Wednesday, August 17, 2011

School's Out For Summer!


I JUST FINISHED MY LAST FINAL!!!

Let me start from the beginning.

Two nights ago the ship had a finals kick-off with a BBQ on Deck 7!!! The crew slow-cooked BBQ ribs and made mac and cheese, potato salad, a huge fruit display coleslaw, roasted corn, roasted potatoes, and a desert bar! It was so good! It was nice to have something different for a change; ship food has gotten pretty redundant lately.

Yesterday everyone on the ship took the Global Studies Art History final. It was a lot easier than anticipated, which was a nice. Afterwards, the UVA kids and I went out on the deck 7 side deck to hangout and start studying for the next round of finals. At dinner Emily from Canada ordered an ice-cream cake to celebrate the end of Global Studies! She is such a sweetheart.

Today everyone woke up early for a second round of studying before day two of finals. I grabbed a quick breakfast and went up to deck 7 to study. Before long both Emily’s, Tina, Alex, Franny and Karen all joined me. We had a big study party! I only had one final today. I didn’t have a final for Negotiating for Value because my quiz grade was a large portion of my grade and so was my final paper. I was in and out of my last final in an hour. I had 5 short answer questions and an in-class essay: Evaluate the culture of the Renaissance through the art and architecture of the period. It was such a broad question I had no problem writing a couple pages.

Everyone else on the ship should be done with finals by 5pm tonight, just in time for the beginning of the night’s festivities. It’s going to be a busy night: Boston pre-port with info about debarkation, packing and clearing customs, crew talent show, and star gazing. I’m super excited for stargazing tonight after the crew talent show. The ship is going to turn off all the outside lights for an amazing view of the stars. Rumor has it a meteor shower started a couple days ago and we should have a first row seat, if the sky stays clear.

Tomorrow is another busy day. There is a mandatory meeting for everyone in the afternoon and a group discussion about adapting back to “real life.” Apparently there have been multiple people in the past that have a hard time re-adjusting after the program finishes. Tomorrow night is also the Ambassadors Ball! It’s basically prom on a ship, everyone gets all dressed up, enjoys a five-course meal, and a dance afterwards.

Friday the 19th is the last day full day on the ship. All my packing has to be done by 1pm. I have to bring my bags to the Deck 2 aft and then pick it up the next day after getting of the ship before clearing customs. Also, there are going to be cabin checks and who knows what else. It’s basically the same as checking out of a dorm at the end of the year. Friday is also convocation and the ends of the year slideshow.

The past 63 days have flown by; I can’t even imagine how fast the next three days are going to pass my by. Before I know it, I’ll be pulling into the Boston harbor and flying back to Minnesota.


Sunday, August 14, 2011

On the Open Sea


A couple of days ago the ship sailed away from Morocco and started the long seven day trek back to the United States.

Morocco was incredible. It was definitely the most culturally different port I went to. I was struck by the poverty of the countryside and the living conditions. All along the seacoast, outside of Casablanca, up to Rabat was full of shantytowns and garbage. There were also lots of shepherds herding cattle, sheep and donkeys all along the highway. It was quite interesting to see donkey carts passing on the highway overpasses. The Hassan 2 Mosque in Casablanca dominates the coast, it’s white walls and intricate pattern work still have me amazed. Unfortunately, there is mass poverty all around the mosque, which I find quite ironic.

Although the country is still developing: unsafe tap water, urine to fuel it’s tanneries and a per person capital of $4800, the people are for the most part happy. Everyone I met was friendly and helpful and offered fair prices at the souks compare to the Grand Bazaar in Turkey. Everyone always had a smile on their face.

One of the most interesting experiences I had in Morocco was observing Ramadan. During Ramadan one is not allowed to eat or drink between sun-up and sun-down. That is quite a commitment during the hot and long summer days. I really enjoyed watching people and square of Morocco come to life at sunset to break the fast during Ramadan. What I understood to be a religious holiday, looked more like a huge block party and people gathered and entertained one another in the streets.

My highlight of Morocco was an SAS zip-lining trip. I traveled by mini bus to the foothills of the High Atlas Mountain in 115-degree heat- way too hot for a girl used to Minnesotan summers. After arriving at the zip-lining place I was offered mint tea and got into my harness. I started my experience with a high wire bridge spanning over a canyon. Being afraid of heights I almost had a heart attack crossing, but made it to the other side in one piece. The SAS videographer was on the trip and got multiple shots of everyone zipping above and through the canyon…so keep your eyes peeled for the video on the SAS website.

Because it’s in the middle of finals week I am going to keep this post short. Only a couple more days until the ship berths in Boston and the experience is over. I can’t even begin to describe how SAS has changed my life.

Sunday, August 7, 2011

Attention Please, Attention Please


An announcement was just made to store all breakables and valuables tonight because the ship is going to be experiencing rough waters. BRING IT ON.

Semester at Sea: Academic Side



For a vast majority of my blog I have written about my travels and the people I’ve met. I haven’t exactly talked about my classes that much or what is expected of a typical student. So, this post will be strictly about academics.

When students first learn about Semester at Sea they have a picture in their head of a “cruise” not a voyage. Students believe that this will be an easy summer…I know, because I was one of them. But, of course, I was wrong. Semester at Sea is truly an academic experience. And like all universities, academics start in the classroom.

