January 31st, 2009

Our train left at about 9 and we got back to Cadiz at 11.  I slept as best I could on the train ride back.  We then all went to the ship put our bags down grabbed a quick bite to eat on the ship before heading out for our last few hours in Spain. Dylan, Erica, Abby, and I walked around the city got them stamps and then ran into Courtney and Anna where we all became on a mission to find Annas waffle and ice cream.  We never did find it but settled for some chocolate con churos before getting back on the ship at about 3:30.  It was a good thing to because I heard later people who got to the ship around 4:30 waited in an hour long line and people were on the ship late and got dock time. 

 

Once back on the ship for good I called my parents and it was so nice to hear their voices it had been a long time.  I told them all the stories I have written about and got to get a few laughs in which I miss.  Me and my family laugh a ton but that is what is nice about hanging out with the “thetas” I feel like they are always laughing and having a good time no matter what.  So it makes me feel at home and they are great girls I am happy to make new friends I can hang out with in Boulder and have shared these experiences with. 

 

After getting off the phone with my parents I ran into Emily and got to hear all about her trip in Spain.  I was bummed we weren’t able to meet up but hopefully me and her can travel in another country together.  We were both too exhausted to talk too much so we made dinner plans for 6.  I went back to my room unpack and watch movie where I fell asleep a few minutes before 6 but luckily there was an announcement throughout the ship that woke me up.  Emily and I had a nice dinner out on deck 6 and talked about what we did in Spain. 

 

I have now been typing up my blog for the past 2 hours and have finally finished my time in Spain.  Now only to start another journal for a class and a paper on the Flamenco performances I saw.  I will probably do this in the morning after Global Studies.  They call it a no class day tomorrow but we still have Global Studies and two other meetings so much for a day off. I think I will be able to sleep for a week straight when this entire Voyage is over.  Only one more day until Morocco and my trek to the Berber Villages!!!

 

January 30th, 2009

My hostel room seemed to be just as cave like as my room on the ship, and I woke up around 10 to a pitch black room and got ready in the dark.  Then waited downstairs for the girls checking email and what not until they were around.  We were so hungry at the point we decided to go back to the Tex Mex place since we knew we liked it and it was close.  ( We also know we aren’t going to have Mexican food for a while).  After a quick lunch the girls wanted to head to the Cathedral and Alcazar since they hadn’t seen it yet.  We walked through the little side streets or allies to get there.  It was a really nice walk and cool to explore a little.  While the girls went in the church I took a walk around enjoying the nice day and just people watched and walked around for an hour or so. At around 4 after doing some exploring we decided to get some ice cream and join the city in a siesta.  Anna was on a mission to find a waffle with ice cream and chocolate she had seen a picture of somewhere but we never did find one every again.  So while the girls went back to the hostel to take a nap I took  a walk back to the soccer stadium to buy a jersey from my new favorite soccer team.  Sevilla FC!!!!.  The jersey was only 10 euro and red which I can wear for the Sea Olympics that are coming up.  After my nice walk to the stadium and around a near by mall I walked back and too decided to take a quick nap. Cause our goal was to stay up all night and not sleep until we got to the train station.  I took about an hour long nap and then woke up and got ready. 

 

It started raining which we weren’t too pleased about but decided to deal and around 10 Megan and Michelle came to the hostel so we could all go to dinner.  We ate at an Italian restaurant were Me and Kelly both got caprese salad and split a vegetarian pizza.  We had a nice long dinner talking and laughing, and finally convinced ourselves to walk the few blocks to a local flamenco bar.  It too was a very cool experience, ( I think having people show us around that knew local places was a great help even if they did get lost a lot).  The flamenco dancing seemed completely different from the show we had seen through the SAS trip.  That appeared to be very planned and staged while at the Flamenco bar it was full of life, spontaneity, and culture.  I think I really enjoyed here too because there weren’t too many Semester at Sea kids it was a mix of locals and Americans studying abroad in Seville.  Here I again ran into someone from school Melanie from a class at the Flamenco bar.  It was nice to see her and to know she is having a good time abroad.  The bar was low key with benches and tables in a giant empty room, its hard to explain but here was one of the first places I felt I was experience part of the day to day Spanish culture.  When you first walked in you walked past a room where there was a Spanish singer and a group of people listening before you headed to big room of people, talking, drinking, smoking, and watching the woman Flamenco dancer do her thing. 

 

At around 1:30 we made our way out into the rain again to catch a cab to a club called Elefunk.  I was worried it might be really Americanized and have a ton of SAS kids but to my surprise it was more of a bar/club where we seemed to be the only Americans.  It packed with people and we danced the night away until about 4 in the morning.  When we got back to the hostel we noticed a Humburger place open next door that was packed with people and headed in to join everyone for a burger and fries before we went to sleep.

 

We finally made it to bed around 5 and then woke up at 7 to check out and get to the train station.  We were all so tired and dead but from an amazing fun filled time in Seville. 

 

January 29th, 2009

This morning I woke up to eat breakfast and meat Megan to hope on the bus for our SAS trip to Seville to see the Cathedral and Alcazar (palace) for our Sacred Sites class.  At breakfast this girl Courtney joined us she actually went to El Toro and played water polo, so we had that in common from the beginning, she was also going on our same day trip and staying in Seville that night like many kids on the trip.  After about a two hour drive/sleep on the bus we were finally in the city of Seville.

