Location: Spain (not currently, got a little behind in my posts due to SO much going on!)

FRIDAY: The night before the ship was due to arrive in Spain, a bunch of us took our pillows and sleeping bags up to deck 7 to watch it come into port at 6 AM. We pulled out a bunch of lawn chairs and played catch phrase and listened to music. By 2 AM, one of the other girls and I were ready to go down to our own beds, knowing that if we didn’t get some good nights sleep we’d be very unpleasant the next morning. It’s a good thing too, it started to drizzle on them at 4 and at 5 the crew washes down all the decks. The next morning, Missy and I were up at 7 anyway to watch as Cadiz got closer and closer. Unfortunately the sun wouldn’t rise until 8, so it was all in the dark, but the lights of the city were still really pretty.

SATURDAY: After getting off the ship in Cadiz, along with a whole bunch of other students, our first stop was the bus station to grab tickets to Seville the following morning. Getting that out of the way, our group of 8 trekked a few minutes across town to check in at our hostel for the night, Casa Carcol. It was quite an interesting place. I believe the woman who greeted us at the door, a “free spirited” braless, hairy woman, runs the place. It took some time for all of to check in, having to deal with passports and such. No worries though, two of the girls, one of which studied in Spain during the summer, knew where to pick up some beers and what kind to get. We all sat in the hostel sipping 40oz. Cruz Campos, taking our time to find out where we would find the best beach. We finally set out up a narrow ally that led us straight to the coast, which was the most beautiful sight. We all set up camp on the beach and hung out until we were hot enough to go into the water, which was like bath water. A nice little change from the east coast Atlantic. We had a really nice afternoon swimming and hanging out. There being 500 students invading Spain, we had a big group together on the beach, enjoying our first port, and the beginning to our journey. Around 1, one of the girls, Lauren and I went to grab some lunch at a place call Rayulea, before the whole city started siesta. Lauren is the girl who has spent a total of two semesters in Spain, so it was nice to have her Spanish skills. My one-year of Mrs. Erikson’s 6th grade Spanish class didn’t get me very far. After we ate we decided it was time for a siesta ourselves. We went back to the beach briefly to grab our things and let everyone where we were going, before walking (about 20 minutes) back to the ship. If felt really good to have a clean shower, a nap, and a little free dinner before heading out for a night on the town. We heard that the beach area, along the coast was the place to be, so we made our way over there, stopping at a few bars along the way. We were told that in Spain, people don’t even start partying until 12 or 1, and don’t end until like sun comes up, so we knew we’d have a long night ahead of us. When we got to the strip, every bar/club we went to was packed with SAS kids, with a few locals here and there. As the night went on, we jumped around to different places, mostly talking to each other and getting to know more people on the ship. Around 3:30, we made our way home to the hostel and feel asleep quite quickly.

SUNDAY: We all struggled awake and made our way to the bus station, grabbing bread and pastries and water on our way. Not much to report on for the hour and a half ride to Seville, except I knew I was back in Europe with all the roundabouts! When we got in, we made it to the hostel no problem and were super surprised to see how nice it was. I was in a dorm style room with 5 others as I had book later than the rest of the group, but the other 6 had a room to themselves, which was nice to leaving my bags in, knowing that they were the only ones with keys. We got a little settled, and of course the first thing I did was take out my computer and make use of the free wireless to video chat with Jay. The first time seeing his face in a week was REALLY nice, even though I woke him up at 6 AM his time to chat!

The group re-gathered and we set off to find the cheap tappas restaurant that was suggested by the front desk of the hostel. We wandered around, popping into little tourists traps to grab post cards and things, slowly making our way to our destination. When we found it, we made our way up a few flights of stairs, with dining on each floor, until we got to ours to sit down. Luckily they had both English and Spanish menus or I would have had a very tough time. Looking around at other plates we say different tappas, some with eggs (that we later found out was quail eggs) and others with the Spanish ham that I was told I have to try, which I did. Not for me though, I don’t know how to describe it, but it was like leathery, thinly sliced bacon.. but gross. I also had a dish of tomatoes with oil which I though would be good, but wasn’t. In the end, at least I had a good glass of Tinto de Verano, a Spanish summer wine that has a little sparkle/bubble to it. After lunch we meandered around the area, looking at the Cathedral, which we would visit the next day, and checking out little shops on our way back. It was definitely siesta time when we got back, a shower and a nap is always good around 4 in the afternoon.

