking it separately from SAS. Hopefully that will work! I would love to do something like this again!

I do have other things to write about now, but I can’t think what they are, TOO exhausted! And I kind of have homework to do….

I LOVE Bulgaria! Oh yeah, I was SO close to Romania… dear Romania, I promise I will be back some time and I will spend loads of time with you…

Saying farewell with some Cappuccino Hookah

2009-07-22T04:01:00.000-07:00

So it's my last day in Turkey. It wasn't very eventful. Last night a few of us went to a hookah bar and had apple and cappuccino hookah. It was really relaxing. We've been hanging out with Stephan, the Bulgarian interport student. The good news is Bulgaria is going to be much cooler than Turkey (which is still cooler than any of the other countries we've been to). We are also considering bungee jumping. Apparently it's really cheap in Bulgaria and safe? We'll see.... (sorry mom! at least it's not at tattoo!!!)

Anyway, so this morning we woke up early and went to the bazaar again to finish last minute shopping. I got the usual soccer scarf which I've purchased in each country, except Italy. oops! And 3 other scarves for only $4 USD all together! Which is a really good deal!

We then just came back to the ship and here I am sitting outside enjoying the sights and sounds of this section of Istanbul one last time. I'm actually kind of sad to leave Turkey, but I really do want to come back. There is a lot to do and see in Istanbul and in Turkey. I just had a chance to see the main things and maybe experience Turkey for a bit. IT definitely didn't feel anywhere near as dangerous as Naples was. I was worried about the men being very forward here and we really didn't have that many issues. Maybe in the bazaar they were always shouting things, but those were usually amusing such as "Hey Guys, want a carpet?" or "Hey you are from China!" (Said to my friend who is blond and has blue eyes. oh yeah, totally Chinese). I would have loved to bring back a carpet, but they were SO expensive!! but beautiful!

It was really amusing to talk to some of the shop keepers. They were asking about the program we are on and my roommate was talking to the one guy about it. He said that he would never let his daughter leave for 3 months from home especially for this. She asked about his son and he said oh yeah definitely and then she asked why and he just said "because it's just not done and that is the way it is". They don't trust their daughters. she didn't want to tell him that this was 77% female!!!

So that was definitely interesting. This has really been my favorite port culture wise so far. The history is so interesting and it's really great to experience such a different culture from the rest of Europe. I'm interested to compare this country and Egypt and Morocco. Anyway, I'm off to get some more things done before we have to get back on the ship!!

Handmade rugs, apple tea, Sufis, and Harry Potter

2009-07-22T03:59:00.000-07:00

So the last 2 days have been pretty fun! The second day in Turkey, I just hung around the ship recovering from the last month of non-stop going!! Semester at sea really wears you out, but it’s so fantastic! After recovering all day and just hanging out with a few friends, I had an FDP to a Sufi Dervish ceremony. It was really cool. We went to this building with a dome roofed that was an old Turkish bath. IT had tapestries hanging from the wall and was lit by red lights. In the center of the floor was a round stage with colored lights around the outside and a section in the corner where the musicians/singers sat. It definitely was not what I was expecting. There were 4 guys singing/chanting and then 4 guys playing different instruments. They started off with a song where the singers and the musicians all played then one guy chanted a section of the Qua’ran. Then the dancers came out in white skirts and vests and a black robe. The whole ceremony was really interesting. I had never really watched any videos of it except for a few short videos in class. It was really interesting comparing it to catholic religions ceremonies. We even had a chance to talk to one of the dancers at the end and it was great how he explained what the symbolism was in the ceremony. They are taking knowledge from their God and giving it to the people – one of their hands is facing the sky and one looks like it’s dropping something. Learning about everything first hand was really great. Haha again there are just no real words to describe this trip and Turkey in general!

Yesterday I went to the Bazaar from around 9:30-2:00pm. It was so overwhelming! There are over 4000 stores there! I picked up a few gifts and things for my apartment. It’s really fun bargaining with the people selling things. I’m getting a lot better at it. Some of my friends are really good at it and get things for really good prices. You just have to be really sure of yourself and not settle for anything. Most of the time they are making money anyway, so it’s easy to just walk away, usually they yell a better price after you. But there are so many places selling the same thing everywhere, that you can just shop around for the best price and the nicest salesperson. We hung out with this one jeweler yesterday. He was listening to some Reggeaton! It was really fun talking to him and listening to music. We had an authentic Turkish lunch. It was pretty delicious. We got french-fries and they came with mayo and ketchup. The ketchup definitely wasn’t Heinz. It had an interesting tang to it… We then walked around some more and went back to the ship to get ready to see Harry Potter.

The trip to the movie theater wasn’t bad. We took the tram, but it really wasn’t necessary. A few of us walked back to the ship after the movie and it took maybe about 35 minutes. But it was SUCH a nice night outside. Yesterday was really nice. It was overcast and way cooler than it has been, which was definitely a relief. And it’s only going to get hotter… and hotter… and I’m going to have to cover more and more. Fun stuff!! Anyway, we went to the theater, got our tickets, which were cheaper than seeing a movie at home (I’m beginning to see a trend in this in Europe.. tickets are far less expensive.. but that may be because they all have subtitles.. or the US just likes to overcharge for movie tickets). Regardless, we were early and so we walked around, bought some Turkish delight and then got some authentic Turkish ice cream. Don’t think I’m going to attempt that again. It has marshmallow in it to keep it harder and stay on the cone. It is the weirdest consistency ever and expands in your stomach when you’ve finished eating it. So it feels like you ate way more than you actually did. An experience certainly…

The movie was OK. They left out a LOT. I’m not going to say anymore though, just in case you haven’t seen it yet.  We headed back to the ship and now here I am! Everyone went to the bazaar again this morning or to see the mosques and such. I wanted to avoid spending money, so I refrained from the bazaar and since my tour the first day was soo good, I have seen all of the mosques and the historical sites. This isn’t really a great city for wandering around alone, but everyone will be back soon and I have some papers to write! Woo hoo! Good thing they are interesting papers to write and not lab reports!

Tomorrow I might hit up the bazaar for some last minute things. We’re going to a hookah bar tonight to just chill near the ship. It’s going to be fun I’m definitely looking forward to it!!!!

I really love Turkey and am going to need to come back here!! I want to make it to Cappadocia eventually and to visit the Asian side of the city/country. Probably my favorite country so far. I do love Croatia and felt very at home there, but I don’t think I had the authentic Croatia experience there and I know I’m going back there. Turkey just has so much history and such huge cultural differences. It’s so great!!!

Anyway, off to stop procrastinating!

There is nothing like waking up to the site of Istanbul

2009-07-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

I woke up this morning at 7:00 to see us pulling into Istanbul. It was a little hazy, so I didn’t get a GREAT view of the city, but it was still pretty awesome. From the deck, you would see the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. They tower over the old town! It was a great experience.

I had my city orientation today. I don’t know if I just misread the description of the trip or completely forgot what we were doing, but the whole thing was a surprise! We left the port and drove around the newer part of the European side of the city. The tour guide pointed out the soccer stadium for the Istanbul team where he used to play soccer! It was really exciting that he was once on the team for Istanbul. We then headed to the old part of the city on the European side of Istanbul. It’s so weird that Istanbul is on two different continents. I had no idea. The population is also between 15 and 20 million people! Anyway, we drove around the city walls a little bit and had a photo opportunity before heading to the Mosque of the Prince. It was a smaller mosque with only 2 minarets but it was really gorgeous inside and very simple. We had to cover our shoulders and our hair and everything above our ankles. We took our shoes off before going in.

After visiting that mosque and eating our delicious (not so much) boxed lunches from the ship, we headed into the heart of the old city and visited the Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, and the Cistern Basilica.

The Hagia Sofia was mind blowing. It is a museum now, so we could enter without covering our arms and taking off our shoes, etc. It is amazing to think about how long it’s been standing there. It’s been rebuilt 3 times. There are still pillars around from the second building and one pillar from the first. It was undergoing renovation on the inside to restore all of the mosaics from when Constantine first ruled Constantinople under Christian rule. Since it is against Muslim religion to use faces and icons, they were covered over when it became a mosque. They are now trying to restore all of these original mosaics. Some of them are visible. It was also really interesting to see the places where kings and sultans were coronated. It’s mind blowing to just think about the ceremonies and the defending of the crown that went down in this very place thousands of years ago. Our tour guy pointed out where the empress stood on the 2nd floor (since women weren’t allowed on the ground floor) and watched the ceremonies from between two pillars. Another interesting thing about this place was that the larger pillars (there are 8 of them all together) on the right and left of the altar section are from one of the original 7 wonders of the world – the temple of Artemis. Isn’t that awesome!!! SO much history in one place!

The Blue Mosque was also pretty breathtaking. It is just across the gardens from the Hagia Sofia. It’s the only mosque with 6 minarets. We covered our arms and took off of our shoes and headed inside. The patterns and designs were SO ornate and it was really gorgeous that most of it was in blue and white tile around the gallery. There were a lot of people in there both tourists and those praying. I didn’t know that mosques were also used for business of state and government things. They were used for that more than they were for praying now since you can pray and still talk to Allah from anywhere.