For those of you who have been following my blog, and for those we haven’t been, you should remember that I am in class everyday on the ship…including Saturdays, Sundays even Sea-sickness days. Everyday I attend Global Studies: Art History of the Mediterranean, Value of Negotiation, and Italy in the Age of the Renaissance.

Global Studies: quite a challenge for a business student. The whole class is a completely different mind set than business and I find it challenging being enthused about different paintings and sculptures. Fortunately, the class is balanced with information about the history, politics, economics and future outlooks of all the different countries on the itinerary. Everyone on the ship has an hour and a half of global studies. Another aspect of Global Studied: Field Directed Practica (FDPs). Each student is required to turn in two journal entries/academic reports about a UNESCO world heritage site they have visited, what they saw when they were there, and how it relates the material presented in class. For me, this is the hardest part. Never in my life have I had to write a journal entry. Heck, I didn’t even know what a journal entry was until SAS. As a business student, my extent of writing has been a twenty-page research paper my freshman year of English and some pages with bullet points for group projects. I literally had to go find English majors, Psychology majors and Communication majors to find out how to write a journal entry. Ridiculous. The last aspect of global studies: exams. My first exam occurred a third of the way into my voyage right before berthing in Spain. It was fairly easy recalling eight days worth of class material….quite a different experience for the second exam. Exam number two had the same amount of material, but it was spread out over one whole month. Lots to remember! It was really hard recalling certain artists from Spain five countries down the road. Overall the class is a great way to learn about the countries on the itinerary.

Negotiation: Definitely a highlight of my trip. Although there is a about twenty-forty pages of reading every night it is worth it. I’ve learned so much from this class! The whole summer I have been learning different negotiation techniques: how to effectively close a deal, understand different cultural aspects of business, as well as multiple in class simulations and first hand encounters. The best part of the class is being able to use what I have learned in real life. While visiting Turkey I was overly successful at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market negotiating with shopkeepers. I was so successful that friends of mine asked me to start bargaining on their behalf. As part of the course I have a quiz every other day, a discussion group that meets every other day, and a final paper. The final paper is written with a partner about a negotiation that takes place in port. My friend Ben and I decided to get together and go to the Grand Bazaar to carry out our negotiation for the final paper.  Ben ended up finding a decoder from WW2 in an antique store and we were both able to use the tools learned in class to form a relationship with the shop keeper (asking about photos of his father and children, asking about the items and where they came from, etc) while creating a target amount we wanted to pay for the item, a walkaway point, and the most importantly a BATNA (best alternative to Negotiation Agreement). We ended up with an amazing deal and an even more amazing personal experience. The class is still ridiculously hard, but worth every minute!

Italy in the Age of the Renaissance:  Another very challenging class for a Finance major. It seems like everyone in the class had already taken a history/religion course except myself. The class consists of two exams, a final, and one large field/journal report. MORE JOURNAL ENTRIES. Ugh. Regardless, I was been very interesting to learn about the Renaissance and the changes Italy has undergone. My final paper is going to be about the Whirling Dervish in Turkey in historical context.

The hardest part about SAS is time. Or lack of time. It is extremely hard to get readings and exams finished in only 23 hour days (loosing time crossing the Atlantic to the Mediterranean). After the first 8 days of class followed by port you think you’ve finally struck a balance between school and ship life…until more and more countries start coming every 1,2,3 days, along with the beginnings of papers, exams, group projects, seminars, and sleep. Right now I have finally caught up on everything. The past four days have been insane: seminars, four papers, two exams, three quizzes and two group meetings. Thank goodness I also gained two extra hours in the process and will gain another hour tonight. Right now I have completed 2/3 of the voyage. After Morocco I will have final exams and papers due.

SAS is a once in a lifetime opportunity! So be ready to put in lots of time and effort for an experience you will never forget.


Thursday, July 28, 2011

Turkey Day


Today is Turkey Day, rightfully named due to the one day in-between Bulgaria and Turkey. Right now the ship is anchored outside Varna, Bulgaria. Around 7pm tonight the anchor will be lifted and I’ll be on my way to Turkey. I should arrive in Turkey tomorrow around 7am.  I plan on waking up around 5:30am for the sunrise and the berthing of the ship. Apparently it is a right of passage to wake up for sunrise as the ship pulls into Turkey, because it is absolutely breathtaking watching the sun illuminate all the mosques and monuments along the Bosporus.

Back to Turkey day…this morning I had 2.5 hours of Global Studies learning about the past and current political situation and history of Turkey. I don’t have any other classes so I will be using my extra time to catch up on sleep, study for an Italy in the Age of the Renaissance Exam, Study for a Global Studies Exam, and figure out what to do in Turkey. Tonight at pre-port I will be learning more about places to see and discover in Istanbul.  So far my plan includes: City Orientation, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, The Grand Bazaar, The Spice Market, Old Town, Turkish Baths, and an overnight trip to Cappadocia. I have no idea how I am going to fit all of these activities into only five days! I also need to meet up with my Negotiation for Value partner Ben and engage in a negotiation for our paper due at the end of the class. SO MUCH TO DO.