 

When we got of the bus we had about a 5 minute walk to the Cathedral.  The city was larger and more beautiful than I had anticipated.  The city streets were lined with orange trees.  The oranges are used to make a type of jam that is famous the city.  One of the girls actually tried one but said it was really bitter and sour.  We walked down the street and then soon turned the corner to be standing right next the Cathedral, the third largest gothic church in the world.  Its beauty and size are not able to really be captured in a picture.  We entered the church with our tour guide and as we walked in I felt as though it got 5 degrees cooler.  Like many places in Spain the church was not heated haha and the stone walls only made it darker and cool, which is nice for the summer months.  When entering the church of this size the first thing I did was look up to see the amazing ceiling.  My eyes then scanned to see paintings and pillars of a grand size.  The high altar was spectacular and made of over 1000 gold figurines all made by one man.  Pictures and words can not describe really what I saw in terms of its size.  The other facts I took away from the Cathedral that I found to be extremely interesting are that Christopher Columbus’ and his second son both have tombs in the church.  Christopher Columbus is said to be buried in three different locations in Spain. 

 

The last thing left to do in the Church is to climb the bell tower to look over the city (35 steep ramps!) Me and Trish headed up first and made it up in about 5 minutes.  To find an amazing view of the city that truly showed its size and culture.  The City is made of so many colors and so many buildings the site was breathtaking.  I ran around in a circle taking pictures of the city from every angle.  The walk back down the bell tower was much quicker and we then made our way to the Alcazar. 

 

The Alcazar had a completely different style than the Cathedral and while yes it was beautiful was hard to stand up against the amazing Cathedral I just seen.  After walking through the palace and seeing its tiles and gardens we headed to a lunch around 2 that was set up my SAS.  At first I was worried we may not have that much food and I would still be hungry.  But as soon as we sat down in the restaurant the wine was poored and the tapas began coming out plate after plate.  If I can remember correctly we had bread and some type of meat first, then a tortilla and egg dish that was amazing, followed by fried calamari, mushrooms, asparagus, two types of meet and potatoes, and then an amazing tart dessert.

 

 I was completely full after lunch and ready to find my hostel and meet up with the girls.  Me and Courtney who also needed to find her hostel walked with the group to the bus so I could grab my backpack.  Luckily when I pulled out my map to look where we were in comparison to my hostel we were already on the right street and only a block and half away.  Courtney on the other hand had a little more difficulties.  She only had the name of her hostel, no address, phone number, or anything.  So she walked with me to my hostel where they were able to give her a street name and I handed her my map to find her way.  ( I saw her the next day where she told me she did make it safely to the hostel).  As I was checking into the room Kelly, Dylan, Abby and the rest of the Thetas ( I may just refer to the group as the “Thetas” from now on to make it shorter) all walked in.  It was really nice to see them cause I wasn’t sure how I was going to meet up with them. 

 

After checkin  in I went up to look at my room to find what?? Oh wait I got the handicap bathroom (reminds me of a time in Amsterdam with my sister).  But this one wasn’t as awkward.  I then put my stuff in the safe and my backpack on my bed met up with the girls and we went to the grocery store to by some wine to drink before the soccer game.  (Sevilla vs. Valencia).  The girls had all bought soccer jerseys earlier that day for the game and Anna was nice enough to let me borrow one of hers she had bought for a friend.  So we all got decked out in our new jerseys and headed up to the rooftop of the hostel that was set up with chairs and table overlooking parts of the city.  We sat up there talking and laughing for a while.  Jeff joined us for a while and gave me my ticket he had picked up for the day before.  Jeff left around 7:15 to go to a bar on his way to the game with his brother since they wouldn’t let him in the hostel because he wasn’t staying there.  So me and the girls sat up drinking and talking for another 15 minutes and then started our walk to the stadium.  We were meeting up with two of their sorority sisters at the game (Michelle and Megan) who are studying abroad in Seville.  Michelle actually lived in the same dorm as me and we knew each other through Georgia.  So it was nice to just one more familiar face in a unfamiliar city. 

 

We finally got into the soccer game where I ran into Kelly who was sitting with Jeff, Steve, and Daniel ( this is where my seat was cause Jeff bought my ticket). So I split off from the girls and Kelly tells me they are sitting in the second row.  I said what do you mean aren’t our seats way up top.  She said ya but they just walked down and nobody questioned them.  When I finally got to the seats I came to find out Jeff Blackwell who I know from the dorms freshman year was sitting with us and he too is studying abroad in Seville.  Ryan S.  from Bucknell also sat with us at the game.  One I was in my seat and able to look around and soak in the experience I was participating in I could do nothing but smile the entire time.  The energy inside the stadium was amazing and it is by far one of the coolest things I have ever done or been too!  Not to mention I was in the second row and Sevilla won the game really close to the end.  I wish I could post the picture of the three old women sitting in front of me.  They were probably about 70 and chain smoking like I have never seen, they yelled at the refs and stood up in their seats more then some of the young men sitting around me.  It was quite the site to see and they cracked me up ( I have a video of them too! I just thought they were great).  As the game ended the entire stadium jumped around signing and hugging one another, I have no other word for it but AMAZING!!! There was even a guy on a microphone singing and chanting the entire game to get the crowd involved and the entire section of people behind me stood the whole game waving flags. We all joined in clapping where we could and singing the parts that we could understand. (“lo lo lo lo lo…. lo lo lo lo lo lo lo”)

 

We then started walking back to the hostel where I was going to meet the girls and head on out for the night.  Jeff, and the rest of the kids split off to head straight for the bars but I wanted to change into something for the clubs instead of the soccer jersey. 