The hippodrome was pretty interesting. There wasn’t really much to see, but it was cool learning about the history of the pieces and to see them. There are 2 other towers like this one – one in NYC and one in London. The thing that surprised me the most on this whole trip was the Cistern Basilica. Our tour guide told us we were going to the underground waterway. So we were all thinking… awesome… the sewers.. it’s going to stink. Not the case. It was AMAZING! Think the chamber of secrets…only with red lighting, more water/pillars/open space, 2 heads of medusa, and it’s in Turkey not England. It was really overwhelming at first when you walk down the stairs and this huge underground area full of over 300 pillars pops up before your eyes. Apparently it was used to store water in case of shortage. The water is really low now, but there are fish in there (to keep the mosquitoes away!). I definitely recommend checking this out if you go to Istanbul. I saw a picture of it earlier in the independent travel suggestions and I just quickly overlooked it, but it’s definitely a must see!!

So my trip was very successful. I got a lot of sight seeing done. Tomorrow, since everything is closed, It’s paper time. Hooray! And then the 3rd day, we’re going to go to the bazaar. The 4th day I think we’re going to take a ferry to the Asian side of Istanbul. My friend is going to Cappadocia the next 2 days. JEALOUS! (Check it out on google, it’s an awesome place, and it’s mentioned in my top 15 unusual hotels of the world) The 5th day will just be more bazaar visiting and then getting ready to head to Bulgaria. It is suggested to take a ferry up the Bosphorus, but our boat is going to do that trip anyway.

Turkey is great and I’m really excited about my next few days here!!!!

Greetings from Greece!

2009-07-16T04:20:00.003-07:00

Just spent my last 4 days in Greece! The first day we walked to the metro which was 25 minutes from the ship. We took the subway into Athens and just walked around a little bit and did some shopping. Had lunch at a random restaurant and it was pretty delicious. (Didn’t get a gyro though) After a few hours of exploring the city, we came back to the boat, grabbed some bottles of wine, and chilled on the beach for the evening. It was really relaxing and I liked not being surrounded by a ton of people. Some of the group went off into Athens again to meet someone’s friend from college that is studying abroad here.

The next day we had a late start and went into Athens again. Visited the acropolis and some of the other exciting sites of Athens. It was super hot and sunny, so we called it a semi early day and came back to the boat. Nap time! Then we did the same deal and grabbed wine and chilled at the beach. Another relaxing night in Piraeus!

Yesterday we got a speed ferry to Aegina, one of the islands that is close by (35 minutes by boat) and walked 3 ½ miles to the nice beach (we were told it was the nicest by someone on the dock). The beach was beautiful, but the very long walk in the hot sun wasn’t so fantastic! It was definitely an experience though. I think each of us drank about 2 gallons of water each in the 5 hours we were on the island. The beach was definitely worth it though. The beach part was somewhat sandy and somewhat pebbly, but once you got into the water, it was completely sand. It was sooo nice! We haven’t had a sand beach since Spain!! All of the other ones were stone. Definitely have many many cuts on the bottoms of my feet from said beaches. This one was really nice though and it was pretty shallow once you were out pretty far. The water was crystal clear and you could see down to your feet when you were really deep! It was really fun watching the fish swimming around. We took taxis back to the port to see the most beautiful sunset before getting back in our ferry and heading to the mainland.

Today we went back into Athens and I just exchanged a purse and grabbed a magnet. Everyone else visited the acropolis museum. I wasn’t really looking forward to that, so I just went off and had some alone time. This city felt really safe, so I was OK. (and I’m writing this so clearly I’m still alive) On the metro on the way back, this greek woman asked me about my waterbottle (SAS bottle) on a bench. She just started asking me in Greek! I was sooo confused. I guess I might blend in a little? That happened to me once or twice in Croatia too where they said hello to me in Croatian instead of in English which was really nice.

We leave for Turkey tonight. I’m really excited about it and ready to do some research about some of the things I want to do and the things that I am doing (sufi dervish ceremony!). Turkey is going to be a lot different than any of the other countries we have visited. I’m just excited to get away from the Euro!! Alright, time to study for the 2 exams and write the paper that I have due tomorrow!

To jump or not to jump

2009-07-16T04:20:00.001-07:00

Today I jumped off of a 30 ft. cliff into the water. It was awesome. I was terrified. The plan was to get up early, and head to Lokrum on a ferry. There were stories passed around that there was good cliff jumping on the other side of the island from the dock, so when we got there, we just started walking. And walking. And walking. We walked for the first 2 hours. It was fun. I would have enjoyed it more if I wasn’t dehydrated and if it wasn’t so hot. But it was, and I was, so it was a pain, BUT I’m alive and the island was beautiful. I have never seen so many butterflies and so many varieties of butterflies around even in Phipps! And the island has a ton of peacocks everywhere that just kind of walk up to you. It’s so weird. We ended up walking around the entire island and didn’t know where these cliffs were, so when we got back to the pier, we asked the one guy at the restaurant. He told us where they were, but to be careful because the water was really choppy today in that area because of the wind direction. We went over to the area and scoped it out. None of the locals were there jumping, so we opted for the second option – jumping off of this cliff into this small salt water lake that was fed through a cave. The water was so clear that it looked like you were jumping into 10 feet of water or less, but in all actuality, I think it was more like 20-25 ft of water.

We watched some other people do it before our whole group did it. It was so much fun! It is so far down! You just keep falling and falling! The worst part is standing at the top getting ready to jump. It was definitely worth it though. I have a video! (Thanks Grace!) After that, I caught the ferry back to the Island without everyone else, and went to the post office. NOTE: buy your post cards at the post office. They are only 1.8 kuna instead of 3! (that’s not even a dollar, but still). Oh well! I then went to get ice cream and wait for the bus back to the harbor. I went in and asked the guy for Hazelnut in Croatian and he looked at me and asked me where I was from and I told him the US and he asked my why I knew Croatian. I told him I was studying for 2 years and he was so happy! He told me that I had to practice and wasn’t allowed to speak any English any more to him. He was so nice! I really liked it when the locals were excited that someone was learning their language. I never thought about it, but I guess it is a weird language for someone to learn. I would love to use this to my advantage and perhaps work over there someday! Not in Dubrovnik, but just in Croatia in general. In Spain, and Italy and France, they just kind of expect you to know their language in most cases, and usually people know a few words from highschool classes, but I guess Croatian speakers from the US are hard to come by. I feel special! Haha. Someday…

After getting ice cream, and waiting for the bus and running into Rachel, we decided to walk back. We hit up the grocery store where we tried to spend our remaining Kuna (I have like 30 left, which is about $6, so I’m not concerned). We went back to the ship and chilled. Then there was an announcement that we’re not actually leaving the port until tomorrow morning at 10 am, which sucks! We could have had at least an extra few hours here and had everyone back by like… midnight or at least 11pm. It would have been SO much better. But since we had already been cleared by customs, we couldn’t leave the ship.

Out of all of the ports that we’ve been to so far, this is my favorite. I had no idea how beautiful of a country Croatia was. It’s amazing. I really need to come back here. I’m very sad to leave. Yeah I know, I’m going to Greece in 2 days, but still. This was amazing and 4 days definitely wasn’t enough. I wanted to hit up Split and Korčula. Eventually I want to make it to Zagreb. I definitely think I’m going to look into coming back here for something, whether it’s a job or school, in the future when I get back to Pitt. I want to see Montenegro and Serbia and Bosnia. This area is great and I really really want to make it back! I was talking to a few of my friends and they said that so far out of all of the countries we’ve been to, this is where they see themselves coming back to first. It’s just so beautiful here! Hopefully I’ll get some pictures up soon!

So, tomorrow is classes, then a day of sea Olympics and then Greece!!

Doviđenja!

A Kayaking adventure

2009-07-16T04:19:00.002-07:00

Alright day 3. I woke up early to get some shopping done. I got the regular souvenir stuff – a futbol jersey for me and one for Alan, post cards, something special for my mom and her sisters for Christmas (be excited!), and all that jazz. It was fun walking around. They had a ton of fresh fruit markets everywhere! I wish we could bring fruit onto the ship. It would have been so good. I should have gotten some Olive Oil too since Croatia is supposed to have the best olive oil in the world. I didn’t know this, but I guess it’s true? I then got ready for my Kayaking adventure!

We left the ship at 1:30. We got to the kayaking place where the bus dropped us off and had to walk down this really steep hill and then hundreds of stairs to the beach, which was beautiful and all stone. The instructor, who was pretty attractive, haha, asked if anyone was experience and a few people said they were and they were in the kayaks where you sit inside them and have a skirt. My friend Janae and I were going to get a sit on top double kayak, but the lady said she had a double sit inside one, so we opted for that since we were so eager to get in. I think it was a good choice since it was so hot and our legs were covered. We had an interesting start. We didn’t know how to turn it exactly, so we had some other SAS guy tell us. It was amusing! But we definitely got the hang of it! By the end, Marco, our other instructor for the advanced Kayakers, was teaching us how to surf the waves in! We kayaked probably for a total of an hour and 1/2- - 2 hours. It was definitely a workout! My arms loved it!!!! I had this nifty rudder in our kayak so I was able to steer with my feet which was really nice. Needless to say, I’m addicted to kayaking now. It was SO much fun!!!! I really want to do it again. We kayaked to this Island, Lokrum, and then had a chance to snorkel, which I had to do for my oceanography class. Worst homework assignment ever, right? After observing the life in the water, we got back in our kayaks and headed back to the beach. At this time I started asking Marco questions in Croatian and he was SO surprised that I knew Croatian! He was so happy! He asked me about studying it and everything. It was nice talking to him about learning it and practicing.