The next three weeks are going to be a blur.

Friday, July 22, 2011

An Amazing Night


Last night around 9pm the ship passed through the heart of Istanbul, Turkey! It was aboslutely beautiful sailing through the city while it was all lit up. From the ship I was able to see the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. While winding through the city the ship passed under two spectacular bridges all lit up.

AND THE BEST PART.....FIREWORKS!!!

Two round of fireworks were lit off from the shore as we passed.

This was by far the most incredible part of the voyage.

Right now it is the last day of classes before Varna, Bulgaria. The ship is sitting out in the middle of a bay anchored outside of Varna...we arrived a day early. SO for the next 24 hours of classes, preports, and exams I will be teased by Varna so close...but so far away.

Short Post on Greece


Currently I’m halfway through the first of two class days between Greece and Bulgaria. In the next 36 hours I have an exam, quiz, group meeting and papers to start…so I’m going to keep this post short.

Greece was amazing…minus the public transportation strikes. The first day I arrived the metro was under construction and I had to take a bus into Athens, but that’s a story for another day. The second and third days in Greece the taxis were on strike. The fourth and fifth days riots became more intense….and the day after we left there was a rumor circulating that the ferry system was going to be on strike. Utter chaos!

I was able to make it into Athens, see the Acropolis and the New Acropolis Museum ( I left 20 minutes before Hilary Clinton showed up) and see the parliament building. The next day I took a SAS day trip to Delphi, which was absolutely gorgeous! Then I spent two days in Mykonos running around the island and hanging out. The last day I walked around Pireaus and spent the last of my euros at the supermarket.

Greece has the best food so far! And it is the cheapest. Two euros for a Gyro…not bad!

Next stop is Varna, Bulgaria…which former SAS’ers described as Las Vegas on a beach. It is a new up and coming European beach community with casinos, shopping malls and beach bars. I have a cooking class through SAS and a Jeep safari planned otherwise I’m just going with the flow.

Monday, July 18, 2011

Greek Facts/Observations

-F-Harry-Stow (the American phonetic spelling) means thank you in Greek. It's the only word I know and always comes in handy with the locals! They appreciate the effort to speak their language
-Do NOT pet the stray dogs
-Marble is dirt cheap, wood costs and arm and a leg
-Gas is 1.69/Liter about $9 a gallon
-97% Greeks are Greek Orthodox and take their religion very seriously
-The Greeks are extremely proud of the 2004 Olympic games in Athens
-Most restaurants are served family style :)
-There is a gyro shop in every neighborhood
-Gyros are either chicken or pork. Lamb gyros are only in America.
-Greek food is delicious.
-I'm in love with Greek meatballs
-Make sure to validate your bus ticket...or pay a 72 euro fine!


The past two days have flown by. I made it into Athens despite the metro being down and the bus system being the worst form of transportation EVER. So far I've seen the Acropolis, the New Acropolis Museum, the Parthenon, and Delphi. Tomorrow I have a 6:15am trip to Mykonos for 2-3 days depending if the ferries are still running and riots don't break out from the Greece debt plan being voted on Thursday.

Today all the taxis in Greece were on strike due to debt reconstruction currently being put together...this certainly made my SAS trip very interesting...but more on that later

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Minor Mistake


The ship berths...not births. ooops.

'Twas the Night Before Greece


The past two days I have been bombarded with information about Greece. Today in Global Studies I learned about the Classical Greek period and the current Greece Situation, which consists of growing interest rates, the inability to borrow money from the private sector, and the possibility of defaulting on it’s massive amounts of debt. It was interesting learning all the background that had been fueling the Greek riots a month earlier. Supposedly within the next couple of days Greece is voting on a specific plan on how it will meet its debt obligations…hopefully it doesn’t become violent.

Tonight is the logistical and cultural Greece pre-port where they will continue to talk about Greece’s growing problems with the EU. After pre-port Tina and I are going to figure out our plans for the next five days.

 Tomorrow morning the ship ports in Piraeus, Greece at 0800. Hopefully I’ll wake up early enough to catch the ship pulling into port….something I still haven’t gotten around to. After the ship births, I plan on racing off to the Acropolis before the heat of the day sets in. Rumor has it; it’s supposed to be 94 degrees while in Athens. 94 DEGREES. Insane.

I also have a day trip planned to Delphi. Delphi is the ancient Greek site of the Oracle, which was dedicated to the son god Apollo. It is set high in the mountains and was a pilgrimage site for Ancient Greeks looking for answers to every kind of question imaginable.

The 3rd and 4th days I’m going to Mykonos…the famous Greek Island with old windmills and white washed houses. I’m excited to take a break from writing papers and relax on the white sand beaches.

I’m so excited for Greek food!!! I plan on eating my body weight in Gyros and Greek salad. YUM.

After Greece I have two more midterms before arriving in Varna, Bulgaria.


Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Croatia Thus Far


Dubrovnik, Croatia is absolutely beautiful.  It’s a great destination for a little bit of relaxation before a full itinerary in Greece. The past three days have fun full of sun and oppressive heat!

