HOLAA!!! WOW is the only word I can actually think of to describe the last several days. It has been amazing time since we landed in port on Wednesday. We arrived in the actual port, I believe a little before or around 4 am because I woke up during the night around that time and we had stopped moving. Me and Jaclyn woke up at 730 and literally darted up the stairs. I don't think I have EVER been so happy to see land! We decided to get some breakfast and then take some pics on the ship of the port and us and everything.
Day 1:
Around 1030 or 1100ish, me, Dean, Craig, and Jaclyn got off the ship and explored Cadiz! It was all so amazing. The buildings were so beautiful, and all the roadways were cobblestone paths. Everyone drives motorbikes or small cars, and the alleys were crowded with people (mostly SASers, lol). When you're in Spain, you have to try their coffee! So we got a cup of coffee and sat by the catedral. Honestly, this building was the most beautiful thing I have ever seen. The square we were sitting in was so open and the weather was beautiful this day, I would say in the sun it was probably 70, maybe even 75. After we drank our coffee, we decided to climb the catedral and see the view from the top. It was quite a workout, but all worth it when we got up there. You could see EVERYTHING! From people's houses and their roofs, to the shoreline and beautiful beach, to the ancient architecture, it was honestly breathtaking. The weather started to heat up so we decided to run back to the ship and drop off our sweatshirts and stuff. Then we headed back out to get some lunch and try the local beer and wine. We ordered a pitcher of Sangria (only 8 euros!) and the local beer, called Cruzcampo, which was only (1.50Euros). In Spain, lunch is their biggest meal, and is served around 2 or 3, and it was only like noon when we were eating, so they give you things called "tapas", which are equivalent to our appetizers. So we ate some of those and enjoyed the beautiful sun! We wanted to do some shopping, but in Spain, during lunch time, they close all the shops for siesta time. So we met up with another group of people from SAS and sat and talked with them for a while. We enjoyed 1 Euro beers from the pub next door and talked a while until the stores began to open up again. We enjoyed some shopping for an hour or two and then headed back to the ship for dinner. At 2030, I met up with a bunch of friends, and we were going to go explore the nightlife in Cadiz and grab dinner. We ate outside at a little cafe and then went to some of the local pubs. It was a lot of fun!
Day 2: Sevilla & Cordoba
The next morning, I had a Semester at Sea trip planned to Sevilla and Cordoba. We met in the Union around 730 and took a bus to Sevilla. I met a girl named Brittany from Chicago who was really nice. We sat next to each other on the bus, and talked for the two hour bus ride. The weather in Sevilla was overcast and a little rainy and a little chilly, but not horrible. Our first stop in Sevilla was the Plaza de Espana. It was an enormous, beautiful building with several towers, a fountain and beautiful architecture. Once arriving here, we began our walking tour of the city. Our first stop was the Alcazar which is a famous Spanish building which had dozens of beautiful rooms and was built back in the 12th century. The architecture was the most beautiful thing and so detailed. I took a lot of pictures, like when I say alot, I mean a lot, which I will try to upload later.
The next stop was the Catedral, which is the third largest in the world. If words could explain its beauty, I would try, but not even the pictures could capture its vastness. We walked around the Catedral, and saw nearly every room, and the most exciting, Christopher Columbus' tomb! After taking a million pictures and learning a million different new things, we headed off to a little cafe for lunch. We got a bunch of tapas, including a pork dish, almond asparagus, mushrooms, calamari, and some sort of flan dessert that was REALLLLYY good. After lunch, we had about 2 hours of free time to explore the city. I went shopping with a few other girls and they had some really nice local shops, and they also had an H&M, and I got a purse and a tank top. Then we loaded the bus and headed to our hotel in Cordoba.
The ride to Cordoba was another 2 hours. The landscape of the country in Spain was one of the most freshest things I have ever seen. The grass is greener than anything I had ever seen, and there are just hilltops upon hilltops. It honestly looked like something out of a painting. The houses were all so different styles too. Some looked western style, while others looked very modern and others looked outdated, and small, but all brought a piece of flavor and character to them.