That is one thing I disliked about Dubrovnik. I wasn’t forced into working on my Croatian. Everything was in English. Everyone spoke English. Only in 2 instances did someone say dobar dan to me first instead of Hello. It was really annoying. So it was nice talking to him and everything. He said that he’s never met anyone from the US that speaks Croatian or that is learning it. I was amused. So on the way up to the bus, I asked the other guide what his name was in Croatian and he was really caught off guard. Again, he said it was the first time in his life he met someone from the US that spoke Croatian. It was really funny. He wasn’t as talkative as Marco though.

So that was an eventful time! We got back to the ship and I stuffed my face. I was so hungry after kayaking and walking around the city! At the end of the night, we hung out for a bit waiting for some people to get back from Montenegro and then we thought about heading into town. Erin and I were exhausted and wanted to get up early, so we just went to bed. The sun really wears you out and it’s SO hot here. And it’s only going to get hotter!

Swimming with the fishes in crystal clear water

2009-07-16T04:19:00.001-07:00

So day 2. It was pretty interesting. I forgot that we were going to be using tender boats between certain hours and slept through the dock time, so was stuck on the ship until 11. I ended up just waiting until some of my friends got back from trips to head out into the town. We did a tour of the city walls. We walked around and I was taken to a “swimming hole” which was basically a doorway in the city walls that was super shady that led out to rocks sticking out of the city walls that had stairs carved in them so that you could get in/out of the sea. It was awesome. You just jump in off of rocks (like 2-5 ft) and then swim around in the water then scramble up the rocks to get out.

Unfortunately we picked a terrible day for this since it was really windy and the waves were a little high, but we did it anyway. Definitely made it more interesting! Nate jumped in first. The water is so deep that it was dark blue, you can’t really see the bottom, and you definitely don’t touch, which freaked me out a little at first but it’s easier than deep Atlantic water when you can’t even really see your hands underwater. We swam around to the stairs and then this Croatian boy had to show us how to use the handholds and hoist ourselves out of the water. It was really hard with the waves as big as they were! You would go to grab the hand hold and the wave would pull you away, but then you had to make sure that you didn’t get slammed against the rocks (ask Tim Gallo about this, he has a story and will have some scars…). It was SO tiring. We were all panting when we got out!

Nate and I swam that twice before we decided to go and get changed and get some dinner. Three of us walked around until we found a menu we liked with good prices. I really like how all of the little restaurants have outdoor seating and they all have their menus on display so that you can check prices and see if they have stuff you like. It’s so convenient. I wanted traditional food, so we picked a good place. I don’t remember what it was called though; I have to check my camera. I ordered these pork skewers that came with a side of French fries and then had this weird red sauce with it and a radish which made me really happy. Nate ordered civapi per my suggestion since we made them in class. They are just small sausages with round beef and garlic and herbs and Rachel ordered the vegetable risotto, which I had a taste of and it was DELICIOUS! For desert we split palachinke. Wow… it was amazing. I mean I love palacinke with nutella, but these were filled with this ticker chocolaty filling with chunks of hazelnut. I love how Europe uses the hazelnut everywhere. It’s my favorite gelato flavor. But it was delicious!

Unfortunately this was my last traditional Croatian meal. Since everyone spent so much money on food in Spain and Italy, no one wanted to eat out here, everyone usually went back to the ship for meals or their trips arrived just in time for a meal on the ship and it was convenient. I am a little sad that I didn’t have a chance to try other things, but Dubrovnik isn’t a great place for that anyway. It is really tourist oriented. Not US tourist, which is good, but European tourist oriented. Most of the restaurants didn’t serve traditional Croatian food. There were Italian restaurants everywhere! I am hoping that when I’m in Bulgaria, it’s different. (And when I come back to Croatia!)

After eating, we met 2 other people at the theater to see Transformers - in English with Croatian subtitles. We went to the wrong theater first then tried to find the real theater. We walked passed it before someone pointed it out to us. It was just a door in the wall with a movie poster on it, then the guy opened the door and we got our tickets. I then realized that it was an outdoor theater! All of the seats were arranged on a cement terrace type area directed toward a screen. Just like a drive in, only on a small scale! It was awesome watching a movie with Dubrovnik in the background! The movie was OK. I don’t think I would have spent the normal amount in the US for it. The movie was a lot cheaper here AND you could bring whatever you wanted in with you! There were people there with ice cream and everything. It was really nice. So when in Dubrovnik, I recommend seeing a movie at this theater… and I can’t remember the street it was on… oops! After that, we were all tired from the heat, the meal, and the long day, so we went back to the ship.

I couldn't have imagined a more beautiful country

2009-07-16T04:18:00.000-07:00

Wow, what amazing days these past days have been. Unfortunately we are leaving Croatia tomorrow. I don’t think that 4 days was enough for this country for me. There is so much left to do! I guess I’m just going to have to come back… or move here… Originally I didn’t know what to expect with this country. I knew that I was going to love it. It was the port that I was most looking forward to but didn’t want to get my hopes up too high so that I wouldn’t be disappointed (yeah, like THAT could happen!).

So we got here on Tuesday. My trip was set to leave at 1 and we pulled into port around 8. I was up for breakfast at 7:30 and was amazing at exactly how gorgeous Dubrovnik is. We are harbored in the new city, but it’s still just as gorgeous and picturesque as stari grad (old city). I just sat there in awe at the table outside on the deck staring out across the harbor. It was definitely 10 times better than Naples already and not just because I wasn’t throwing up the whole time. I then ran into some of my friends and we decided to hit up a beach by the casino before our 1:00 trips through semester at sea. We walked there, which took about 20 minutes. The beach was beautiful. It was all stone and the water was Crystal Clear up to like 15 feet!! We swam around for a bit and then headed back to the boat.

I was supposed to go to this faculty directed practica (FDP) for my ethnomusicology class. In the description we’re supposed to go to this village and see a folk performance and then hang around get some food and such and then leave and be back at the ship around 8:00pm. We boarded our buses and headed up the winding and narrow streets through the mountains as our tour guide told us all about Croatia’s history and about the war and about just about everything that we needed to know and a lot of things that we didn’t. We then stopped in this village by a church, which we thought was just a short stop before continuing to Osojnik village. The church was beautiful. After he told us about the church, we were to follow him to “this nice lady’s house”. We were really confused at this point, but decided just to roll with it. On the way there, he was telling us all about the herbs and spices that grew all over Croatia like the different types of mint and the basil that was all over. We stopped to pet some donkey’s before arriving at this house where we were served fresh figs and what we thought was water in small shot glasses. Not the case. We were given shots of their home made brandy. And they didn’t just stop at one, they told us to drink as much as we wanted. I sipped it. Let me tell you, that sip burned for a good 10 minutes. I definitely ate another fig. ( Which was delicious!)

After that we all congregated on their back porch. One of the things I loved about Croatia is that every house has grape vines growing on a trellis above their front and back porch along with various other vegetables and flowers. Everything is beautiful. All of the homes are off white with red terra cotta roofs. It’s so beautiful. We sat on their back porch, and then we were treated to some authentic music of the area. The man of the house played this small string instrument that was all hand made with various animal parts and wood. It was really cool. He played while the women danced and then we all joined in! After this, we were given water and home made wine and they brought out small fire burners and we roasted bread, homemade cheese, and smoked bacon over the fire as an appetizer. It was SO good. We all ate so much! And they continued to give us more and more wine!

We were then joined by 2 men, one with an accordion and one with a guitar who sang us more traditional songs from the area. They took a break and we were ushered downstairs to their dining area which was 3 long tables. We all sat down and ate a fantastic dinner of roasted pork and potatoes and salad and again served more wine! The wine was delicious and the pork just fell off the bone and melted in your mouth. It was amazing. I’m really going to miss the food here!

After eating, the guys started playing again. The one guy said that he felt bad that we didn’t understand any of the music, but he wanted us to get a feel for the music from the area and Croatia in general, which I really enjoyed. So then 2 songs later, I actually recognized what he was singing, it was one of the songs that we sang in class! (Sta je ona meni), I told him this and he asked me what else I knew! I was so excited! I’m going to be on the SAS DVD singing Kad Te Vidim with everyone. It was so fun!!! They were so excited that I knew some songs! I didn’t know any more until the end when they played a sad a dio which we also sang in class. It was super fun! I told Nate that we would have to go to the Serbian club in Pittsburgh so that he can hear some turbo folk. I haven’t had a chance to hear any of that yet while here. All they play is American music. BOO!

I had my picture taken with them and then we all piled onto the buses, full of wine, and headed back to the boat. We then headed into Stari Grad by catching a bus right by the harbor, which was really convenient. We wanted to go out and just hang out and have a beer or two and just chill since it had been a long day and we were all exhausted, so we walked around until we saw an irish pub (why go there when in Croatia? I dunno, why not?) but when we walked in it was full of SAS kids and they were being loud obnoxious American’s, so we walked out and found another bar by the city walls and just had some drinks. The main tap beer here is Ozjusko. It’s actually pretty good compared to most cheap beers. I liked it a lot more than the tap beer in Spain. We were all exhausted after about an hour and ½, so instead of heading to the club that everyone was talking about going to, we just headed back to the ship to get a good nights sleep and get up early for another day in Croatia!

Buongiorno Roma!