Day one: Walked to old town from the port (about 2 miles) in 90 degree weather with Sammy, Karen, Taylor, Alex, Emily, and Franny. Once we all passed through the gates to the old town we realized the 10kn bus= $2 is well worth the price. After adventuring through the town for about 2 hours we caught the bus back to the ship for FDP’s. Franny and I visited the village of Osojnik up in the hills about 30 minutes outside of Dubrovnik. We visited the town church and a family house where we enjoyed a folk show and dance. Dinner was delicious. The first course we cooked ourselves! We were brought raw bacon and olive tree branches carved into a spear. We roasted the bacon over the fire and ate it with homemade bread. The main dish was pork and delicious potatos. Overall a great day!

Day two: Franny and I left the ship at 7:30am to hike up the city walls before it became oppressively hot. After we walked the town walls we grabbed a ferry to Lokrum, and Island 15 minutes from the old city. The island was absolutely gorgeous! It was full of forest and botanical gardens. The best part: wild peacocks! Just roaming around wherever they pleased with their babies. Crazy. Franny and I also went for a swim in the ocean off a rock beach…which we later discovered was a nudist beach. I ended the day by finding an Internet café with Drew.

Day three: The most relaxed day of all. I slept in and left the ship about 1pm. The ship left port and had to anchor in the middle of the bay because a huge cruise ship needed to dock. In order to get to land we had to take the lifeboats back and forth from the ship to the port. Quite the experience. Once safe on land Karen, Tina, Rachel, Alex, Taylor, Emily and I all took the bus to a rock beach and went cliff jumping. It was quite a sight seeing us hangout with the locals.

Tomorrow is my last day in Croatia. I plan on sleeping in, going to the internet cafe, and grabbing some seafood for lunch. Then it's homework time and paper writing!

Sunday, July 10, 2011

1.5 days at sea, .5 left



The past day and a half has been pandemonium. 5 classes, 3 papers, and one group assignment later…I’m still alive…barely. All I can say is that I’m overly excited for Dubrovnik, Croatia tomorrow for some much needed R&R

Yesterday everyone on the ship was exhausted from traveling all throughout Italy and getting back into the grove of school.  It’s a lot harder to start studying after you’ve just seen roman ruins 12 hours earlier, but, the crew and faculty decided to reward our hard work by playing Harry Potter Deathly Hallows prt1 over the TV system making schoolwork slightly more tolerable. The ship is also putting together multiple trips to a movie theater in Croatia for students interested in watching the new Harry Potter movie. I’ve decided to pass on the opportunity because I’d rather enjoy my time exploring Dubrovnik…but die-hard Harry Potter fans are overly excited.

Another exciting event yesterday: VOLCANOES! The ship passed right next to an active volcano, and the thing was still steaming. It was absolutely insane. The ship also passed through the iconic Straits of Messina in-between the main landmass of Italy and the island of Sicily.  This strait was made famous by Homer in the Illiad and the Odyssey and is the home of the two “monsters” Scylla and Charybdis. For those of you who know your Greek mythology…you know exactly what I’m talking about! And for those of you who don’t have the slightest idea what I am talking about, SHAME ON YOU. Google it!

Today in Global Studies I learned about the city of Dubrovnik and the multiple hardships it has been through in the past 10 years. The city still is enclosed by pristine walls from the Roman era and sits on the edge of the Adriatic Sea. Once a part of Yugoslavia, Croatia broke over after months of civil war and thousands of casualties. The city was bombarded with shells and artillery in the early 90s, before gaining it’s independence. Also, from civil war Bosnia, Montenegro and Serbia were also created from Yugoslavian territory.

I was told that on my visit to the city I would still be able to see the effects of the civil war: bullet holes in buildings and brightly colored red roof tiles from rebuilding the city.

While in Dubrovnik I plan on walking on the iconic city walls and adventuring around the city. Hopefully I can find a sea kayaking and snorkeling tour Croatia is famous for. I also plan on taking a day trip to Lokrum. Lokrum is an island right next to Croatia that has an old monastery and overgrown gardens, wild peacocks, and a salt-water lake. Supposedly it is suppose to be absolutely gorgeous. If I have enough time I’m also thinking about taking a 15 minute bus ride to Montenegro (allowed by SAS) to check out the country.

I hope everyone back home had a great 4th of July!

Friday, July 8, 2011

Italy



Italy exceeded all my expectations! Venice, Florence, Rome, Verona, and Pisa were absolutely incredible. I can’t believe how fast the past six days have passed!

My trip tour guide affectionately known as “Mama Anna” was a true Italian. She walked, talked and breathed Italy. She was the best tour guide I have ever had! Her knowledge of Italy was incredible and she always had a smile on her face no matter how many times she was forced to count our group of 43!!! Our whole tour group known as the gems became very close very fast. I made some great new lifelong friends. Now every time we see each other we scream “SEMESTER!” and “STICK LIKE GLUE” in our Mama Anna accents! It’s always funny.

Here is an overview of the past six days.

Day 1: Woke up at 7am to shower, finish packing, and grab some breakfast. I met up with 42 other students including Drew, Emily, and Alex in the union to start the Gems of Italy tour. I managed to fit 6 days worth of clothing into my backpack! Job well done! Lots of other students had full rolling duffle bags, which def. was a hassle. After a short Naples city bus tour (Yes, Naples was dirty) I arrived at the train station and headed out on a train to Rome. Around 2 hours later I switched trains and headed to Venice. A total of 8 hours of travel later….I arrived at the hotel in Mestra and went to bed early to prepare for a full day in VENICE!