Once we arrived to Cordoba, they checked us into the hotel. After a long day, I dropped my things off in my room, and my room mate, Kelsey, Brittany and I went to check out Cordoba. We stumbled across a market that had a lot of nice souvenirs and things and I used some of my Spanish skills to barter with the people alittle. I was actually really surprised with myself throughout the Spain trip, I knew a lot more Spanish than I though. And I often found myself translating for other people, or talking to the locals about one thing or another. So as we walked around Cordoba, we found some local shops, and we even went in their department store called, La Cortes Ingles, or something like that. It's all over Spain and it's equivalent to our Macy's. After traveling the city for an hour or two, it was getting close to dinner time, so we headed back to the hotel. The hotel had prepared us for a nice buffet style dinner, and the food was similar to the food at lunch. We had pork, peas with bacon, fish, and other things that I can't remember. After dinner, I met up with a large group in the lobby, and we all went out to the local clubs and pubs. It was nice to get a feel for the local nightlife and get to know more people. We headed back to the hotel around 1 and went to bed.
Day 3: Cordoba
After breakfast at 800, we set out to the sites in Cordoba. We visited several Jewish and Muslim sites dated back all the way to the 11th century. There were several statues and the streets were small and had hundreds of local shops. We visited the Great Mosque of Cordoba and parts of the Mosque had been saved and dated back to the 8th century. It was so big and had arches all along the top. Unlike anything I had ever seen before. We then walked through the Alcazar of the Christian Kings which was constructed in the 14th century. However, some of it was being renovated and we only visited several rooms. The Alcazar is home to some of the most BEAUTIFUL gardens I had ever seen. With plants, and flowers, and fountains and large orange trees, it was more than a site to see. After the day of sight seeing we headed back to the hotel for lunch which once again was delicious. We said goodbye to the city and headed back for our 3 hour drive to Cadiz.
I can honestly say I am having an amazing time. This is all so new, and amazing. It's hard to take it all in at once. We start sailing tonight to Morocco at 2000. Morocco is extremely close to Cadiz and it is only taking us one day to arrive there. Tomorrow is the day we have off of classes, however, we'll have Morocco pre-departure meetings and everything, andddddd the SUPERBOWL. Our Executive Dean is a Steelers fan, so there have been rumors that they are going to broadcast it! Which would be awesome, but we'll have to wait and see what they say tonight or tomorrow.
I have a camel trek planned in Merrakech, Morocco for the next couple days. And we'll be sleeping in the desert which will be an amazing experience. Jaclyn is going too, and she has a video camera, so we'll try and take some video to document the camels and us. Hope everybody is enjoying the snow. I kind of miss not seeing any snow this year, but then again, I'm sure you guys would rather be here in 65 degree weather; the grass is always greener, I guess. Until Morocco, best of wishes and much love.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Spain Tomorrow!
Saturday January 24, 2009
"At the end of the day, we must go forward with hope and not backward by fear and division." – Rev Jesse Jackson
So that is the quote of the day, basically everyday we get a new quote, and the ones that I really like, I'm going to obvi share with everybody. So classes are starting to get into a routine. Thankfully, we've moved past the syllabus and introductions and gotten into the course material, blah. It's so weird because I lose track of the days so easily on ship. Mostly because we have classes everyday we are at sea, including Saturdays and Sundays.
So last night they had an open mic night, and it was really cool. Not gonna lie, made me feel pretty untalented, but people busted out with some awesome numbers. From a female rapping Slim Shady to an acoustic rendition of Country Grammar, it definently supplied some excitement for the night. And to make the night ever better, we stumbled upon snack time! Honestly, I had been going to bed hungry every night because dinner is from 1730-1930 and breakfast only runs from 7-830 (which as most of you know, I would rather sleep than get up earlier than needed). So I was going from like 630 at night till 1130 in the afternoon without eating. So snack time was a NECESSITY! They had some bangin' sandwiches and awesome poundcake :)
As far as our location, we have a little more than 1500 miles left until Spain! And after 6 days at sea, 1500 miles cannot come soon enough. It's about 70 degrees out today, but a little cloudy, but I'm not complaining. For those of you interested in keeping up with our location, semester at sea has an ongoing map of our travel: http://www.semesteratsea.org/current-voyage.php and a blog also that gives information also: http://semesteratsea-spring2009.blogspot.com/ (if mine isn't up to anyone's standards, lol).
Tuesday January 27, 2009
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Go, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails – explore, dream, discover –Mark Twain
That was the quote from the other day, but I really liked it, so I saved it until I had more time to write. Tomorrow is the day we FINALLY reach Spain! It seems as if it's already been a month on the ship! We lost another hour of sleep last night, meaning that we are officially 6 hours ahead of EST. I still feel kind of tired, as I'm sure most people on the ship do, but once we're in Spain, I'm sure we won't even feel the sleepiness.