2009-07-03T05:37:00.000-07:00

The past 2 days have been simply AMAZING. I spent both Wednesday and Thursday in Rome, Italy. Wednesday we arrived into port around 6am (there is no way I was awake for it). I woke up, got breakfast, and went to see someone from the US embassy in Italy speak to us about being safe and what not to do to avoid being put in jail. I then ran up, grabbed my passport and my bag packed for staying in Rome, and then headed to the bus for my trip – Rome on your Own, which I was using just for the bus into the city since I was planning on meeting Tim and Rachel and we were going to find a place to stay in Rome. We were dropped off outside of St. Peters Square. I met up with this girl from Berkley, Danielle, who was also going to meet up with someone at the Spanish Steps and we headed into Rome. Once getting there, I found a bank, and then we went to find her friends since they actually had at least one phone on them. So After they left, I parked myself on the steps and waited…and waited… and waited… for 2 hours. Got some great people watching done! Finally Rachel and Tim found me and brought along Nate and Eric Rittenhouse. They apparently got onto a late train and then got lost trying to find the Spanish Steps from their Metro station. (They later found out that there was a metro stop AT the Spanish steps…oops!).

So after finding me, we found a restaurant down the street from our next destination, the Trevi Fountain. We all ordered pizzas which were big enough for two people. They were pretty delicious. All of them are thin crust and they don’t dump sauce on them, which is good. I am more excited for pizza in Naples though since that is the home off pizza. We headed off to the Trevi Fountain after lunch. Set in a really small piazza and only accessible by small allies, the Trevi Fountain looks HUGE. It was amazing just walking up to it. Basically from here on out, and of the sites that I describe are just too amazing for words. There is no way I could describe any of them, so I’ll probably just start telling you where I’ve been.  So the Trevi Fountain. Haha. We got gelato there. I had hazelnut flavored gelato. It was AMAZING! I love hazelnut flavored things. I guess well with the Italian names.

After this we headed to The Castil Angelo. (The very place that is in Angels and Demons). We didn’t go inside because it was 8 euros and we’re cheap (so cheap that on the second day we forgot a map and just used Tim’s camera to take a picture of one). By this time, the sky was just about black. There was definitely a storm coming, so we found a small bar just in time. We split a few large bottles of beer until the rain let up. At this time we decided to head back to the train station. It was only 9 euros for a 2 way ticket into Rome from Civitevecchia, so it would be cheaper to go back, sleep on the boat and then come back the next morning to see the rest of what we missed in Rome. Unfortunately we were about an hour and ½ walk away from the train station! Well what we thought. Little did we know that there was a train stop close to St. Peters…. Oops! When we walked about though, we passed the Piazza Venezia and stopped to take pictures. From one of the roads, we could see the Colosseo, or the Coliseum! It was insane just looking down the road and there it is! We walked up to it and around it and then found a way to get back on track to the train station. I’m not saying anything about the Coliseum because again, no words. We found our way to the train station, and then headed back to the boat, exhausted. We all showered since it was SO hot and sticky in Rome that day.

The next day, Tim, Rachel and I left for Rome around 9am. We got into St. Peters Square around 10:30. We knew to get off at the St. Peters terminal instead of going all the way to the Stazione Termini. We walked to St. Peters square and assumed a line we were standing in was for the Vatican. It wasn’t. BUT this woman asked us if we wanted to go on a tour of the Vatican with an English speaking tour guide. So we signed up for that. It was 20 euros for the tour and 8 for a student ticket into the Vatican museums and stuff. Which, after the tour, I think was worth it. The museums were So confusing. There is no way we could have found the Sistine chapel in any less than 3 hours. Haha. It was great learning things about the Vatican though and the process in actually getting the Sistine chapel finished and stuff. She was a great tour guide. Apparently if you spend 20 seconds looking at each piece of artwork in the museums, you would be there for 12 years! Isn’t that insane! There is so much stuff crammed into those walls. We finally reached the Sistine Chapel. Again, no words. Not even one. Just see it at least once before you die. The guards have a pretty shitty job though. No Photo! And SHHH!!! They want to maintain the atmosphere of the chapel.

We saw St. Peters. We didn’t have a chance to walk around the Vatican city, which kind of sucks, but oh well. Maybe next time! (I did throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain!) We then headed to the Pantheon. I have never felt so small in my life! Seriously! It was HUGE. The dome was gigantic. We were supposed to meet Eric and Nate at the Trevi Fountain again, so we walked towards it stopping at St. Ignacios to see the ceiling that is flat but painted to look 3D. It is definitely worth a stop! Just make sure that if you’re a girl you’re knees are covered and you shoulders are too. They are more strict about the length of your shorts though. I brought a long skirt with me so I threw that on over my shorts. Nate and Eric didn’t show up, so we headed to this other church towards the train station that had different displays made completely of human bones. It was so gross and so awesome at the same time. I got this confused with a church that I once looked up on wikipedia that is completely decorated in bones. But this was just as cool. For 1 eruo you would walk down the hallway and see the various displays and ceiling designs and lamps made of human bones. At the end it has a plaque that says in 6 different languages – What you are we once were, what we are you will be.

We headed back to the train station, I showered and passed out! Today I am just walking around Civitevecchia getting post cards and stuff. Finding internet, uploading this and some articles about Spain. Looking up things to do in Croatia and traveling things. Should be a fun day! Anyway, go to Rome. It’s amazing. I want to go back, there is so much more that we just didn’t have time to see. It is VERY expensive though. Boo! Not as bad as Ireland though! (Right Frank? Go to Rome)

Btw – we ran into a family from Pittsburgh on the way to the Parthenon…. How did we know they were from Pittsburgh? Steelers shirt. What were they looking for? The Steelers bar in Rome! There is a Steelers bar in Rome! Crazy.

A day of rest and then it's off to Italia

2009-06-30T09:30:00.001-07:00

We will be in Italy tomorrow!

Right now I’m sitting in my room between classes. Why am I not outside you ask? Because it’s really hot outside. As soon as you walk outside, you’re drenched in sweat. At least the sky is clear and the water is blue! I’m in the Mediterranean! I just can’t get over what I’m doing right now. I had a test this morning for Global Studies. So easy! 100 matching questions about people, putting places on a map, and terms that we needed to know. But all of the stuff that we studied was word for word basically what the test was, which was really nice. We had an hour and 15 minutes for it, but I used about 25 minutes. I just had 5 questions I was unsure about, but oh well! I submitted my paper at 9 this morning. Huge load off of my shoulders! I have another paper about Flamenco due the day between Italy and Croatia, but I’m going to definitely try and have it done before the end of the day so that I can enjoy myself! Though that last day I’m in Naples I don’t know what I’m going to be doing, so I wouldn’t mind working on that. Apparently 6+ people have dock time which SUCKS! There were some people that were really late, like after 8:00pm late. If we weren’t waiting for the Barcelona SAS trip to get back to leave, we would have left those kids behind.

You get dock time if you are late back to the boat after on-ship time, which is usually about 6:00. For every 15 minutes you are late you get 3 hours of dock time, So those kids that came back after 8pm and weren’t with an SAS trip have about 24 hours of dock time. That is the first day in Italy! So, I’m definitely going to make sure I’m back for the ship on time for everything. We’re coming back on the last day from Rome, so we’ll definitely have to get an early train back. Oh yeah, I’M GOING TO ROME!

Anyway, here are the plans for the next few days. Today we are sailing between Corsica and Sardinia some time this evening, which is going to be awesome! We are getting to port around 8am, but I plan on being up around 6:45 again to see the sun rise over Italy. We have to make it a point to witness this with all of the countries.. if possible… The last 2 sunsets have been unbelievable. I can’t wait to get pictures posted when I get back! My bus to Rome leaves around 9:30-10:00 am and we are getting dropped off outside of the center of the city since tour buses can’t go into that section of the city. From there I’m meeting Rachel and Tim at the train station and then we’re headed off on our adventures! We don’t know exactly what we want to do yet. All 3of us want to see the Vatican. We heard that it’s best to get a tour guide since it’s overwhelming and you get to skip ahead of the line, so that is probably what we’ll do. It will be a bit more expensive, but it’s better than standing in line all day and not having a chance to see the Vatican. Rachel’s dad studied abroad in Rome, so he gave us some good pointers on where to go and where to eat too. That will definitely come in handy.

Our biggest issue is going to be finding a hostel. There are some really cheap ones that don’t have that bad of reviews, so I think we should be OK. It is nice that we’re traveling with a guy too. We’re meeting our friend Nate in the city the first night too. That should be fun and interesting to organize since we don’t have cell phones! Maybe we’ll just have to meet in front of something big at a certain time. It should be an interesting and fun experience.
I was worried for a while about not being able to meet up with people for things since we don’t have phones, but it’s not really that hard on the boat. There really isn’t anywhere for people to go, which sometimes isn’t so great when you want to get away from people… or person… haha.
So Italy. I can’t wait for the food, gelato, and to experience first hand some of the greatest sites in the world. I am really excited about everything! I’m just planning on taking each port as it comes so that I don’t rush through anything and miss out on something fun! (Although, I’m VERY excited about Croatia and the Croatian student that will be joining us in Naples!)
Ok, off to class, gym, shower, and paper time. Then a meeting for the Ambassador’s ball and then a briefing for Italy!!!