Around 7 one of the girls ran into my room and told me to get dressed really fast cause there was a bull fight going on and we had already missed the first half. I’m surprised we all got ready so quickly, and out to the curb for a taxi. At first the language barrier was a tough to get across that we wanted to go to the bull fight. Sign language always get the point across though, we put two pointer fingers up on either side of our head and the drive said “ahhhh toro!!!” Both taxi cabs made it to the stadium and hurried to find tickets, I’m not sure who exactly who was giving us tickets, but a man had them in his hand and told us to follow him. He tried to get 20 euros from each of us, but we knew better cause we heard of other students getting in for 12 euro. He again tried for 15, but as we walked away he took our offer for 12, and we all ended giving him 10. Walking to the stadium was amazing, I had no idea what to expect, but when I walked in, it was a huge oval shaped stadium surrounding the ring in which the action was happening. We can in just after the 3rd bull was pulled away. Tons of SAS kids were there and they gave us a brief warning about what exactly we were going to see. After seeing 3 fights, most of the students had left because they said they couldn’t watch anymore. Soon enough, the first bull was released from the gate. The first “round” started with the matador’s banderilleros, or flagmen assistants. These guys, in bright colors were the first to tire out the bull, and allow for the matador to observe the bulls behavior. At the sound of a trumpet, the next stage began, this time with picadors (lancers) on horse who’s aim was to pierce the muscle on the back of the bull to straighten its charge, tire its neck muscles, and lower the bulls head in preparation of the next stage. It was sad to see this part, although the horses were protected with a mattress like covering, it was blinded and rammed by the bull. In one of the fights we saw, the horse actually fell over onto its back It took 5 men to hoist him up since all the protection disabled him to stand up on his own. The third section, banerilleros each attempt to put 2 razor sharp barbed sticks into the neck to further the loss of blood and weakening of muscles. At the time, you can tell that the bull is tiring and becoming clumsy with its charges. This is when the matador uses the red cape, luring the bull into a series of passes. Each one the closer, the more impressive. The maneuvers show his control of the bull and set up for the final estocada (thrust of the sword). For the matador, the goal is to have the bull in a charging position where he can stab in between the shoulder blades, piercing the heart. The crowd cheers and as the toro is dragged off by horses. The matador then circles the ring, sometime thrown hats or fans which he kisses and throws back. In one of the fights, the matador paraded around the ear of the bull, as a trophy. Later when we went to the bull fighting museum the next day, we learned that a this level of fighting (which is comparable to the minor league) being awarded a trophy is very uncommon.

After all of this we had dinner in a beautiful part of the city that lies on the river. We ate dinner right on the water, being serenaded by Spanish men playing the guitar, as well as a very old woman with no teeth who pretty much just yelled and strummed the guitar a few times. After dinner, we stayed along the river to go to a bar that we knew a few SASers were at. It being Sunday, there were no locals out. At the place we were hanging out at it was probably 15 SAS kids and 4 locals. It was nice to have the whole bar to ourselves, but not that exciting. Some how the time went fast, and it was 2 and the bar was closing. On our walk back, only a few bars down, were TONS of SAS people being kicked out of the bar cause it was closing. I ran into Missy and Andrew who had gotten to Seville that after noon, and planned to stay awake until their train at 6 AM the next day. Smart kids, why pay for a hotel when you only be sleeping in it for 4 hours!

MONDAY: When we all were up and ready to go we went to a café down the street for breakfast. Although technically we had missed breakfast, they still brought out some eggs, Spanish ham, toasted cheese sandwich, and the most amazing glass of OJ. It was actually juice from an orange as opposed to the fake stuff we get everywhere else. This was our day to explore; we saw the cathedral, which was impressive from the outside, but amazing on the inside. I had never seen such extraordinary detail and elaborate walls, ceilings, and alter. You could spend all day in there examining all the vastly different designs. After the cathedral, we went to the gardens, I can’t say which one, turns out there are many. We explored for a while, always running into more SASers. Next we made our way back to the Plaza de Toros de Ronda. After seeing the flight, we had tons of questions and the museum tour we took was really interesting. There are so many different aspect of the sport that I had never noticed. I didn’t know there was a point system, and matadors are judged on their positioning of the bull as well as their style. One really interesting fact I learned is the female bulls pass down the trait of intelligence. For bulls that are raised to fight, it has to be separated from its mother soon after birth. This is because the female bulls and smart, duh, and open their eyes when charging. If a bull used for fighting learned this from his mother, he would be deadly in the ring. I wish I had gone to the museum first, the fight would have been a lot more interesting if I had understood the rules and dynamics of the game. After this, even though we were all getting tired, we went to the Plaza de Espana. The architecture of this plaza was amazing. Currently, the buildings are use for government mostly, and each building represents the provinces in Spain. There was a really cool use of blue in contrast with the brown of the building. In the heat of the summer, and the drought in southern Spain, the moat was dry to the bone. I got a really cool fan from a man selling them in the square. After, we took some time to hang out just taking the views.