 

The only reason I mention the fact that I wanted to change is the encounter I had in my hostel while changing.  When I got back to the hostel the girls were all ready and waiting I wanted to hurry as fast as I could and when I got to my room someone was in the bathroom and there were two other people in the room hanging out (they both didn’t speak English so I wasn’t too worried).  I decided to just “deck change” in the room.  As I am mid way changing with my bra in my hand a young boy comes out of the bathroom about my age catching with my arms out the bottom of my shirt and bra in head.  I was pretty embarrassed and ran in the bathroom to do the rest in private.  Come to find out from the girls later the boy who caught me changing was on SAS. Haha So I will probably see him around quite a bit  more and after all that I never even found out his name. 

 

Enough of that story so me and the girls then headed to a Tex Mex restaurant (where I ran into Adam also someone I know from freshman year in the droms) for dinner around 11.  Me and Abby split some chicken Nachos that hit the spot. We then headed to a street of bars and eventually made our way to the discothèque Buddha around 1:30 after walking around in circles lost for about an hour.   The club was really cool and fun but the only problem was it was invaded by semester at sea students and didn’t give me that cultural feel I was hoping for.  We finally made it back to the hostel around 4 to call it a night.  The night life in Spain is very hard to get used to. 

January 28th, 2009

This morning we arrived in SPAIN! At about I believe 7:00 am.  I wanted to sit and watch the boat come into port but was too late by the time I showered and got on deck at about 7:30 we were already docked and in the port in CADIZ!  Me and my roommate Beau went outside together where we found Emily the city was pitch black still and really quiet.  We decided to sit out on the back deck and eat breakfast.  I took some pictures of the city, of me and Emily and of me on the boat.  At about around 8:30 they started making announcements to grab your passport, I found Megan from my Sacred Sites class and since neither of us needed our passports for the day we got in line to get of the ship.  Megan is from Texas, but goes to school in Tampa, Florida. 

 

Well me and Megan got off the ship not really knowing what to expect or where we were going, we just knew we wanted to explore the city.  On our into the city we saw some other kids and decided to stick with them and take a walk around the city. The funny thing me and few others seemed to have sea legs and were getting sick being on land cause our bodies were still swaying as if we were on the boat.   Megan and I walked around with Sam (goes to school at Babson in Boston), Trish, Andrea (from Montana), and Andrew (goes to UCSB).  None of us really knew where to go but the city seemed quite small and it’s a peninsula and we knew we couldn’t really get that lost.  On our walk we found a garden/park that was beautiful with palm trees, flowers, and even waterfalls.  Also in the park Andrew found a Carrier Pigeon Cage.  It was a working and running message center I guess you could say.  There was a man who worked there with his pigeons, I even saw a woman write a note and hand it to him so I know he wasn’t messing with us.  I was so fascinated by the process and that people still used this method of communication.

 

After walking around for some time we were all really hungry and wanted to try the food our guest lecturer David had been telling us about for the past few days.  Megan, Sam and I all got churos con chocolate, and Andrew, Sam, and Trish got piyaea  ( not sure how to spell it).  We also all got some sangria!!! The restaurant we ate at was placed right near a bunch of flower shops and the weather was nice so we sat outside and could people watch and enjoy the city throughout our lunch. At lunch I ran into Kelly (from across the hall) we hadn’t been able to get a hold of one another to explore the city together so I was glad I ran into her.  Megan and I made plans to meet up with her and her friend Daniel for dinner and drinks before the Flamenco Night since we were all going. 

 

We continued to explore the city for the rest of the day.  I found a post card for Rane and even got one for myself.  I am going to place them on the wall of my room as we go to each country.  After buying the post cards we went on a search for the post office to buy stamps.  Once we had everything we needed we headed back to the ship to meet up with the girls for dinner. 

 

About 8 of us girls went out to dinner that night before flamenco, me, Megan, Daniel, Kelly and few others.  We went to a small restaurant in town not to far from the ship so we could make it back in time for the bus.  We ordered some Sangria and all of us ordered croquettes ( one of the food items David recommended).  I think it was some type of meat deep fried and then with a mayonnaise dipping sauce.  Of course it was delicious, what isn’t good deep fried! 

 

After dinner and on our way back to the ship we ran into three boys also going to flamenco night. Megan, Kelly, Daniel and I sat with these boys and chatted the entire way to the show.  Doug goes to CU and I really enjoyed meeting a new Boulder kid, and the other two boys (Barney and Carl I think) go to U of A one of which plays rugby with Ryan D.(from highschool). 