I think I would weight about 300 pounds if I could eat Churros every day

2009-06-27T10:33:00.003-07:00

So, it’s June 27th and it’s 6:00pm and it’s officially on ship time! So everyone that boards the ship after this gets dock time in the next port (unless they are on an SAS trip). Dock time SUCKS! If you’re an hour late, you get 12 hours of dock time! I guess you’ll be laying by the pool and doing work while the rest of us are enjoying Italy! Anyway, as amusing as watching people run back to the ship is, it also means that we’re leaving Spain. BOO! Just when we got a good grasp of the city and it’s layout, we have to ship off to another country. Haha not so bad, I know right?

Alright, about my last 2 days in Cadiz, Spain. Yesterday was fun. We woke up early and went out to get churros con chocolate at a small café near the flower market. They were DECLICIOUS and really really bad for you! Churros are deep fried dough kind of like funnel cake, but in stick form. The chocolate was basically melted chocolate bars in a tea cup. Paired together, it made one delectable (and fattening) breakfast. After that we just wandered around the market area getting some shopping done. I got a post card, a Spain flag, a soccer scarf for the Spanish national team (hooray Fernando Torres!), a magnet, and a flamenco fan. So now my room Is semi decorated… it has a magnet on my wall of Cadiz. Haha. Erin has all these pictures, so I look really lame. After wandering around, we went to the beach around 2 and ate lunch, laid in the sun, and played in the waves. Let me tell you. It’s definitely an experience seeing a 50 something woman weighting around 180lbs topless on a beach. There were maybe 3-4 other girls topless, everyone else had swimsuits on. I guess I’m going to have to get used to this!

After beaching it, we headed back to the boat, showered, ate dinner, and then napped. We all woke up, and got ready to go out. We ate dinner (well they did we didn’t) with Nate and Russell and Eric. Then grabbed some icecream before joining up with some other people from the ship. We headed to this one bar called Nahu. It was really awesome inside. There was a hookah and it was decorated sort of Turkish styped/ Moroccan style. It was really nice. Beers are 1 Euro and a glass of their sangria is 2 euros, which isn’t bad at all and it was delicious. (did I mention that Spain breeds the prettiest men in Europe I think? The bartenders were gorgeous and so were all of the guys at the beach….) This bar definitely played mmmbop. It was HILARIOUS. It came on and all of us just started singing. I mean, really? In a BAR!? They played a lot of American music, it was weird. So we headed to another bar and it was OK. I decided to go home, Erin and I were tired and it was 3am.

Today we just slept in and then went to the post office to mail our postcards and to walk around a bit more. I had to go to a store to get a new shower sponge and random things. We then ate some lunch (I had paella! Which was amazing!) and then back to the ship to get our computers. After attempting to get free wifi for the longest time, we managed to use it for a bit (but I forgot to upload this!) and then we just got back on the ship since it was on board time soon and we didn’t want to get stuck in a long line.

Tonight we are meeting with our small groups to discuss more of Amartya Sen’s Identity and Violence and to do a port debriefing. I just want to get it over with so that I can start working on my paper for Global Studies and start looking at the other papers I have to do for other classes. Rachel and I are going to go sit in a classroom and do work and watch Almost Famous tonight. I’m looking forward to it! Coincidently it’s my second favorite movie and she brought it with her!

So that is my Spain update. Nothing too exciting. I’m waiting to sell my ticket for Rome on Your Own so that I can just grab a train with Rachel and Tim and stay in Rome for 2-3 days. We’re going to stay in a hostel and everything, which I’m excited about. I wanted to give us enough time to see the Vatican and everything that Rome has to offer before heading back to the ship and heading to Naples.

Anyway, look forward to some more updates on my travels! If you want to contact me email me! It’s free for me at mlvukmir@semesteratsea.net... No internet minutes are used, which is great!

Adios!

A charming city, delicious food, fresh sherry, and some Flamenco

2009-06-27T10:31:00.002-07:00

Me encanta España!

It’s day 10 since the boat left Halifax, Nova Scotia on the 16th and I’M IN SPAIN! The night of the 23rd felt like Christmas eve when I was 6. Erin and I had the HARDEST time getting to sleep and then when we did, we both woke up 15 minutes before our alarm clocks went off at 6:45am in order to see the sun rise over Spain and to watch as the guide boats helped our ship into the dock in SPAIN! After eating breakfast while the ship was OKed by security in Spain, I went back to sleep from 8-11 and Erin when our for her first FDP (field project). I know, I know, I was really lame and went back to sleep, but I was exhausted and my stomach was upset, so any walking around would have just been me being cranky! Plus everyone else was off on independent field studies, so I just went to sleep. Woke up, showered, and got ready to head off on my first SAS related trip which was the Cadiz city orientation. I know yesterday I talked about maybe going to Cordoba today, but Nate and I found out that the train runs at 8 am and like 5pm, so there was no way we would get a good Cordoba experience before we had to be back for today’s FDP for our ethnomusicology class.

But all-in-all I was fine with yesterdays events! I woke up, and showered like I said before and met my group on the pier by our boat. We then headed to the first monument which was across the street from the pier. It was recognizing the signing of Spain’s first constitution. It’s huge and awesome and made of white stone. It’s very pretty. We then headed down the very narrow, stone streets through the old section of the city (dating back THOUSANDS of years BC when the Phoenicians first came from Morocco to inhabit this section of land), to the archaeology museum. We had a tour through there with our tour guide where we saw various artifacts from the years when the city was first founded. It was insane to think about just how old some of the buildings around us were. It just puts you in awe when you think about how those buildings had seen thousands of years of life before the US was even founded? There was an archway we saw as we walked through the city that was built in the 1200’s and it’s still standing and just about perfect! We walked through the city a little longer, went to the main square and went to the different markets in the area. We scoped out a lot of little restaurants too to get an idea of things to eat and places to go.

After returning to the ship, I rested for a bit and then met Tim, Nate, and Eric to go to the beach on the atlantic. It was a quick 10 minute walk across the city (yes across the city in 10 minutes!) before we got to this beautiful beach. The water wasn’t quite crystal clear yet because we are just on the cusp of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic, but I could definitely see my feet when I was in water up to my chest! It was awesome! The waves were really fun and Nate and Tim are great people to hang out with! YAY NEW FRIENDS! Haha, anyway, after we were there for a good 3 hours swimming, we dried off and headed back to the boat to shower and get ready for dinner. Unfortunately, we went to dinner with a group of like… 15? And they chose this expensive restaurant, so my new best friend Rachel and I ordered something really cheap and shared it! We had croquetes, which are these little deep fried things filled with random meat and cheese. They were really good. Then we wandered around Cadiz looking for a bar/club to go to. Ran into some friends of ours, and went to a bar that they were at, which was one of the only two open on a Wednesday night.

We had a few drinks then called it a night since Tim had to be up at 6:30 to head to Sevilla and I had to be up for today.

Today was amazing. My FDP was the best thing about this trip so far! First we met outside on the pier and boarded a bus to Jerez de la Frontera, a small city inland in Spain about an hour away from Cadiz. We headed to the Flamenco center, which we later found out was in the center of the Santiago neighborhood – a gypsy neighborhood. Flamenco originated from the gypsies when they came here from the middle east. It wasn’t publicly performed until recently since the gypsies weren’t accepted in society. In some places they still aren’t. Anyway, we found out that students from all over the world studying dance, guitar, and just the general musicology of Flamenco go to this place and stay (for free). It has all sorts of books and scores and videos and recordings dating back 1-2 centuries when Flamenco was first arriving in Spain.

People generally think of flashy dancing and guitar and big swirling skirts and sometimes fast paced rhythms when they think of Flamenco. However, that is not generally the case. There are over 70 different types of Flamenco and the most important person in the group is the singer. The singers get SO intense in the music, which is a majority of the time about some sort of pain over something or rising above the hardships and sometimes love. The voice is usually harsh and doesn’t really sound much like “music” to most, so it’s not generally liked by western music lovers (everyone that likes a definite beat and technique). It sounds a lot like the chanting of the Quran (sp) or some sort of Islamic or Muslim prayer, which makes sense since that is the region where Flamenco came to Spain from!

Anyway, after the flamenco center, we boarded the bus again and headed to a bodego (a bar) in another section of Jerez. We walked through the bar portion into the back which was a huge warehouse where they were fermenting and storing their sherry. There were chairs and tables set up and that is where we spent the next 4 ½ hours. It was amazing. Words can’t really describe what happened. There were several guitarists and singers and a dancer (who was British but had lived in Spain for the past 25 years) who first taught us to dance Flamenco and then who played and danced for us. The emotion that goes into Flamenco is unreal. I mean, I’ve seen singers and dancers passionate about their work, but I’ve NEVER seen anything like this. It’s their life. Since I don’t really want to blog your ear off, if that is possible, I won’t rant about how spectacular this was. But they played and sang songs from different regions of spain and different types of Flamenco. We ate jamon (ham) and Queso (cheese) but it wasn’t typical ham and cheese. The ham looked like bacon but was 10 times better and the cheese was some sort of crumbly cheese that sort of resembled parmesan? We split a bottle of sherry at my table between me, Rachel, and Nate. We got the sweet sherry which was OK. It tasted like molasses, it was weird. I didn’t really want to try the dry sherry. We figured we might as well taste it since it’s coming straight from the bar that we were at!

Anyway, I’ll close this with something both the tour guide and the Flamenco Center and the guy, Simon, that was doing our Flamenco lesson said.

Flamenco isn’t something you just learn for the hell of it or to get another dance style under your belt. You have to feel it. It’s a connection you make emotionally. There is no gray area. Either you like it or you hate it. And if you like it, you love it, and can’t get away from it. And you don’t have to be a gypsy to love it, people come from all over who have sparked their passion for Flamenco in some way. It’s terribly hard to master, but it’s an amazing journey.