Day 2: Visited the Islands of Torchello, Burano, Murano, and the main island of Venice. Torchello, which had an old church built out of stones and adorned with tiny pure gold mosaics was stunning. The island itself was picturesque Italian countryside with few houses and beautiful stone bridges. Burano, and old fishing village, had brightly painted houses of every color. The houses served as a way for fisherman to be able to view their house from the water. Murano was a tourist’s paradise! It is famous for Murano glass, only produced on this one island and sold all over the world. I toured a glass factory and watched a craftsman make a vase and stunning glass horse figurine. After Murano, I took a tour of the main island, enjoyed a group dinner of pasta and veal, and ended the day with a gondola ride. As the group took our private boat back from Venice, we watched the sunset across the lagoon. A perfect ending to a perfect day!

Day 3: After another early morning wakeup call I took a 90 minute bus ride to Verona, home of the two star crossed lovers: Romeo and Juliet. I visited Juliet’s iconic balcony and attempted to find Romeo’s door…but no luck. The night before reaching Verona my roommate Emily and I watched Letter’s to Juliet. In the movie multiple women are seen taping notes to the wall underneath Juliet’s balcony with questions about love. After seeing this, we both decided to write our own letters. Unfortunately, the whole letter business was only in the movie and you had to walk in a random door to drop off your letter. Graffiti and locks were placed all throughout the courtyard in front of the balcony. The guide explained that the locks were couples declaring their love for one another. After a few hours in Verona, I made it to Florence. After a group dinner everyone hit the town for a concert.

Day 4: Started the day with a tour of the Academia and saw the famous statue of David by Michelangelo. I was a whole lot bigger than I expected….it’s 16 feet tall! Then our tour guide gave the group a total of 20 minutes in the famous Florence leather market, which didn’t even come close to enough time. I could’ve spent hours there! The market was full of jackets, purses, bags, belts, shoes, and scarves. EVERYTHING. After purchasing three bags, I cut myself off and got back to the meeting point just in time to take a walking tour of Florence. After the walking tour I hopped on another bus to Pisa and took the classic tourist photo holding up the leaning tower of Pisa. Finally around 11pm the bus pulled up to the hotel in Rome. I was absolutely speechless when I stepped off the bus and saw the dome of the St. Peter Basilica lit up only three blocks away!

Day 5: A full day of Rome! I had an early morning tour of the Coliseum and Roman Forum. I was most surprised by all the roman ruins right in the heart of Rome. It was so exciting to be able to actually see all the ruins I had been learning about in my Global Studies course. Around the Coliseum and Roman Forum there were REAL AUTHENTIC pieces of marble columns and stones/bricks that people were able to sit on. I can’t believe they would place such ancient artifacts on the ground for people to sit on. It still blows my mind. For lunch our group stopped at an AMAZING pizza place for margherita pizza and wine YUM! Best wood fire pizza of my life.  I also had a guided tour of the Vatican and St. Peters Bisilica, which was overly crowded. After a couple hours of free time I had a group dinner which was in a back alley and country-ish. It was very cute. I also had a walking tour at night of the Trevvi Fountain, Pantheon, and a couple squares.

Day 6: I started out the day with a scavenger hunt that finished atop a small “mountain” which overlooked all of Rome. The hunt took around 3 hours and everyone was ready to fall asleep ASAP…but since we had 4 hours of free time Alex, Emily, Drew and I met up with Karen, Tina and Taylor and grabbed some lunch together. After lunch I got on the bus to meet the ship back in port. I had about 30 minutes to unpack before the same group decided to head out and grab dinner at an amazing pizza place. We walked in and the owner told us he would just bring us a little of everything. And by a little….he meant LOTS. THREE HUGE PIZZAS. So good.

Overall, I fell in love with Italy. The people were friendly and willing to help. The history of all the buildings and towns blew me away. One of the best parts of the trip was driving through Tuscany and seeing all of the small medieval towns on top of hills lit up in the dark. I’ll never forget Italy, and to make sure I threw a coin in the Trevvi fountain so that I will find my way back to Rome.

Tomorrow I plan on going into port with Tina and Drew to find a place with Wi-fi to upload some pictures to the blog…so keep posted!

Friday, July 1, 2011

Italy



Tomorrow we birth in Naples at 0800! As soon as we birth, I’ll be on my way to Venice. The trip takes ~5 hours by train. I’ll be spending the next 2 days in Venice then I’ll move on to Verona, Florence, Pisa, and Rome. When I get back to the ship Thursday July 7th, I’ll have one more day in Civitavecchia, Italy, which is the port right outside Rome…about an hour train ride.

I’m looking forward to all of the historic Roman ruins and huge cathedrals I’ve been learning about in my global studies course. And…of course..I’m overly excited about the food! Brick oven margherita pizza YUM!

I’ll be out of touch the next six days as I navigate my away around Italy!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011


Barcelona! The City that Never Sleeps.