 

When we showed up on what I later found out was a persons private Ranch we were greeted with wine as we walked off the bus and made our way to the outdoor arena where we would watch the mock bullfight ( they use a baby bull and just simulate what a bull fight might look like without the killing).  The baby bull was so cute and just seemed really nervous like he wasn’t really into the show.  What we also got to see were women dancing sevillanas (which I am learning in my dance class on the ship) with a horse.  Yes a horse these women do dance performances in the arena with a horse.  I have video so it will make sense later.  I have been using my flip video so much and am finding it really handy. 

 

After the dances and bull fight were over Megan and I sprinted our way over to the building where we would watch the Flamenco performance, we didn’t get great seats for the bull fight and wanted front row for the dancing!  We entered a large room set up beautifully with white covered chairs, candles, tapas, and sangria on every table.  We sat right in the very front.  The show soon started and the skirts the women were wearing were eye catching, with ruffles, and many colors.  There were three women dancers and one male accompanied by an older Spanish woman and a male guitarist.  The woman began singing accompanied by the guitar player and the show began! It was really cool to see after I had been learning and seeing video of this for my dance class.  The attitude of the dance is very serious and yet seductive at the same time.  The way they move their bodies and especially their feet were incredible.  I think I have about 5 minutes of video of their feet alone because they move so fast and for so long, I don’t know how they do it.  The solo dances were my favorite where the steps they made with their feet became the sound and beat that led the music.  They later pulled people up on stage and Doug was one of the lucky guys to go up on stage.  I made sure to take picture so he could see how silly he looked.  Eventually everyone in the room was up dancing together and the end of the show and I thought it was real good time. 

 

We got back to the ship around 11.  Some people seemed to be going out to the bars but I decided to stay in, pack and get ready for the next three days I would be spending in Seville!  

 

January 27th, 2009

So yesterday, was just what seems to be now becoming an average or normal day on the boat.  I went to class, read, ate, took a nap, talked to some people, ate and so on.  But I did really enjoy our guest speaker for the last few days before Spain, David Geis!!! He was great really enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and funny.  Other than that it was just an average day.  Although last night I did head up to pub night for a little with a girl across from my hall Kelly, who is actually from Colorado and is going to be hanging out Jeff and Steve also in Spain.  I met her the other night through Jeff and just now realized she is my  neighbor so we went up to pub night and talked to for a long time, she is very nice and I look forward to hanging out with her in Spain and throughout the trip.  I then ran into Kelly S.  and Abby, Kelly was buying a pizza which looked delicious, and we decided to go downstairs to eat it and chat before going to sleep.  We tried to sneak it by the guy working in the dining hall but that didn’t go over so well.  We then went to Kelly’s room and sat and talked until about 12:30 before I came back to my room.  Last night was the first night I have had trouble sleeping on the boat but it seems as the days go on people are having more and more trouble sleeping perhaps it is because he lost another hour yesterday. 

 

I have been getting emails from my friends from school and they make my day.  I got an email from Emily, and look forward to seeing her in Florida at the end of the voyage.  I have also been getting emails from some girls in the sorority which is really nice to hear what they are all up to.  But anyways today was just another day of class but my sacred sites teacher said his wife saw a whale yesterday and some dolphins I am bummed I haven’t seen anything but the only people I ever hear say they saw something were teachers not students have really seen anything.  Today I am spending my time getting things together for SPAIN!!! We arrive tomorrow and I think I will spend the day exploring Cadiz and then I have Flamenco Night!!! Which seems like everyone is going to so that should be a good time.  The next day I have a tour day of Seville with my Sacred Sites teacher and then will meet up with Jeff, Kelly, and the rest of the girls at the hostel to hopefully c catch the Seville FC, soccer game.  Lindsey, Kelsey, and Emily are all also going to Seville and are hoping to go to the game.  I hope I run into them or have a chance to hang out with them at some point in the city. 

 

So this will be my last post… until I get back on the boat from SPAIN!!! As of now at 10:30 pm I don’t have anyone to really explore the city with, but it’s Spain and there are 700 kids so hopefully I meet someone tomorrow morning who I can explore the city with and then meet up with people at Flamenco night!  I am going to wake up and watch the sun rise as we come into port tomorrow and I am bringing my journal for Sacred Sites to document things I see and do, I will also have my camera, and flip video so I wont forget the little details when I finally get a chance to blog about all that happens in Spain. 

....

For people reading this that don't know me I'm Gaylen, a junior majoring in Broadcast Production and Sociology at University of Colorado - Boulder.  I live in Orange/Villa Park, California not far from Chapman University where about 20 of the students on the ship go to school. Hopefully I will get to know them for more people to hang out with when I'm home.

For my family that is reading this I am adding some more info about the voyage and how to know where I am and what is going on here on the MV Explorer.  Here is a link to the map that shows the ship's and my :) location throughout the voyage.

http://www.semesteratsea.org/current-voyage/overview then click on the Voyage Map  "View the Spring 2009 Voyage Map (Revised)>" or maybe this link will take you straight there.  Later, they will be posting slideshows and the communication director writes a formal blog about the shipboard community.  He also posts one sentence updates on Twitter at http://twitter.com/SAS_spring09 throughout the day.