Adios y hasta manana!!

" I am the lady in Spain, I'll sing a haunting refrain..."

2009-06-23T13:04:00.001-07:00

Alright, day 6 of classes, day 7 at sea and day 8 since I’ve left Nova Scotia and guess what? TOMORROW I’M GOING TO BE IN SPAIN! I seriously can’t even begin to describe how excited I am about getting to Spain. The ship is supposed to dock around 8am, so I’m definitely getting up early and watching as we pull into the harbor. Then I’m headed to the beach until about 11:00 or so when I’ll go back to the ship, change, and get ready to hit Cadiz for my city tour/archaeology museum trip which won’t take that long. My roommate is only doing a day thing as well, so we’ll probably get dinner together and then hit up Cadiz!

Yesterday we learned about Spanish food from David Geis, the guy with all of the insane credentials (I don’t know if I mentioned him before, but he has a Ph D from Pitt and has published like 5 books and 100 and some articles about Spain. He was knighted by the prince of Spain and everything!

So I’m back to typing this blog entry several hours later (and much tanner!). Apparently I might be going to Cordoba instead tomorrow. Which I’m ok with. I think it would be a great time. So, Cordoba tomorrow? It sucks that I will have to get rid of my tickets for the city orientation and archaeology museum, but Oh well, I really want to go to Cordoba! (The sunset is really pretty BTW) So anyway, we are now debriefed on what to expect in spain and how to get on and off the ship and times and stuff. Just be back on the ship the 4th day at 6pm! I’m really excited about everything though. It’s going to be a blast. I’m definitely getting up super early to see us pull into port. And by super early, I mean around 7:30am. Haha. But I hear it’s an amazing experience just pulling into port. The first port is going to be the greatest. The 4th day here however is going to get a little lame since I am going to have to start my Global Studies paper and do a lot of work for coffee house nights, but I think it’s going to be a great experience!

Anyway, off to hang out and get some trips planned for tomorrow and to just relax. The weather was beautiful today. I have a nice base tan, and I’m ready to hit up spain!

Keep in touch!

Adios!

My SAS trips that I have planned

2009-06-22T07:12:00.001-07:00

Ok so here are the semester at sea trips that I have planned so far. These don’t really include independent travel at all, but I will try and tell you what I was thinking about doing when not on a pre-planned trip!

Cadiz, Spain

Cadiz walking tour and Archaeology Museum (June 24th from 2:00-5:00pm) - So, I was told that it is a really good idea to do a walking tour in every country or at least try to if they have one since you get a better idea of the city with someone guiding you as opposed to trying to figure things out with a map and a friend! (which is also really fun, but to maximize my time, I’m definitely doing city tours!) Anyway, this should be great because I don’t really know much about this city and apparently it’s one of the oldest cities in Europe established by the Phoenicians way back when in the Iron Age in the BC’s. It has a very long and interesting history and I’m really excited to see the influences of the different nationalities and people that have called Cadiz their home since 900BCish.

The archeology museum also houses the fine arts museum of Cadiz and I love art, so that should really add to everything! The walking tour is brief, but should be enough to get my bearings on restaurants and internet cafes! (yeah, I should get on writing some articles!)

Flamenco In Depth ( June 25th from 11:00-4:00) – This is a field study for my ethnomusicology class. I’m really excited about it! And those that know me well, know I love music and dancing, so you understand my excitement  We’re taking a bus to Jerez de la Frontera (home of the boleria, a festival Flamenco song type). Here are going to the Andalcian Flamenco Center. After lunch, we’re going to have a flamenco class! Afterward, we are encouraged to go back to Cadiz and hang out at flamenco clubs that night and do “field research”.

After that, I don’t have anything else planned for the other 2 days in spain. I’ll probably be beaching it up and maybe traveling to somewhere close by? I’ve considered heading to Cordoba or Grenada, but the bus schedules don’t really work out that well since I have to be back on the boat at a certain time! Don’t want dock time!!!!

Civitavecchia, Italy

So, we are here for 3 days before sailing to Naples, Italy. I’m only doing one trip and it’s Rome on your Own on Wednesday July 1st. They are taking us into the city just outside of city center and dropping us off at 9:30 am. We then have the whole day to do whatever we want to in Rome before getting back on the bus at 7:30. It’s a lot of time, but I’m not sure if it’s enough! So Tim, my new friend, and I are thinking about stayin in a hostel that night and spending another day in rome before catching a bus or train back to the port. We would have to look into this more though, but I think it’s a great idea. Especially since I would love to see the Vatican and I know that the line is going to take forever! I would love to see Tuscany, but I’m not sure which city I would head to. That would have to be looked into. But I think I’m probably going to be spending 2 of these 3 days in rome. The other, I will most likely spend on the beach 

Naples, Italy

I only have one trip planned for the 2 days that I’m in Naples as well. I’m headed to Pompeii on Saturday july 4th. From 8:30am-12:30pm (noon), we are touring the main archeological site at the location of the city of Pompeii. I might take a train into Sorento upon returning back to Naples and hanging out there for a day. I’m not sure, we’ll have to see what the place holds! I have to check out the individual travel suggestions that students in the past have sent in for the area. Maybe Capri? That was suggested and I might go there. Or I might park myself on the beach and get some studying done… So many exams and so little time in port!

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Osojnik Village and Folk Show (1:00 – 8:00pm July 7th) - This trip is for my ethnomusicology course and I’m really excited about it! My roommate is coming too, which is really exciting! This village is a typical Croatian country village in the mountains that has preserved it’s medieval appearance. We’re going to get to see/participate in a traditional folkshow/festival on traditional instruments and we’re going to learn some of the dances. (hopefully I remember some of them!) I’m really excited to hear the music and to see if I’m going to recognize any of the songs and dances. It’s going to be a great time. I’m really excited about Croatia.

Dubrovnik Marine Ecosystems – July 9th (9:00-3:00) – This trip is for my oceanography class. Even though I didn’t get into one of the groups with my professor, I still am going to really enjoy it! We’re going to explore the coast via kayak and then stop at certain locations to snorkel and check out the ecosystems in the area. This is going to be a blast! I’ve never been kayaking before, and I think I’m really going to enjoy it!!! I mean, who doesn’t want to take a class where snorkeling and kayaking are required!!!!

Athens, Greece

So I don’t really have anything planned for Athens. I have some friends that are flying to Santorini. I’m SO jealous. That is the ONE place in Greece I would love to go, BUT it’s really expensive, so I’m going to be spending my time on the beaches and maybe getting a ferry to one of the other islands. I think I’m just going to independently see all of the sites that Athens has to see since we are so close to them all. Should be a fun port! I might need to spend some of this time typing papers for classes! I think I have 2 more due right between here and Turkey. Hooray!

Istanbul, Turkey

Istanbul City Orientation July 18th (11:00-5:00) – During this we are going to see some of the most important historical and cultural sites of Istanbul. We’re basically just walking all over the city and seeing just about everything including the Blue Mosque, the St. Sophia museum, and the Byzantine Cistern.

Sufi Dervish Ceremony July 19th ( 6:45-9:30) – This is going to be amazing and once in a lifetime. We’re going to an actual whirling dervish ceremony. I’m going to need a head scarf and we’re supposed to be separate from the guys in the group. Afterward, we’re allowed to ask the performers questions and get a lecture from a wiseman/master of philosophy, symbolism, spiritual advancements, transformations, meanings, cosmology, and instruments. This is obviously for my ethnomusicology course and is going to be a fantastic time. I’m really looking forward to this.

Other than that, I don’t really have anything else planned for Turkey. A lot of people are going on this 8 hour hike, but all of the spots are full. I am going to try and look up some interesting things to do in Istanbul. I’m sure I’ll find something! I’ll be completely content with just sitting on the black sea coast all day!

Varna, Bulgaria

So this is the first time that SAS is going to Bulgaria! It’s great that we get to experience a port for the first time!!! The only trip I have planned for Bulgaria is the highlights of Varna tour. We’re going to be visiting attractions all over the city and getting a good idea of it’s layout. We’re visitin the Roman Thermae, Ethnographic Museum, an Orthodox Cathedral, and the Archeological Museum. This will be a great way to get an idea of Bulgarian culture! On Saturday, the next day, I THINK I’m going bungee jumping. Actually I’m pretty sure that I am. I mean, why not? We are getting a group together to go and my roommate and I are thinking about doing a tandem jump! There is no way I can do it by myself! But how many people can say they went bungee jumping in Bulgaria! I’m really excited about this trip! I think I’m going to have some studying and papers to write while here too since we have a few days between here and Egypt where we will be in class!

Alexandria Egypt

Just about EVERYONE is going on a 4 day trip here… Except me!

Overnight Cairo July 31st – August 1st – So we’re leaving from the ship on buses and heading through the desert to Cairo. We’re then going to the Sakkara – the oldest Eyptian Cemetary, the first monumental stone building – the Step Pyramid of King Zoser. After that we’re going to visit one of the mastabas, or tombs, then head back into the city to check into our hotel. Afterward, we’re headed to Tahrir Square, the heart of downtown Cairo, to visit the national archeological museum where King Tut’s exhibit is! At night we’re going to watch Son et Lumiere in English at the Giza Plateau. There is a sound and light performance as the sphinx and pyramids ‘dominate the backdrop’. Afterward we’re headed back to the hotel to get some sleep before getting up super early to…

Visit the pyramids at sunrise! After hanging out at the pyramids, we then head to the El Khalili Bazaar. After getting some stuff for people, we head to the banks of the Nile, River where another curise boat awaits us to sale us up the river. ON the boat, we’ll get a buffet lunch and a belly dance performance. Afterward, we head back to Alexandria.