On this night we had planned to go to a flamenco dancing at some world-renowned club, and we did go. However we got to the door and it was 60 euro each for the performance. As a group we weighed the pros and cons and decided that it was something we can always come back to Spain and see. We made our way back to Hostel Samay where a guided pub-crawl was due to leave shortly. For 8 euro, we went to 4 different bars, the last one being a “disco tech” and were given a free shot at each place. Of course our guide talked about the drinks that are especially good at each bar. One place was a bar, literally on the sidewalk of a street. It was a circle, and it served from each side. The second to last place we went to was a really cool outdoor bar. I think the entire ship was there. It was awesome, we all hung out for a while and had a good time. We took the entire party from there to the last bar we were scheduled to go to. There was a group of probably over 60 SAS people who followed us. Eventually the party had to come to an end at 3 AM when the bar closed down.

TUESDAY: HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAY! At 4 AM in Spain when I got back to the hostel I got on skype and was the first one to wish him a happy 21st at mid night! Then I finally went to sleep. Some how, our entire group slept through out alarms and at 10:30 were startled awake realizing our train back to Cadiz left in a half an hour. We booked it out of the hostel and to the train station. I’m pretty sure I left all my sunscreen, but at least I didn’t forget my cell phone like one girl in our group. We got to the bus luckily on time and waited in line to get on. The driver told us that we didn’t have the right ticket. We were so confused about how we tickets that weren’t for that 11:15 bus. Turns out, our friend Flo, who bought our tickets for us (cause none of us knew and Spanish) got a return ticket for Sunday, the day after we got there. We rushed back to the ticket office to see if they could do anything for us. Fortunately there was another train at 1 that would get us back to the ship on time. Unfortunately, we had to pay 11 euro again for a new ticket. Just one of those things that seems to always happen when traveling, the rest of the group had been freaking out, but it could have been a lot worse, I know that first hand. So we took our time having some breakfast (cheese sandwiches) and doing last minute things. I was able to get my post cards out. I did have to scramble for 3 euro though to get a Christmas ornament/key chain, I was all out of bills but dug enough change out of my bag to have enough. When we got back to the ship, everyone was in recovery mode after an exciting weekend. Its weird that the ship already feels like my home, and getting back to it and into my bed was the greatest feeling.

Location: 2066 nautical miles from Halifax, 602 to go until Spain

Its Thursday afternoon on the ship and I've just eaten lunch and finished classes for the day. this morning I had Global Studies and History of Jazz, both of which are slightly entertaining. The jazz professor especially, its fun to watch him get really into the music sames he play. He closes his eyes and bobs his head to every beat, occasionally adding in some air piano, drums, or saxophone. Classes so far haven't been too bad, a lot of reading though, and a 2000 word essay due tomorrow for the comparative history of women. ugh. Today I'm scheduled for a bridge tour at 1630 which should be cool to see how and where everything is operating from. I have most of my plans set for Spain. On the first night (Saturday) I found a bunch of girls that I'll be staying at a hostel with in Cadiz. Turns out they ran out of beds, so our whole group will be on the roof top sleeping in hammocks! Sunday morning we will either take a train or bus to sevilla where we will spend two nights at a hostel there (with the same group of girls.)

Finally everyone is adjusting to the rocking of the ship, I really don't even feel it anymore unless I concentrate on it. Also, everyone has found their sea legs and can (almost) walk in straight lines down the hall.