I forgot to show the beginning and end of my voyage on the itinerary but we left the Bahamas on the 19th so will have been at sea crossing the atlantic for 9 days when we arrive in Cadiz, Spain and will transit the Panama Canal on May 3rd (the day before my 21st birthday!) and will arrive in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on May 6th. 

Enitre Voyage Itinerary

Cadiz, SPAIN                          Jan28 - Jan31

Casablanca, MOROCCO          Feb 2 - Feb 5

Walvis Bay, NAMIBIA              Feb 14 - Feb 16

Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA    Feb 18 - Feb 22

Port Louis, MARITIUS              Feb 27

Chennai, INDIA                       March 5 - March 9

Bangkok, THAILAND               March 15 - March 19

Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM    March 22 - March 27

HONG KONG                         March 29 - march 30

Shangai, CHINA                     April 2 - April 3

Kobe, JAPAN                         April 6 - April 7

Yokohama, JAPAN                 April 9 - April 10

Honolulu, HAWAII                   April 19 - April 20

Puerto Quetzal, GUATEMALA April 28 - April 30

Itinerary/ Mail me if you want!

So here's a list of where i'm going to be and when. if you want to send a package or letter, you must send it by the suggested date or it won't get to me-the deadline has already passed for packages to spain and morocco so i will skip over those.

Airmail: It is recommended to send international mail at least two weeks in advance preferably via courier. Do not send currency, food or medicine.

Please address mail to participants as follows:
MV Explorer – Spring 2009 Voyage
Attn: Gaylen Clutter
Port Agent Address (from list below)

Walvis Bay, Namibia
Ocean Liner Services
The Maritime Building
2 Third Street / PO Box 4
Walvis Bay, REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA
Send by January 31

Cape Town, South Africa
John T. Rennie & Sons
19th Floor
No.1 Thibault Square
8001 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA
Send by February 4

Port Louis, Mauritius
Ireland Blyth Limited
Shipping Operations Department
No 6 Dr Ferriere Street
Port Louis, MAURITIUS
Send by February 13

Chennai, India
J.M. Baxi & Co.
3rd Floor, Clive Battery Complex
4 & 4A, Rajaji Salai
Chennai 600 001, INDIA
Send by February 19

Bangkok, Thailand
OIA GLOBAL LOGISTICS (THAILAND) Ltd
1168/20-4th Floor
Lumpini Tower Rama 4 Road
Thungmahamek, Sathorn
BANGKOK 10120, THAILAND
Send by February 27

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
General Forwarding Agency
5th Floor Osic Building
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
D. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM
Send by March 6

Hong Kong, China
Inchcape Shipping Services (HK) Ltd.
Units 1802-1805, 18th Floor
No 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG - CHINA
Send by March 13

Shanghai, China
Penavico Shanghai
3/F 13 Shong Shan Road (E 1)
Shanghai 200002, P.R. CHINA
Send by March 19

Kobe, Japan
Inchcape Shipping Services (Japan) Ltd.
Kenryu Bldg, Room 502
6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku
Kobe-shi, Hygo-ken 650-0024, JAPAN
Send by March 23

Yokohama, Japan
INCHCAPE SHIPPING SERVICES
2F Asahi Seimei Yokohama Honcho Bldg
36, 4-Chome Honcho, Naka-ku
Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa-ken 231-0005, JAPAN
Send by March 26

Honolulu, Hawaii
Inchcape Shipping Services
521 Ala Moana Blvd.
Suite 256
Honolulu, HI 96813
Send by April 3

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
Transoceanicas S.A.
Modulo #208
Nuevo Edificio de Servicios Auxiliares II
Puerto Queztal, Escuintla, GUATEMALA, C.A.
Send by April 14

January 25th, 2009

I am really starting to like and get used to this journal/blog writing I will have to bring my other journal to write in while I’m in port and type it out later to post.  So quick update last night when I went to the Dining in Spain lecture I ran into Megan Sullivan and sat with her and her friend Deja for that. I learned a lot and guest speaker was funny and informative. Megan and I made plans to go to pub night together a little later on so I went back to my room to freshen up and watch Shrek.  Around 9:30 me and Megan went up to Deck 7 got a glass of wine and mingled.  It was a fun time and I enjoyed meeting more and more new people.  Although I am starting to get frustrated with finding people on the boat because you will make plans to meet someone at a certain time but it never seems to work out or you can’t remember their room number, or you talk to them one night and don’t see them at all the next day.  (For example I haven’t ran into Megan all day). 