We dock in Spain at 800 tomorrow morning and leave on Saturday at 2000. We plan on getting a nice lunch in Spain with some Spanish cuisine. Lunch is the biggest meal in Spain and I plan on getting something reallyyyyy good. Not that the food on the ship has been bad, but it's definently the same thing everyday (salad, potatoes, meat, etc).
The ship life has been pretty normal lately. I think everybody has pretty much gotten into their routines and classes have started to settle and assignments are starting to be due. We started a volleyball team including Jaclyn, Dean, Jack, Craig and myself and we named ourselves the Orville Readyblockers. I know, pretty clever. We start games when we get back from Morocco. I'm hoping that my height gives me an advantage, because I haven't played volleyball in years, but it'll be fun none the less.
The ship has been rockier the last few days. Apparently there was a hurricane in Barcelona a few days ago, so I'm guessing that would be the cause. But it makes for an interesting time walking on the ship when the waves get rough. My things had fallen off my nightstand yesterday and were all on the ground and my water fell off my desk. It was interesting to say the least.
My next post won't be until probably after Morocco, possible after Spain. But until then, hope all is well and everybody is well!
"At the end of the day, we must go forward with hope and not backward by fear and division." – Rev Jesse Jackson
So that is the quote of the day, basically everyday we get a new quote, and the ones that I really like, I'm going to obvi share with everybody. So classes are starting to get into a routine. Thankfully, we've moved past the syllabus and introductions and gotten into the course material, blah. It's so weird because I lose track of the days so easily on ship. Mostly because we have classes everyday we are at sea, including Saturdays and Sundays.
So last night they had an open mic night, and it was really cool. Not gonna lie, made me feel pretty untalented, but people busted out with some awesome numbers. From a female rapping Slim Shady to an acoustic rendition of Country Grammar, it definently supplied some excitement for the night. And to make the night ever better, we stumbled upon snack time! Honestly, I had been going to bed hungry every night because dinner is from 1730-1930 and breakfast only runs from 7-830 (which as most of you know, I would rather sleep than get up earlier than needed). So I was going from like 630 at night till 1130 in the afternoon without eating. So snack time was a NECESSITY! They had some bangin' sandwiches and awesome poundcake :)
As far as our location, we have a little more than 1500 miles left until Spain! And after 6 days at sea, 1500 miles cannot come soon enough. It's about 70 degrees out today, but a little cloudy, but I'm not complaining. For those of you interested in keeping up with our location, semester at sea has an ongoing map of our travel: http://www.semesteratsea.org/current-voyage.php and a blog also that gives information also: http://semesteratsea-spring2009.blogspot.com/ (if mine isn't up to anyone's standards, lol).
Tuesday January 27, 2009
Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Go, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails – explore, dream, discover –Mark Twain
That was the quote from the other day, but I really liked it, so I saved it until I had more time to write. Tomorrow is the day we FINALLY reach Spain! It seems as if it's already been a month on the ship! We lost another hour of sleep last night, meaning that we are officially 6 hours ahead of EST. I still feel kind of tired, as I'm sure most people on the ship do, but once we're in Spain, I'm sure we won't even feel the sleepiness.
We dock in Spain at 800 tomorrow morning and leave on Saturday at 2000. We plan on getting a nice lunch in Spain with some Spanish cuisine. Lunch is the biggest meal in Spain and I plan on getting something reallyyyyy good. Not that the food on the ship has been bad, but it's definently the same thing everyday (salad, potatoes, meat, etc).
The ship life has been pretty normal lately. I think everybody has pretty much gotten into their routines and classes have started to settle and assignments are starting to be due. We started a volleyball team including Jaclyn, Dean, Jack, Craig and myself and we named ourselves the Orville Readyblockers. I know, pretty clever. We start games when we get back from Morocco. I'm hoping that my height gives me an advantage, because I haven't played volleyball in years, but it'll be fun none the less.
The ship has been rockier the last few days. Apparently there was a hurricane in Barcelona a few days ago, so I'm guessing that would be the cause. But it makes for an interesting time walking on the ship when the waves get rough. My things had fallen off my nightstand yesterday and were all on the ground and my water fell off my desk. It was interesting to say the least.