Tuesday night, there was a dance as well as pub night which had a mash-up theme. There we're quite some interesting out fits thrown together. The goal was to look at crazy and mixed up as possible, and many many people accomplished that. On that night everyone came to the bar and the line for drinks wrapped all the way around the pool. Because of the 3 drink limit, everyone ended up getting a drink and then getting back in line to drink it while waiting to get another drink.

I tried working out the other day which was interesting. I chose the elliptical which was my best bet of a machine I wouldn't fall off of. it was nice looking out the window at the sea and watching the rocking of the ship. You could definitely feel the movement though, as some times you we're falling forward, and sometimes you were falling back, trying to hold onto the handles to not get tossed off.

Everything else has been really good. Foods decent, people are nice, and the weather is great (some days). On the sunny days its impossible to find a chair on the pool deck cause everyone is in their swim suits, half reading for class, and half relaxing in the sun.

Anyway, I'll have more to write about once we finally arrive on dry land, and some pics to put up too.

Until next time, peace out.

Day 4 on the ship and lots to catch up on!

Now I'm all situated on the ship. It's weird getitng used to the idea of a floating univeristy. Inside everythign looks like a normal crusie ship, but once out side on the deck it looks like spring break at the pool area. Not complaining though, I got a nice little tan in my bathing suit while catching up on some reading for class.

On Saturday night, after having meetings all day, we had a sort of activities fair where classrooms are set up with different clubs and activites and you can sign up for stuff. I put my name down for something where we're "adopted" by one of the life long learners and they will either sit with you at meals, have conversations, take you out in port.. stuff like that. The life long learners are all kind of old people so their fun to talk to. They could have gone on a cruise ship, but they'd rrather hang out with a bunch of college kids haha. I love when they come to sit with us at dinner just to chat. They're so cute thouigh, i just had two differnet people sitting next to me at the computer lab who i taught to use e-mail. The old lady was great, i showed her that there was a link on the desktop she could click that would take her right to her e-mail andf she said 'I'm going to show all my friends this! Their goign to think i'm so tech savey!" I also signed up for some intermeral sports (volleyball and soccer) yoga and an exercise class. They also have some language clubs so people can practice talking, and I think i'm going to start and lead a sign language one, it looks like at least a few people are either taking classes at home or are interested to learn. After all that business we had our little floor meeting me our "sea". The only funny thing that our person told us was that the maleria pills counteract birth control, and since she's been working for SAS they've had to send 3 girls home cause they got pregnant! After the meeting I wandered around for a little with Missy and met up with Griff in one of the cafe's for snack time! haha, every night at like 10 they put out cookies and little pb&j's!! After that a girl that is on my floor, Jade, and I sat for a while at the "bistro" where they have soda, coffee, chips, candy, cup of noodles that you can buy. We met this kid Mario, who was really interesting to talk to. His mom works for SAS so he is on his second voyage. He told us all about his last voyage when he went to turkey, croatia, and egypt (all the places that got taken off our itinerary) and all the bad things that happened to him. In turkey his wallet was stolen, in egypt he thought some locals we're taking them to a bar, but they ended out in some place that told them they owed the equivilant of $300 for drinks that they had. And in croatia, I guess which is near serbia, there are still active mine feilds and when hiking they walked right into one and had to figure out how to get out withoput blowing up. He has also been to most of the other places too so I think he could be really helpful in getting an idea of what to expect/waht to do in different places.

Monday morning classes started. I woke up right before my class at 9:20 (suprise suprise) and then had another class right after. The first class was global studies which is our big lecture class, kind of boring but maybe it will get better. After I had history of jazz which turns out to be kind of interesting. The teacher is kind of a music weirdo but he's nice. We learned about different instuments and types of sound so far. I already have readings for both classes, like 50 pages each. I just grabbed lunch cause it looks like i'll be missing breakfast (7-8:30) every morning. Some people actually think the food is good, It's a cafeteria line up and its pretty limited in selection, but they always have pb&j!