 

This morning in Global Studies we had a guest lecturer the same man who gave the talk last night on Dining in Spain, he will be giving us our morning lecturers until we arrive in Spain.  He is really knowledgeable and has even given us lists of words, restaurant and hotel recommendations. This morning I also got my service visits that I signed up for in Mauritius and India I didn’t get the Habitat for Humanity one I would have liked in South Africa though but I am going to keep my eyes open for someone who is trying to seel that trip.  After a day of school, napping, and reading I met with Emily for dinner on Deck 6 first we watched the Sunset where I finally took a picture! Yay me.. And then had dinner and oh surprise surprise it was salad, pasta, and potatoes the same thing it is every lunch, and dinner just cooked up slightly different or with a different sauce.  We have found that PB&J is a really good dessert.  The line tonight for that was about 13 people long.  After dinner we ran up to Deck 7 to catch the MICE show.  I am not sure what it sounds for but Brandon (Jeff’s roommate) was performing.  It is a class of about four people who are learning to play music through their computers and other things it is similar to techno I guess.  So Emily, Jeff, and I went up to the bow to watch Brandon and the show.  It was really interesting and I am not sure I understood what was going on.  There was a guy waving around a large boomstick microphone in the wind which I think was capturing sound that Brandon was capturing and changing from his computer.  I met the boy standing next to me Dan ( I think) and we made jokes thinking that the music sounded like we were listening for a UFO or something.  We thought we were pretty funny.  (Don’t worry I have pictures of the performance).  After the show we killed time by checking our email and doing a little reading.  We then went to the documentary showing of Finding Faces.  It was about acid attacks and one woman’s personal story.  The director and producer of the documentary was on board and answered questions after the showing.  I am really liking how there are so many things to do on the boat and everyone goes to almost all of them, so if you go by yourself there are always plenty of people to talk to or sit with.  Oh and I forgot the girl across the hall Brittany is setting up a pliometrics class I think it is called and even though I cant go to it cause I have class.  We watched the video together the other night and it looks intense she said I could borrow it whenever or I want or we could do it in her room.  Haha that would be a site to see.  But I am really enjoying having her across the hall she is super down to earth and a great person to talk to.  We will sit out in the hall sometimes and chat because that’s where we get the best internet if we don’t want to walk upstairs.  So tonight has been a long night it is midnight because we had to move our clocks ahead yet again.  I still have some reading to do for my Service Learning Class, I put it off cause the documentary and music show seemed like something I shouldn’t miss.  After reading the first assignment I stopped to write this blog.  And now I’m back to the reading.  Also tomorrow I plan on getting in contact with the Media Guy after I get his name and room number for Kelly so don’t worry I am on top of my stuff : )

January 24th, 2009

This morning I woke up and missed breakfast cause I wasn’t that hungry, and went to check my email.  I had emails from Cynden, Katie, and Brittany!!! It was really nice to hear from them and hear about boulder.  I then went to class ( on my way to class I ran into Megan and we are hoping to get together today and see what days we have open in our schedules to plan more trips and days together in ports) , sat up on the deck between classes (today was the first cold day where people weren’t laying out in their bathing suits in the sun), had lunch, went to class, came down to my room to look at my overall voyage schedule and blog and then perhaps taking a nap so I can stay up late again hanging out ( I feel like that is when kids are really getting to know one another), go to my dance class which will be entertaining for sure.   While looking at my voyage schedule I realized after signing up for my FDP service visits I really only have Namibia, Japan, and Guatemala open other than that my trip is full with a maybe a day or two here and there on our departure dates. But I have talked to Courtney Carr and Anna and a few people around the ship about getting together a group to go sand boarding in Namibia.  Also on the public files on the ship there are suggestions of Independent trips with company names to contact so I am not too worried for the few countries I don’t have trips planned and I also think those countries will be pretty easy to plan.  I am going to meet up with Tally, Emily and the girls for dinner around 6 do a little homework and then go to a discussion in the Union.  It is about Dining out in Spain I thought I might get some good meal tips which is always nice.  I have realized I haven’t taken too many pictures and should probably take more but I think that will happen as I settle in more.  I am hoping to remember to charge and bring both my camera batteries while traveling in every port.  Another one of my goals for every port is to watch the sunrise as we head into port.  Well that’s it for now, hopefully something exciting will happen tomorrow so I can write about it and not just my everyday boring stories.  (So after finishing writing these in my room I was headed up stairs where I get bettre internet to send these and realized in the hallway right outside my door I get perfect access)

January 23rd, 2009

Today after my two classes.  I filled out my sign up sheet for service visits in Capetown, India, and Mauritius.  I really hope I get all three because they sound great and then I would have plenty of time to get my assignments done for my International Service Learning class.  After I filled out those forms I took a nap in my pitch black room.  Then Emily and I bought our drink vouchers which at first I thought were dumb I was like 3.50 for a beer I should save my money but I decided to do it anyways.  Later on I had dinner with Emily and her two friends from school, and these other girls from their hall.  It has been really nice meeting new people every day and night.  After dinner I finally wrote some emails to my friends.  I hope to hear back from them with updates soon.  I have realized I am becoming as addicted to email as I may have been to facebook checking it as often as possible to get a new message.  After spending time doing some homework and reading, I went to my room to get ready for pub night nothing fancy just a pair of jeans and shirt; it was kind of nice to get ready for something. I went with my roommate Beau and her friend from home Lexi,  we went up to the 7^th deck grabbed our beers and sat by the pool.. We sat and talked, and I looked around noticing something funny.  During the day people are nice and talk, but not like how it is on pub night.  On pub night the interaction between everyone seemed to give everyone more confidence and a comforting feeling almost as if they were at a party.  I am not sure if the one beer everyone had in their hand helped or what it was but I did meet some fun people.  I also met a girl Kelly who is doing my FDP in Seville with me and was also planning to meet up with Jeff so it is perfect we can try and find the hostel together.  I also met Craig Caruso  he is going on my trip in Vietnam.  I decided to go to bed around 11:30 came down to my room but found Brittany and Elyssa talking in the hallway with two boys Josh and Miguel so of course I stopped and chatted for a bit.  I finally made it into my room to shower and watch my favorite movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” while I went to sleep. 