My next post won't be until probably after Morocco, possible after Spain. But until then, hope all is well and everybody is well!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Sailing the Atlantic Ocean: Next Stop, Cadiz
Tuesday, January 20
Today is the second day on board the M.V. Explorer for Semester at Sea! And I can honestly say that it is amazing, well minus the sea sickness. But that only lasted a couple of hours, and then the ship pretty much just rocked me to sleep. The Bahamas was absolutely beautiful. Quite a difference going from 5 degree weather to 75 degree weather. The people in the Bahamas were so nice too! Once I landed in the Bahamas I checked into the Atlantis where I was staying with Jaclyn, and just walked around. The water was so clear and greenish/blue, unlike anything I've ever seen. We went to a nice place for dinner and then went to Senor Frog's to meet people from Semester at Sea and had an awesome time. The next morning though wasn't so nice, having to board the ship at 8AM. Everyone had so many bags and it actually didn't take THAT long to get on the ship, but it was still pretty early. Once we got on the ship, it still wasn't real...that we had finally come to our destination. We had several orientation meetings and met people living on the same deck as us.
Today we continue our orientation meetings. We also got to watch the inauguration because they were able to broadcast it in the Union and the classrooms and our cabins. So that was a nice little surprise. ANd then tonight, they are hosting an inauguration party which should be fun. Classes start tomorrow which will be nice to meet more people. We are currently sailing in the Atlantic Ocean and it's crazy that the only thing we will be seeing for the next 9 days is OCEAN. We arrive in Spain on Jan. 29, and I will be traveling to Cordoba and Sevilla. Miss everybody, and hope all is well back in the States.
Wednesday January 21, 2009
Last night we had an inauguration party for the whole ship. It was really nice to have cake and they gave us champagne also. I mean, it wasn't really champagne, it was alcohol removed, so maybe it was more considered cider, lol. But our Executive Dean gave a nice speech about the inauguration and Obama. The speech was given in the Union, and the Union is at the front of the ship so it was definently rocky to say the least. One of my friends, Craig couldn't even sit in the room it was too much. After the speech we were feeling rough from the waves so we went to the top deck to get some fresh air. A lot of people were up there, and we decided to play cards. It got a little windy and was starting to rain, so we went inside and watched a movie. We hit a few big waves last night and I think we hit a small storm, but I guess I was just too tired to even notice. Today started the first day of classes. We went to another time zone last night so we lost an hour. This morning I had Global Studies at 920, which is a mandatory class for everybody on the ship. I have another class again at 1215.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Still going strong. We've sailed a little over 1300 miles from the Bahamas, I think. Still got about 6 days left to sail, and I think they said 2300 miles, but I'm not positive about that. We had our second day of classes today, our B classes. I had three today, and they were pretty interesting. The time changes have started to catch up with though for sure. We've lost two hours, and still lose four more, over the course of the next four nights.
We had our first "Pub" night last night, where they allow you two alcoholic drinks at dinner from 1730-1930 (530-730 for all you non-military timers, ha), and then four drinks from 2100-2300 (9-11). Everybody just hung out by the pool and the bar and played cards and socialized and what not. The weather was beautiful yesterday, it was about 78 degrees outside, and I laid out for like 2 hours after my class on the top deck while sailing in the middle of the Atlantic, no big deal.
People had so much to say about the food on the ship, that it was bad, and it's all the same and blah blah. Um, I don't know what they were smoking, but I actually like the food alot. They have so many different things for lunch and dinner and I can honestly say that some of the food here is better than at home. (sorry Mom).
As for classes, I don't think I've quite grasped the concept that I actually have to do work on this amazing adventure, but it will hit me soon enough, probably around midterms.
Last night they had an activities fair which had a few things that we could sign up to help with, some more interesting than others. I signed up to help with the Sea Olympics, and hopefully a few of us are going to get a Volleyball team together, which honestly could go either way, knowing my coordination. But that's pretty much it for now. Hope everyone is doing well!