Last night was the first bar night which was pretty fun. Drinks started at dinner and everyone is allotted two during that time. Service starts at 6:30 and ends at 8 at the main dining room. It was funny to see everyone so excited to finally have a beer or a glass of wine after only 3 days without alcohol. They had a pretty selection with Budweiser, bud light (16 oz bottles!) Coors light, and miller light. and Then a couple choices of red and white wines. After dinner I went back tyo my room for a little to wait for my friend Cynthia (Texas) to get out of the meeting she slept through the night before. At 9:30 we met up at the pool deck where the alcohol was being served. We can at a great time cause it was just after EVERYONE got theirs drinks which i heard was a huuuge line. I had a wine cooler haha, but it was pretty good. Cynthia is really great and she's a huge dork like me, se we spent the whole time laughing at eachother and pretty much repelling any guys around us. She had the ingenious idea to get her two glasses of wine at dinner and pour them into a water bottle. After her meeting she drank all that and then proceeded to have 3 more glasses and another one of mine since I hadn't used my 5 allowed for the night. Their pretty strict about the alcohol service, we each have drink cards that are stamped when we get anything and confirmed with out ID to make sure we correspond with the card. Anyway, we mingled for a little and did the usual introductions with people. By the time everyones drink cards ran out everuthing winded down and i went to bed.

As for now, I'm waiting for it to be lunch time. I'm not used to having zero snacks to fill me meal to meal. Until then I'll try to do some reading again.

Peace!

We're off!

After successfully making it to Halifax last night, the day actually came that I embark on this crazy journey. This morning at 9:30 I got in line to board. Our luggage was take to be checked and then brought to our rooms, and we got our IDs. When I got on I went straight to my room to find my luggage already waiting for me, so I got our my big world map and put it up on the wall. After I went out to meet some of my neighbors and wander around the ship for a bit. After seeing it when it docked in Boston nothing was really a surprise, but it was nice to see it with students on it, all busily meeting each other. I hung out on the back deck in the sun for a while while others ate lunch (tacos) and waited until 12:30 when I planned to get off the boat for a little to have lunch with mom and dad before pushing off. We ate at Saltys, a seafood place on the pier in Halifax, a nice little place where we had a beer before saying our good-byes. When I got back on the ship I finally met my room mate, Missy. She's from Colorado and goes to University of San Diago. Turns out there's about 50 students from USD, so she knew most everyone on the ship. At 1600 we had our emergancy life boat drill, pretty uneventful, but funny to see everyone in big orange life vests. After that we finally heard the ships engine start up and everyone ran to the deck to wave good-bye to Canada. Mom, Dad, and other parents watched from a beach as we sailed away. Now that we're moving, people are getting a feel for what it's going to be like, suck on the ship for the next week. Its not too bad, just a slight rock that sometimes catches you off guard. As for now, I'm heading back up to see whats going on before going to our meeting at 2000.

Peace out for now!

Location: (still) Bedford MA, USA

LESS THAN A MONTH. Oh boy, this date of departure is creeping up quite quickly. I got to check something off my list today though, immunizations! Well kind of, I'm all set on hep.a as well as typhoid and polio. There seems to be national shortage on the yellow fever vaccine, so I have to wait until the travel clinic calls me back on that one. Other than that I've got my prescription for all the malaria pills I could ever want or need, as well as antibiotics for a just in case.. crazy food and such can result in some serious digestive distress.

Thats about all for now, I'm in the process of booking a hostel in Sevilla, Spain for a night by the beach, as well as signing up for a trip in China put together by one of the SAS students. (aberdeen fishing village, olympic stadium, hike and sleep on the Great Wall)

I have a hard time imagining all the stuff that's piling up in Alex's room fitting into a tiny cabin. Especially all the books coming in the mail that I'll have to carry on the ship. I'm glad I have Margot Iwanchuk, packing genius, to help squish everything into two large duffel bags and a back pack!

Location: Bedford MA, USA

Even though the day of departure is over a month away, I'm busy getting everything prepared. This means both physical things (clothes, school supplies, backpacks, immunizations, visa's, port itineraries) as well as mentally getting myself ready to live on a ship with 700 strangers and travel the world. I find myself both extremely excited (to see life totally different from the one I'm temporarily leaving) and extremely nervous (I've already gotten myself lost abroad in Amsterdam, I'd rather not have that happen in say, Viet Nam). With all these thoughts and feelings also comes the fact that my family and friends will be thousands of miles away. Sure I'll be missing out on fall semester of junior year, and as much as I would love to be in Durham with all my favorite people, I have a feeling that walking with monkeys, safaris, and sleeping on the great wall may be able to match unh hockey games, jungle parties, and crazy durham nights. The best part is knowing that when I get back unh and spring semester will be waiting for me.