Barcelona!

Barcelona is a city that never sleeps! Over the past three days I have gotten into the “local” routine: Late dinners past 10pm, late lunches, siestas, and falling asleep around 4am. I LOVE IT.  The food is delicious! Fresh fruits and veggies, TAPAS, freshly squeezed juice, street sandwiches and chocolate.

So here is an overview of what I’ve done the past three days

Day 1:
•       First person of the ship in Barcelona!
•       Drank café leche..DELICIOUS
•       Monserrat! Unfortunately the boys’ choir was already on vacation, so I was unable to hear them sing. The place was absolutely gorgeous! It was on top of a small mountain and it took about one hour to weave our way up.  The pictures are stunning
•       LAS RAMBLAS! Postcards and stamps
•       Quick Siesta ☺
•       Hit the town for dinner around 10pm (TAPAS) with around 18 people
•       Went to a club and walked along the beach

Day 2:
•       Walked to the gothic quarter and took pictures of the beautiful gothic arthitecture.
•       Gaudi Buildings!
•       Stopped at the Chocolate Museum with Emily, Sammy, and Tina. The ticket was a chocolate bar
•       Have a very interesting shopping experience…apparently it was a wholesale store, you had to buy 20 items, there were no dressing rooms, no sizes, and you weren’t able to try anything on. Props to Emily for being able to speak Spanish and translating for everyone
•       Ate an amazing ham and cheese sandwich. The ham is right off the pigs leg and cut so fine you can see through it. In fact, there are pig legs that hang over the bars in most restaurants.
•       Went shopping at cute little shops and department stores
•       Saw the protestors at the end of Las Ramblas (major street in town). The protestors have been staking out for over a month bringing attention to a 20 percent unemployment rate (40 unemployment rate for those under 25) and funding cutes for education and multiple other areas. They built tree houses in the square and some  even have small gardens growing. It’s insane. These people really know how to protest.
•       Got back to the ship for a quick siesta
•       Ate dinner at two great tapas bars
•       Stopped at a super market for some snacks to take back to the ship

Day 3:
•       Walked to the famous market right off Las Ramblas. This is the best market I have ever seen…fresh fish, meat, fruit, candy, nuts! EVERYTHING. I bought a fresh kiwi and orange smoothie and a chocolate croissant with custard. Then to top it off I had a mixture of pineapples, mangos, kiwi, passion fruit,  and some mysteriously unidentified fruit.
•       Walked with Sammy, Emily, Taylor, and Frannie Everywhere.
•       Finally made it to La Sagrada Familia…the famous church started by Gaudi and set to be completed in 30-40 years. The church is a blend of multiple different eras known as modernism including: gothic, romanesque, and baroque. The pictures I took don’t even begin to do it justice.
•       Walked all the way to Park Guell. The park was designed by Gaudi and was suppose to be a house community/park for the upper class. Now it is a public park and is to the north of the city on a hill/mountain. Great views of the city!
•       Took the metro. WHOOP! So happy to be able to figure out all the transfers
•       Siesta

Tomorrow I have a bike tour of the city from 0730-1100. The ship leaves tomorrow at 2000…it’ll be sad to say goodbye to Barcelona, but even more excited to say hello to Italy two days later.

Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out how to resize some photos and add them to the blog.

Sunday, June 26, 2011

Barcelona!


Today was surprising fast paced.  It was taco day at the dining hall, which was a pleasant surprise from the usual meat, fish, and potatoes routine. We had a logistics pre-port and received emergency contact numbers, tips, and ideas of what to do in port. After the pre-port I had just enough time to get to the observation deck to watch the sunset. It was absolutely beautiful! The Mediterranean looked just like a lake…no movement what so ever! And the skies were perfectly clear. STUNNING.

Tomorrow we berth (dock) in Barcelona! Finally the day is here. After eight straight days of classes…it’s time! Tomorrow I’m waking up at 6am to watch the sunrise as we pull into port. Then, after the ship is cleared by customs and I attend the mandatory debriefing session regarding the current protests in Spain, I will be off the ship ☺  It should be somewhere in-between 8-9am. After grabbing some breakfast in town, I’ll have just enough time to make it back to the ship and meet up for my day trip to Monserrat. While there I will be evaluating the impact of pilgrimage and religious tourism on the life of a mountain village for my Italy in the Age of the Renaissance class.

Monserrat, as described by the SAS field office: Located 2,380 feet above sea level, Montserrat, which means “jagged mountain” in Catalan, is known for its religious significance and interesting rock formations.  Begin your visit with a trip to the Santa Maria de Montserrat monastery—a Benedictine Abbey and a 16th-century Basilica, where the
Virgin of Montserrat, a “black Madonna” statue and the patron saint of Catalonia, is venerated.  The monastery, which has hosted pilgrims and visitors since 1025, is home to more than 80 monks who have dedicated their lives to prayer. According to
legend, religious elders of the community found an image of the Virgin Mary in the cave, and from that moment on the site has been known as a holy sanctuary for religious pilgrims.