This is the only trip I have planned in Egypt. As you can see, there are no camels involved… SO I’m going to have to see if I can get a group of independents together and take a camel trek! This has to be done before I leave Africa!!

Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca City Orientation August 9th ( 1:30-5:30) – SO I’m just taking another city tour for Casablanca. We’ll visit the Hassan II mosque (but won’t go inside), Then were going to drive through various neighborhoods in Casablanca. Then off to Mohamed V Square, Central Market, the Habous Quarter, The Mahkama (court), the cathedral Notre Dame du Lourdes, and the Royal Palace Mechouar. After that we are again oing to some bazaars around the royal palace. I’m excited to get a feel for the city. I have no idea what else I want to do in Casablanca. Originally I wanted to do the 4 day/3 night camel hike/camp in the desert, which I should have done, but it’s over $400. Oh well, hopefully I will get to do some desert visiting while here! I’m sure that there is something that I can get a group of people together to do.

Rabat Monday August 10th (1:00-6:00) – We basically are just going to Rabat for a few hours which is a town not far from Casablanca. It was something to do and was cheap.

I do want to make it to Marrakech, but we’ll see about that. I need to meet up with some people that want to head out and check out that city and maybe find some camels to ride in the desert!!!

Anyway, off to enjoy this beautiful sunshine!

Busy days in the sun and relaxing nights under the stars

2009-06-22T07:11:00.001-07:00

Alright, so it’s day 4 of classes, day 5 that we’ve been at sea and day 6 since actually boarding the boat. I’m FINALLY used to where everything is on the ship and don’t get lost anymore  I am exhausted, but no time to nap until later. Classes are going well. I really enjoy all 3 of them. I had my first quiz in oceanography. Definitely the first ½ page multiple choice quiz I’ve had in college. It was awesome! I just sat there staring at the finished quiz and thinking about the 2 hr 4 question chem E quizzes or pillar courses. It was glorious. So, what have I done since the last time I wrote a blog entry? Lets see!

I joined the Activities committee. We have a dance planned for tonight. Everyone wanted a themed dance save 2 of us. It didn’t make sense to have a theme since everyone packed 2 suitcases and I’m sure no one came prepared for an 80’s dance! It’s not like we can just run to goodwill! (though we did see Islands yesterday. The captain changed the route so that we would sail through two of the Azores islands (Corvo and something else). Or something like that. They are basically in the middle of the Atlantic and owned by Portugal. There were people living on them, which was insane since it’s so far from anything!) ANYWAY, so dance tonight. We have a film festival to plan for the end of the semester at long with little open mic nights in the piano lounge. These things are definitely going to make our remaining few days at sea go very quickly! (not just the days between here and Spain, which is only 2 ½!!! Well less since every day is only 23 hours for us!) My days are packed with classes, meetings, and doing the loads of homework/reading for classes. It’s insane!! My ethnomusicology class just continues to get more intense. It’s great! I hardly ever look at the clocks in class. Despite the 3 hrs of sleep I got last night, I didn’t check the clock in Global Studies once! The professor is fantastic. He is very good at getting everyone interested. Everyone shows up 45 minutes early to class to get seats in the union to be in there in person. I just sit on the floor in the front of the room and time flies! He makes everything so interesting.

I’ve been attempting to keep up with working out. So far I’m 2/4. The good thing is that any amount of exercise on the ship is magnified with the balance issue! Sooo the ½ hr that I work out on the bike or elliptical is about equal to an hour in the gym at home! Lifting weights is definitely an interesting time, but the workout you get is sooo good especially for your core! Anyway, you don’t really care about that, BUT if you do, work out on a boat… it’s intense.

Yesterday it was sunny in the afternoon, which was really nice. I grabbed a lounge chair and layed out in the sun for 2 hours and now have a nice reddish appearance to my face. Ha ha. But there is really nothing like laying on a chair on the top deck of a huge ship on your way to Spain! There were dolphins surfing our wake. It was great. I missed the ones that were right next to the boat though. I had to attend a meeting, but I will see them.. don’t worry… Apparently when we sailed through the islands, there was a pod of dolphins circling out in the water getting up speed so that they could let the boat pass us and surf the wake. I had no idea they were so intent on surfing the wake on ships, but apparently it’s a major source of entertainment for them!

Yesterday we had a guest speaker, well inter-port lecturer, from the US speak to us about spain. His list of credentials was insane! He was even knighted by the king of spain recently. His name is David Geis and he’s a pretty intelligent and amazing man with sooo many accomplishments! Today I’m having dinner with a group of other students and the IT guy, Casey, to brush up on my Spanish. I don’t remember how to make past tense verbs! There is another speaker on how to drink in foreign countries without getting arrested. I’m really amused to hear this.

I have the final list of SAS planned trips that I signed up for, finally. I’m very excited about them. It’s going to be a great time and I have time in the countries to do independent travel as well. In the next entry which should be some time today, I’m going to summarize the trips that I have signed up for and add my thoughts on other things I want to do in the other countries that aren’t really set in stone. I know I’m going to get a LOT busier with a lot of exams coming up soon between spain and italy and papers and all sorts of field reports. So I might as well tell you now what I’m doing on what days!

I’m forming some great friendships on this trip too. I met another kid from pitt that is in Delta Chi and he’s fun to hang out with (thanks for introducing us before we left Matt). My roommate is still awesome! We’re very much a like, it’s scarey! But she is really cool! I can’t wait to see who else I bond with while on trips!!!! I just am trying to soak up every minute that I’m at sea. I know that the whole 6 days of classes before reaching a country is a lot and annoying to some since there is nothing but water around us, but I just can’t get over what I’m doing! We’re on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic taking classes and being sent out of our comfort zone to travel the world! (well the Mediterranean) with 720 kids we’ve never met before in our lives! Well.. most of them! It’s such a great experience. And yeah, the whole several days at sea before getting there and on the way back are long and tiring, but they are just so different than normal school. It’s not something I want to rush at all! And with this time zone thing, it’s all I do is rush! Haha, since we lose an hour basically every night.

Anyway, I have to go get lunch. I missed breakfast again this morning! And I am working out at 3, so I need to eat before then! (I’m am SO going to miss these 3 meals a day!)

Email me at mlvukmir@semesteratsea.net if you want to keep in touch! I usually save at least an hour a night to reply to email (which hasn’t been needed!)

-Mattie

Learning on a floating campus

2009-06-18T12:02:00.002-07:00

So, it’s full day number 2 at sea. The weather is a LOT better. The waves are way smaller and I’m a lot less sick. Haha. It’s been sunny all day and the waves are REALLY blue. WE sat on the deck for lunch and let me tell you - it’s an amazing feeling sitting on the deck of a giant cruise ship, eating lunch with great people and staring off into the blue ocean all around you. (I even have a bit of a burn on my arm and leg from being outside for an hour!)

Classes started today. My professors are awesome. At first I wasn’t sure how much I was going to be willing to put into these classes since they are all pass/fail for me and I only actually need to pass one of them. But, since the professors are really great and want to engage you, I think I’m going to put a lot more work into these classes than I do in my pitt chem. E classes… I really hope none of my professors read this 

My oceanography class was great. First time I had the opportunity to learn about waves WITHOUT math! Hooray! No derivatives, integrals, or equations of any kind! It really is great. My teacher is brilliant too and is making class very interesting. Who wouldn’t want to take a class where snorkeling and kayaking are a requirement? The global studies teacher is great. He is very animated and makes the class very interesting, which is good since I wasn’t sure how to feel about this class. It’s my first economics/poli sci/history/culture class EVER as a college student, but he is doing a great job! Even though I had to sit on the floor! My music class is going to be very intense. I have a lot of reading for it and he expects a lot from us, but it is definitely a different perspective to view the places we are going to be visiting. The field trips should be great with this – flamenco lessons in Spain, a folk festival in Croatia, and a Whirling Dervish ceremony in Turkey!

Anyway, I have to get to some of my work. I have a few meetings tonight for the events planning committee and our first seminar which is on how to succeed at semester at sea!

All around me is the deep blue ocean

2009-06-18T12:02:00.001-07:00

So, it’s the second day that I’ve been on the boat and the 1^st day we’ve officially been at sea. Boarding went by last names, and since Brindle and I were in a suit together, he had to be there at 8am…. I wasn’t supposed to board until 11:20, but I went anyway, and they told me it was fine and let me on the ship. We gave them our passports, got our ID cards, sent our luggage through x-ray machines and then walked through metal detectors. It was just like the airport, except they are stricter. There are really strict rules about auto-shutoff on hair dryers, curling irons, and straighteners (so, I had to leave my straightener at home). If they saw one in your bag, they had to get it out and you had to prove that it had auto shut off or they were confiscating it. We were allowed to bring food on here, so we went to the grocery store across from the dock and loaded up on snacks. My roommate is a work study student, so she was in line taking paperwork and saw that I was early and introduced herself. She is really nice and we could probably pass as sisters. We both have short curly hair and are kind of short. Haha It’s really funny. She is 20 and goes to UVA.