Today is the second day on board the M.V. Explorer for Semester at Sea! And I can honestly say that it is amazing, well minus the sea sickness. But that only lasted a couple of hours, and then the ship pretty much just rocked me to sleep. The Bahamas was absolutely beautiful. Quite a difference going from 5 degree weather to 75 degree weather. The people in the Bahamas were so nice too! Once I landed in the Bahamas I checked into the Atlantis where I was staying with Jaclyn, and just walked around. The water was so clear and greenish/blue, unlike anything I've ever seen. We went to a nice place for dinner and then went to Senor Frog's to meet people from Semester at Sea and had an awesome time. The next morning though wasn't so nice, having to board the ship at 8AM. Everyone had so many bags and it actually didn't take THAT long to get on the ship, but it was still pretty early. Once we got on the ship, it still wasn't real...that we had finally come to our destination. We had several orientation meetings and met people living on the same deck as us.
Today we continue our orientation meetings. We also got to watch the inauguration because they were able to broadcast it in the Union and the classrooms and our cabins. So that was a nice little surprise. ANd then tonight, they are hosting an inauguration party which should be fun. Classes start tomorrow which will be nice to meet more people. We are currently sailing in the Atlantic Ocean and it's crazy that the only thing we will be seeing for the next 9 days is OCEAN. We arrive in Spain on Jan. 29, and I will be traveling to Cordoba and Sevilla. Miss everybody, and hope all is well back in the States.
Wednesday January 21, 2009
Last night we had an inauguration party for the whole ship. It was really nice to have cake and they gave us champagne also. I mean, it wasn't really champagne, it was alcohol removed, so maybe it was more considered cider, lol. But our Executive Dean gave a nice speech about the inauguration and Obama. The speech was given in the Union, and the Union is at the front of the ship so it was definently rocky to say the least. One of my friends, Craig couldn't even sit in the room it was too much. After the speech we were feeling rough from the waves so we went to the top deck to get some fresh air. A lot of people were up there, and we decided to play cards. It got a little windy and was starting to rain, so we went inside and watched a movie. We hit a few big waves last night and I think we hit a small storm, but I guess I was just too tired to even notice. Today started the first day of classes. We went to another time zone last night so we lost an hour. This morning I had Global Studies at 920, which is a mandatory class for everybody on the ship. I have another class again at 1215.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Still going strong. We've sailed a little over 1300 miles from the Bahamas, I think. Still got about 6 days left to sail, and I think they said 2300 miles, but I'm not positive about that. We had our second day of classes today, our B classes. I had three today, and they were pretty interesting. The time changes have started to catch up with though for sure. We've lost two hours, and still lose four more, over the course of the next four nights.
We had our first "Pub" night last night, where they allow you two alcoholic drinks at dinner from 1730-1930 (530-730 for all you non-military timers, ha), and then four drinks from 2100-2300 (9-11). Everybody just hung out by the pool and the bar and played cards and socialized and what not. The weather was beautiful yesterday, it was about 78 degrees outside, and I laid out for like 2 hours after my class on the top deck while sailing in the middle of the Atlantic, no big deal.
People had so much to say about the food on the ship, that it was bad, and it's all the same and blah blah. Um, I don't know what they were smoking, but I actually like the food alot. They have so many different things for lunch and dinner and I can honestly say that some of the food here is better than at home. (sorry Mom).
As for classes, I don't think I've quite grasped the concept that I actually have to do work on this amazing adventure, but it will hit me soon enough, probably around midterms.
Last night they had an activities fair which had a few things that we could sign up to help with, some more interesting than others. I signed up to help with the Sea Olympics, and hopefully a few of us are going to get a Volleyball team together, which honestly could go either way, knowing my coordination. But that's pretty much it for now. Hope everyone is doing well!
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Getting so close!
January 10, 2009
So, I have just a week left before I leave for the Bahamas and it is crazyyyyyy how fast the time has flown by. I cannot wait to leave, but still kinda sad to leave everyone at home! I will miss everybody. I am going to try and write on here as much as possible and tell you guys about the crazy things going on. But with limited internet access and all the activities planned, it might not be as much as I like, but I will definently try my hardest! And for anybody who wants to e-mail me, my e-mail for the ship is csneill@semesteratsea.net. I look forward to hearing from everybody!
So, I have just a week left before I leave for the Bahamas and it is crazyyyyyy how fast the time has flown by. I cannot wait to leave, but still kinda sad to leave everyone at home! I will miss everybody. I am going to try and write on here as much as possible and tell you guys about the crazy things going on. But with limited internet access and all the activities planned, it might not be as much as I like, but I will definently try my hardest! And for anybody who wants to e-mail me, my e-mail for the ship is csneill@semesteratsea.net. I look forward to hearing from everybody!
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