Rough itinerary for Spain:
Monday: Breakfast in port, Monserrat 1130-1730 (field trip), siesta, and dinner/tapas
Tuesday: Las Ramblas and the market, Sagrada da Familia, and Shopping in the “touristy” areas
Wednesday: Picasso museum and gothic quarter to check out the gothic architecture I’ve been learning about in Global Studies. I’m also going to a concert: Kascade, the #35 Dj in the world
Thursday: 730am Bike tour of the city, some last minute shopping for postcards and such….and more TAPAS! I need to be on the ship by 1800 to avoid dock time, but I plan on arriving a lot earlier. Apparently there is around a 2-3 hour line to get back on the ship at the last minute. Hopefully I can avoid the madness.

After Spain there's only one day before I arrive in Italy. This day is known as Italy global studies day. Which means every student on the ship attends two hours of global studies and then participates in SEA OLYMPICS. Each student on the boat is part of a “sea” and competes in a bunch of activities such as synchronized swimming, basketball, relay races, musical chairs and simon says. The team that wins is first off the ship in BOSTON! Hopefully my sea will kick some serious butt.

Then I’m on my way to Naples, Venice, Florence, Pisa, Verona, and Rome.





Friday, June 24, 2011

Sleep, What's that?



The past couple of days have been outrageously busy. Yesterday I had 3 hours of classes, studying, reading, a seminar, a group meeting and paper, and a study group for Global Studies. There is too much to do and too little time. Of course, everyday I give up another hour of sleep by moving my clock ahead. These 23 hour days are really catching up with me! I had my first view of land yesterday! I woke up to the Arozes islands right outside my porthole. The Arozes Islands are part of Portugal and still pretty far from Portugal and Spain. I also spotted sea life! After hearing myths and legends about people seeing flying fish, dolphins, whales, even sea turtles I finally saw something….DOLPHINS!!!  SO MANY dolphins. Once during Global Studies, again while reading on Deck 7, and during dinner! A very productive day ☺

Today is also going to be very busy. I woke up early to study for another Negotiation Quiz (I have one every other day) and to finish my reading. Then after a VERY long lecture about Spain’s history, I made my way to the Piano lounge where I am currently sitting.  The rest of the day I’ll finish up classes, do the required reading and study for two exams tomorrow (negotiation for value, and Italy in the renaissance).  I also signed up for the Extended Family Program. Every student who signs up has a pseudo family for the voyage. Tonight is my first family dinner! I’ve already met my “ship mom and dad” and they’re extremely nice, a young couple serving as Life Learning Coordinators on the ship. After my dinner, I’m attending a seminar on travel photography and another seminar about independent travel. Then I will have more studying to do for exams and I’ll pass out around 1am, which is actually 2am with the time change. Then I’ll wake up at 730 and do it all again!

I am so excited to get off this ship! Eight days of the same classes is too much to handle!  Unfortunately, the ship has slowed down in the past two days from 21 knots to only 13-15knots. Rumor has it we were set to arrive in Spain a day early because of the great weather, an extra day which we did not have a spot in port. SO now the voyage is painstakingly slow knowing I’m so close, yet so far.

Other exciting news!!!! Tomorrow morning the ship will be passing through the Straight of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea. We are bunkering (taking on fuel) in Gibraltar in the late morning, which means we will be stopped under the rock of Gibraltar, where, according to my Global Studied prof, there are MONKIES!!! I guess they’re so close you can get pictures! Hopefully I’m not in class when this happens, I really want some great pics!

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Bridge Tour and Sea Olympics


After global studies, I went on a tour of the bridge. The bridge is the area on the ship where the crew steers the ship. When I got there, the ship was on auto-pilot! It was so neat to be able to look out the front of the bridge and see the ocean sprawled out in front of me.  While the crew explained the control panel, a school  of dolphins swam by! SO COOL. There’s a lot more to steering a ship than I initially thought! I was overwhelming to see so many dials, buttons, and compasses. 

And now for the exciting news!!! Drum roll please……..

MY TEAM WON SEMESTER AT SEA ‘S AMAZING RACE!!!

All eight of us finished in 50 minutes! Unheard of! We beat 472 people!!! It took 20 minutes after we finished for the next team to arrive at the finish line. The race consisted of riddles, codes, and lots of clues about different areas on the ship. Once a clue was figured out, your whole team had to make it to that specific check point and receive a signature.  I have to give extra credit to Sammi from UVA, she is insanely gifted at cracking random codes! Thank goodness she went to spy camp as a kid!

Our team consisted of eight students:
-Karen (my room mate and fellow Blugold)
-Sammi (UVA)
-Emily (UVA)
-Emily (Canada)
-Drew (Auburn)
-Tina (UVA)
-Whitney (UVA)
-and me :)

We all agreed to spend our first hours grabbing breakfast together at a café enjoying chocolate churros and café leche…both which were mentioned in a presentation last night about dining out in Barcelona. After breakfast, Drew, Karen, Emily and I have an FDP in Monserrat and then we will all meet up with the rest of our dream team for dinner around 10pm.

Last night I attended a Big Explorer Seminar about dining out in Spain. I am so overly excited to try some great food..especially since our food on the boat is becoming overly repetitive.  The presenter was a professor from UVA who has traveled to Spain multiple times. He gave us the inside scoop on what to order, where to order, and what to stay away from.

Some food he suggested: churros with chocolate, café leche, paella, and tapas. 