So we got on board around 9ish and then after filling out the appropriate paperwork, we headed to our rooms. They are a lot bigger than I thought they were going to be. A little smaller than towers I think. The beds are actually pretty comfortable. I slept like a baby last night! I have an outside room, so we have a window. I thought it was going to be a tiny round window, but they are actually pretty big. It’s really nice to be able to see the ocean fly past. Our little ship is booking it! After unpacking and getting everything situated, I walked around the ship and explored with Eric and Rachel, a girl we met the day before that shared a cab with us. It’s so confusing in here! I didn’t realize how long the ship is and everything. It’s going to take some getting used to, but in a few days, I should know my way around the ship pretty well. (they are REALLY particular about the whole ship/boat thing. It’s hilarious). Anyway, we found the gym (which you have to sign up for after 7pm the next day!) and then the outdoor sports court, and the classrooms. It’s a really nice ship…like REALLY nice.

We had a lifeboat drill and then cast off! It was an amazing feeling standing on the deck and watching the parents waving and the boat slowly leaving the dock. All you could think was oh my God, this is actually real. I’m on a SHIP and I’m going to be in Spain in 8 days! That feeling that it was completely unreal is still with me. I can’t believe I’m actually on this trip and that I’m on a SHIP!!! It’s insane! Though the rough waters like to remind you where you are. It’s taking some getting used to. I was definitely sick yesterday. I took some of that motion sickness medicine and that helped.

We had a meeting with all of the students and faculty and staff. They told us how many firsts they’ve had on this voyage. It’s the first time they have filled EVERY bed on the boat. There are 721 students. It’s also the first time that about 330 schools have been represented. They said their average was usually around 250. There are 39 students from University of Colorado in Boulder, 33 from Pitt, and 30 from UVA. It’s so great to meet students from all over! After meeting the staff and faculty, we broke off into our small groups. This is the first time they’ve required a book to be read prior to departure and the first time we’ve had small groups. Which, I think is a good thing. It’s nice to get together with the 10 or so of us and meet everyone and discuss the book that we had to read which was about identity and violence and sticking people into different identities. It’s pretty good. Lots of rambling though. So we met last night, and met each other. My professor in charge of my group is an English professor and he teaches at Westminster College in PA, which was pretty cool because he knew where Townville was!

After that, I headed back to my room, threw some sweatpants on and wandered around the ship. It is FREEZING outside! Then I came back and hung out with Erin, my roommate. We get along really well which is awesome! I’m really excited about this whole trip. Its going to be incredible.

Today we woke up early and got breakfast and just met with our groups again. My group meets in the top of the ship in the faculty lounge in the front of the ship which is where you happen to feel the waves the most. We could see the waves crashing over the front of the ship at points. It was insane. When we were in the union at 9am, we hit some big waves and people were knocked back into their seats and everything shook. Except for the nausea, it’s a pretty fun ride! We have a break now since my professor wasn’t feeling well from the waves. So I’m just typin this up.

I am really excited about starting classes. I hear they are really hard, but I think I want to actually put some effort into my classes instead of just writing them off since I don’t really need them. But the professors here are AMAZING. They have done so much and I think there is a lot I can learn from them, so I don’t really want to disappoint them at all. I just don’t want to be completely clueless in my classes and it’s going to be great to include hands on learning in all of them. So I might as well try!

When I got here, we had the option of signing up for extra pre-sale field programs that were still available. I signed up for a city tour of Varna, the tour of Pompeii and an overnight trip to Cairo. I am considering selling the Cairo trip to someone else, but I think that by the end of the voyage, I’m going to be basically broke, so that one will be paid for already, which I’m OK with! And it’s a great opportunity to see the sun rise over the pyramids. I’m really looking forward to it. It was the least expensive over night trip to Cairo and it includes a lot too, so it shouldn’t be that bad.

It still hasn’t really sunk in that I’m doing this yet. Right now it feels like I am watching someone live it. Hopefully that feeling goes away so that I can get 100% out of my voyage! Anyway, time to type a new article for the Examiner and to write in my journal and then head up to the union for more meetings until lunch!

Oh yeah, so far, I’m the only person I know of that speaks Croatian on the boat and my professor for my small group was already bragging about that. Haha I thought it was hilarious. Anyway, hvala!

I'm off to the home of Sydney Crosby

2009-06-15T18:30:00.000-07:00

So, here I am sitting in my hotel room in Halifax, Nova Scotia. These past few weeks since the end of school have gone SO fast! This past weekend was a pretty epic bon voyage, I must say. (GO PENS!) Thanks guys for the great nights!

Sunday we headed down to DC to catch our plane Monday (today) morning at 8:30. So after several nights of just a few hours of not-so-fantastic sleep, I'm really excited to sleep in an actual bed tonight. However, yet another early morning awaits! Brindle boards the boat at 8am, sooo thats what time I'll be there... even though I'm not really supposed to be there until 11:20. Hooray! should be fun. Reguardless, I'm really excited.

The plane ride was fun. About 1/2 the flight was going on Semester at Sea, which made it go really fast! The shuttle from the airport to downtown Halifax was full of SAS kids. It was really fun! We're all in the same position of not really knowing ANYONE, so all you do is just introduce yourself to everyone. Anyway, we got into Halifax around 1. We then headed out with some new friends to get some lunch and to check out the pier where the boat is and the Public Gardens. The public gardens were gorgeous. Though the walk up there was a little obnoxious. The hill we walked up was definitely bigger than the one headed up to the pete and possibly a little steeper... lots of fun! We walked down to the pier to see how far the boat is from the hotel we're staying at. The boat is HUGE. I can't wait! I can't believe that that is where I am going to be living for the next 67 days!!!

This whole experience is finally hitting me. I can't believe that Im going to be on a boat for the next 2 1/2 months touring the world!! well... some of it anyway. Apparently the classes are pretty intense though, which I'm ok with. (I'm REALLY looking forward to not doing math in my classes!) I am really excited to meet everyone, especially my roommate!

AS much as I want to write more, I really can't think right now. Haha too many days of sleep-deprivation... hence the terrible English and stuff. deal with it. :) I'll be updating this every once in a while when I have a chance to. Probably before and after every port.

Pre-Departure Update

2009-05-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first entry into my semester at sea blog. It probably won't be that interesting, but if you are planning on participating in a future sail, then definitely read on!

I had wanted to do Semester At Sea since I had heard about it my freshman year of college. I didn't really consider it until my Sophomore year when I had talked about doing it with two of my friends that had studied abroad the summer before. (One went to Chile with me and the other to Brazil for the same program through Pitt) With the chemical engineering pillar course schedule restrictions, I couldn't fit in a voyage with my friend when she decided to go summer of '08. So, I decided that I would apply for the Summer of '09 voyage, alone. It would be a great learning/self development experience to throw myself into a situation where I didn't know anyone at all.

Everyday I would check the Semester At Sea website for information on applying for the summer '09 voyage. The first day that online applications were posted, I applied and then was later accepted. I had applied very early in the whole process, so I had a few months of just general excitement before any stress began.

The first issue that I ran into was paying the initial $1000 deposit. I was able to make that with my refund from Pitt for the spring semester. Following that, I just had a packet of paperwork that was due in the middle/end of April. It wasn't until about the middle of March that I had realized that the date was sneaking up on me and that I still had a lot to do.

- Finish that paperwork (which included a passport sized photo of me that will be posted on the bulletin board on the ship..... oh geez!)
- Figure out what types of courses I needed to take in order to graduate on time.
- Figure out how I was going to pay the remainder of my balance for SAS.
- Apply for Grants/Scholarships/Financial Aid
- Register for Courses
-Register for Pre-Sale trips (these were for the first few countries we would be sailing to in order to get everything set before leaving.)
- Fill out my study abroad scholarship for Pitt and get all of the appropriate forms signed.
- Find housing for when I get back from the voyage (I will be homeless if I don't!)
- Order my textbooks (after registering for my classes!)
- Order my plane ticket to the port of departure
- Get everything for my trip (toiletries, etc)

Deep Breath! I finished my paperwork and sent it out, registered for the courses that I wanted and that I needed, and completed my study abroad contract for Pitt. After that, completing everything else became a little tricky. I decided that I wanted to take out a student loan to cover the remainder of my tuition, books, my plane ticket, august and September rent/deposit for a new place, may and june rent for my current house (Working part-time wouldn't cut it!), school trips in the countries,and other expenses while I'm away. I applied for a loan through the same company that I've been going through for the past 3 semesters of college, choosing the loan that was available for the summer. Then problems started.

I was just informed on Tuesday that the loan, which was approved, won't be disbursed to my school until June 4th. Which, if everything took as long as the school's financial aid office told me it would, I wouldn't be getting my refund until well into my voyage. That is a problem...a huge problem. After speaking with my mom, the loan company, and finally the bank, we decided the bost option would be to take our a personal loan to cover what I immediately needed to cover. So, that is where I am now. Awaiting word on the status of my personal loan.

From these events, I advise you, future Semester At Sea sailers, think about how you want to pay for your tuition if you do not have a study abroad scholarship, and read the fine print for any student loans! This whole situation has helped me realize that I do need to become a slightly more responsible person while handling my finances! There is nothing like learning from mistakes though. The man that worked with me at my bank had quite a few pointers for applying and getting accepted for personal loans. It was very informative! Now there is nothing for me to do except wait and work on my Spanish and Croatian!

Adios!

Mattie