January 22nd 2009

Last night after dinner I didn’t have much to do so Emily and I went up to the top deck to hang out.  I saw a group of about 8 kids sitting around and table and told Emily I was going to join them.  She decided to go back down and I introduced myself to the kids and sat down.  Two of the girls I had met at the Atlantis the morning we were leaving but I cant remember their names now.  Anyways so about 10 or 12 of us eventually ended up playing catch phrase for an hour or so.  It was really fun and relaxing to play a game instead of just asking the same questions we have all been asking each other.  As the bar opened and people started to rush up to the top deck for drinks one of the other girls and I think Katerin is her name went down to the Union to watch the “Dark Knight” but not before a quick stop for some starbursts.  I made it half way through and went back to my room to shower and fall asleep.  We have been losing an hour every day for the past few days and we have to wake up early for breakfast.  O and also did you know a symptom of sea sickness is being sleepy.  So I blame me being tired on that and that my room is so dark you could sleep for days. 

 

Well anyways I woke up early for breakfast planned to meet Emily but couldn’t find her so sat with Katie, Jessie, and two Megans.  Then I had class and a longerish break before my next class so went out by the pool to get a tan while reading.  I had lunch with Taylor and her roommate then went to my service learning class. I think it is going to be a great class the teacher seems really nice ( O and there is only one guy in that class ).  After class I came straight to my room to start looking into trips to plan for my Service Lerning Class.  I think I have it figured out and have to submit my form tomorrow.  Next I had dance class which like I thought was interesting the class room is in the front of the boat one of the most rocky places and there is nothing to hold onto so we all fumbled around into each other the entire class.  Since I have my Flamenco night already planned I will be able to get my one and only paper out of the way after the first port.  We learned part of a dance today O and did I mention my service learning teacher is taking that class too!! There are three boys in the class one kid I met yesterday he is from Laguna Niguel and goes to USC.  Needless to say that was entertaining.  Tonight I ate dinner out on the deck with Kari ( a girl I met today through Emily) and Emily.  We had sea food stir fry which I thought was delicious.  Then Jeff, Kari, Emily, and I attempted to do some reading in the piano lounge I got everything done that needed to be but the Sacred Sites book is still really hard to get into.  I went to my room thinking I might try and read a book for fun but realized I wasn’t ready to sit still.  I went down stairs to see what Tally and Katie were doing but in the hall I found Emily and Kari talking with three girls so I sat down and started chatting.  One of the girls Megan Sullivan is going on the same great wall trip as I am.  She was super nice and we seemed to get along right from the start.  I helped her set up her blog so she can email it.  Cause she only has 56 minutes left because she keeps going to the website haha.  But she was very nice and I hope to hang out with her more.  Tonight was another pub night so I convinced myself to go up (mind you Im still in my sweats I have been wearing all day – and some girls tend to dress up for pub night).  Luckily when I opened the deck door I ran into Kelly, Carly and some other girls from their sorority who were all dressed similar.  I sat and talked with them for a while and then started talking to Joe from Chapman.  Its now midnight because of the time change and I’m heading to bed, while watching Shrek on the tv with my roommate.  I hope I got information in there that you all wanted to know.  Ill write back tomorrow : )

January 21, 2009

Today was the first day of classes.  Global studies seems boring but hopefully when we start getting guest lecturers it will get more exciting.  Breakfast closes at 8:30 and Global studies doesn’t start until 9:20 so you have to wake up pretty early to get some food.  Me and Emily had breakfast together and then went to class.  After that we bought our sweatshirts and shirts took a quick break.  Went to lunch and then onto Scared Sites.  This class seems easy and fun.  The teacher was really nice and helpful and the fdp’s  should be easy to do on our own.  After class me and Emily went and sat in the sun by the pool.  We attempted to read our sacred sites book but that wasn’t happening so we just say listening to music enjoying the boat.  (Its okay I have until March 3^rd to read the book).  I think went to my room to rinse off and clean up a little.  That’s about it for today Im having dinner with Emily and the two girls who live across the hall so that should be I think we are going to eat outside on the deck and watch the sun set.  Tonight will probably be relaxing trying to plan things for Spain, and pick which FDP’s I want to sign up for.  Ill write back tomorrow telling you about the dance class and service learning.  I have a feeling dance will be funny cause people are still running into walls and holding onto things.  One last report the seasick patches and ginger tablet gum works great!!!

Day 2 on Ship

Yesterday, was a very long and overwhelming day.  Me and Katie waited in line for an hour an a half at 8:00 in the morning before getting on the ship.   We then explored the ship and rested in the sun until the other girls got on.  I ate lunch with two girls who happened to be in the room across from mine.  The food tasted  like sorority food, and then had a boat safety drill and orientation meeting which I watched on a TV in a satellite classroom most likely the way I will attend my global studies course.  I met my roommate yesterday also her name is Beau and she is from Rhode Island.  She is nice and I think we will be fine roommates.  I unpacked sometime after dinner and there was plenty of room for all of my stuff.  I know this is out of order but yesterday is already such a blur since it was a busy day. Mainly on this day I just spent my time sitting out on the deck and trying to talk to as many people as possible.  When we left the port me, Tally, Katie, and Taylor went to the front of the ship where the horn was blown so loud Taylor jumped and screamed.  It was a scary feeling leaving the dock knowing I wouldn’t be on land for another 8 days.  I know my mom said I should use the sea sick patch but I was convinced I would get sea sick and was wrong.  When we were having our hall meeting last night I felt completely sick.  My first night sleep in the room was nice that’s is when I actually like the rocking of the boat cause it put me to sleep.  But waking up this morning was difficult because our room is so dark. This morning we woke up to more of orientation which I too watched in a satellite room.  We then split at 11 to watch the presidential inauguration.  We mainly have orientation stuff all day and I plan to go up to the deck to read or just hang out in our free time.  I am settling in just fine but have still yet to find a group of people to hang out with.  I am kind of alone but hope once classes start things will get better and I will make more friends.   

Day 1 redo

After paying 300 dollars to the airline for my bags being a little on the heavy side, I was finally on my way to start my adventure.  I arrived in Atlanta to find Jeff and Kelly at my gate, it was a relief to see a few familiar faces.  When we got to the Bahamas completely excited Kelly, Jeff and I took a quick photo waiting for our luggage only to find out mine and Jeff’s luggage didn’t make it on our flight.  I shared a taxi with Kelly and her mother to the amazing Atlantis resort.  We then went to dinner at a small restaurant had an amazing plantain appetizer with bbq pork and melted cheese, the rest of our meal wasn’t the best though.  Everything here is super expensive but the resort is amazing and soo beautiful!!! After dinner me and Kelly ran into Jeff and Steve in the hotel lobby and we decided to get a drink and explore a little.  Me and Kelly got pinacoladas while the boys played in the casino before exploring the grounds.  On our walk we found the water slides that are surrounded by a shark tank.  We got to look down into the water and see the sharks it was unreal and the hotel was gorgeous at night I can’t wait to see it in the morning.  When we got back from our mini adventure we decided to join some kids and go to Senior Frogs for a few drinks.  I ran up to my room to freshen up as best I could since I didn’t have any clothes or anything… and when I got to my room I found Emily waiting.  I was so excited and we started talking right away as if we had been friends forever.  So Kelly, Emily, Jeff, Steve and I met some other SAS kids in the lobby and a group of about nine of us shared a taxi.  As soon as we got to the bar there was a congo line of free shots and we all jumped in.  We continued the night talking, dancing, and simply just getting to know one another.  The 5 of us decided to leave early since most of us have activities in the morning (Dolphin swimming for me!!!! And some fishing for the boys).  We jumped in a taxi and had the craziest driver ever he continued our party by playing his music as loud as possible so we all continued to dance our way back to the hotel.  All in all a very fun first night and it makes me even more excited to board the ship and make more friends.  Too bad my luggage and clothes are still not at the hotel but Emily is nice enough to let me borrow a bathing suit (She brought the third season of house so we hit it off already)  Time to get some shut eye for my Dolphin SWIM!!!! Luckily I at least have my camera…

Day 2 Bahamas

This morning I woke up early to check to see if my bags had arrived so I would have a bathing suit for my dolphin swim.  Luckily they had come in and I was able to get ready and find the place where I would swim with dolphins! We had an orientation, got our wetsuits and were soon in the water.  I was with a mom and her two children (who were from South Africa), along with one other woman.  First we did the push where the dolphin pushed on my feet to wiz me around on top of the water.  Next we got to use what kind of looked like a torpedo (it helped us move through the water fast) to swim along side the dolphins.  Finally we got to pat down, kiss, and hug Toni (she was our Katrina rescued dolphin.  All the workers here are so friendly and talkative perhaps cause we are young girls but either way its kind of a breath of fresh air.   Next me and Emily went to Jamba Juice and took our smoothies poolside to lay out for a while. Throughout the afternoon we moved from lazy pool to lazy pool and poolside to beachside enjoying the sun.  Around 3 we got a little hungry and found the cheapest place to eat probably at the entire resort and sat down for a slice of pizza.  As the clouds rolled in the weather started to turn we decided to come to the room and relax.  Later tonight we plan on getting ready to perhaps go eat pizza again and get a beer since it’s almost the same price as water.  Hopefully we will find some kids to head to Senior Frogs again.  We ended up eating dinner at Johnny Rockets then meeting up with the twins again to go to senior frogs. Tally and Kara showed up at Senior Frogs a little later which was a nice surprise.  Me and Emily split a bucket of beer and after that spent the rest of the nice dancing and meeting people.   

Day 1 Bahamas

 

January 15, 2009

It is the night before I leave for the Bahamas and I am just now trying to figure out how to use this blog. So this is my first short and sweet post. I am ready, nervous, and extremely excited to start my adventure of a lifetime!!