Tonight I forfeit another hour of sleep. I’m so sick of having 23 hour days!!! I need more sleep.

Monday, June 20, 2011

Day 2 of classes.


It’s only the second day of classes and I’m already swamped with homework. Luckily, everyone else feels the same way…after all we’re all in the same boat..or ship, after all it is a ship, not a boat.  For all three of my classes I have about 100 pages of reading total a day, which takes twice as long to read on a rocking ship. It’s hard to concentrate with some many people talking around you and it’s almost impossible to find a quiet area on the ship. Not to mention, a lot of teachers have pdf files posted online, which are even harder to read all at once on the computer. I’m definitely learning a lot already about the Mediterranean and can’t believe 1/3 of my classes will be done in exactly one week. After we reach Barcelona we don’t have class for 2 whole weeks, because of all the other ports we are going to are so close together.

Enough about classes!

It seems like seasickness is a thing of the past. I took Dramamine the first two days as a precaution and didn’t feel sick..so I have been off it ever since. So far, so good. I’ve gotten used to the rocking motion of the ship thank goodness. Some are not so lucky. There were a few kids who ran out of the union this morning during Global Studies :(

More importantly, everyone in the ship loves to travel! It seems like everyone I’ve talked to has been out of the country at some point in their lives. It’s great to talk about similar places we’ve been and how small of a place the world really is!

Friday, June 17, 2011

On The Ship


After 2 hours in the blazing hot sun of the Bahamas I've made it on the ship! Tonight there is a welcome orientation with everyone from the ship and then we break off into meetings specifically for our decks/wings.

I have met so many people in the past 48 hours and haven't remembered anyone's name!

Time to go explore!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Safe and Sound in the Bahamas

Made it to the Bahamas without any troubles! I've already met many wonderful people doing Semester at Sea. Everyone is so incredibly friendly! Karen Hansen (fellow Blugold) and I met a family during our flight from Atlanta to the Bahamas who were picking up their daughter who just got back from the Maymester program. The mom talked and talked about how great the program was (her oldest daughter went on a full semester voyage and met her current fiance!) CRAZZZYY.

Overall we are both safe and sound and meeting lots of new friends

stay posted.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

BON VOYAGE

What a hectic day!
After waking up early and grabbing breakfast with my friend Jenna, I started the long grueling process of packing and getting all my items together….
Packing took a total of six hours! Although, I did take a couple breaks to make some emergency pit stops: target for extra sunscreen, travel umbrella, and a swimsuit and my grandparent’s house to say goodbye. It was quite the process keeping track of everything and making sure to cross everything off two different lists. But, in the end, it was worth it! I was able to get my checked bag down to 40lbs avoiding any checked luggage fees :) Take that Delta!! and everything else fit into my carry-on bag and backpack with a little room to spare. GREAT SUCCESS.
Tomorrow (Wednesday) I leave for the Bahamas (6:25am flight) and after a two hour layover in Atlanta I should be in Nassau by 3pm. Thursday I am going on a 4 hour snorkeling/sailing tour with 15 other people from SAS and Friday I board the MV Explorer along with ~750 other students to begin my voyage to the first destination: BARCELONA, SPAIN!
Even after a whole day of packing it still hasn’t hit me that in only 8 hours (3:30am) I will be waking up and starting my adventure. I can’t wait to get this show on the road! 
Words of wisdom: 
When preparing to travel, lay out all your clothes and all your money.  Then take half the clothes and twice the money.  ~Susan Heller



Testing...1....2...3..

Just a quick post to make sure I can post from my e-mail account :)

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

35 Days and Counting.

This summer I will be traveling around the Mediterranean while earning nine college credits through the study abroad program known as Semester at Sea. Fellow Blugold, Karen Hansen, will be joining me on the ship as we discover Europe and North Africa.  The voyage starts from Nassau, Bahamas and travels to Spain, Italy, Greece, Croatia, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Morocco, ending in Boston, MA.

For those of you who have not heard about Semester at Sea take a look at their website: semesteratsea.org
they have multiple programs for everyone including: semester, summer, short-term, and enrichment voyages providing a study abroad trip for everyone



The ship is described as a "floating campus" and has all the modern amenities of an actual college campus, including: a computer lab, library, classrooms, student lounges, campus store, and two cafeterias. Also, like a regular campus there are student groups, socials, study days and sports facilities. 

Aboard the ship I will be taking three classes. The first class, Global Studies, is taken by all students on the ship (around 700) and focuses on art, history, politics, and social aspects of every country I'm visiting. Second, I will be fulfilling a humanities GE through Italy in the Age of the Renaissance and lastly I will be taking Negotiating for Value, which fulfills a requirement for my international business minor. An added requirement for all classes are FDPs (Field-Directed Practica) also known as field trips. Each professor chooses trips throughout the voyage and makes them mandatory for their students to learn concepts first hand. Examples of FDPs are: snorkeling for Biology, tour of a wine production facility for Business, and orphanage visits for Psychology classes.

Overall I am so fortunate to be able to have this experience and can't wait for finals to be over so I can start making final preparations.

Make sure to check back the beginning of June when I will be feverishly packing and planning!


"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain