The Hagia Sophia, MY ARTICLE IN THE BEACON NEWS, and Crashing Russell Crowe's Movie Set

http://beaconnews.suntimes.com/news/6612987-417/semester-at-sea-floats-boat-for-au-student.html

 

I will explain this link as it appears chronologically in my story of today, but in case you don't actually read the whole post (which you should!)...click on that link!!

 

What a day! I am all smiles. It started off with a ride on the tram to the glorious Hagia Sophia, which for those of you who don't know was originally an Orthodox church, then a Roman Catholic Cathedral, converted into a Muslim mosque, and now it is a museum. The most interesting part is the combination of Christian and Muslim symbolism throughout the building. When the Muslims took over the Hagia Sophia, because they respected the historical value of the Christian artwork, they did not destroy the paintings, but merely white-washed over them, so that in the future they could be restored. I absolutely love this because it makes such a bold statement about the Muslim community going against every negative stereotype we are fed in America. The building itself was gorgeous. Arabic is such a beautifully written language. I like the fact that it is so far removed from our Latin alphabet that we can't even begin to decipher it. While Arabic is not the spoken language of Turkey (which would be Turkish), there was a great amount of it painted throughout the Hagia Sophia.

 

After the Hagia Sophia, we headed over to the Tokapi Palace, where half of us split off and went inside and the other half stayed outside. I opted not to go inside, as it was expensive and on Tuesday I am doing a field practicum entirely focused on palaces, and I didn't want to get palaced-out. The gardens surrounding the Tokapi Palace were beautiful, and we relaxed in the shade. Since our next stop was going to be the Blue Mosque (where women have to have their heads covered), I began a failed attempt at properly putting my new pashmina on as a headscarf. There was a group of older Turkish women nearby, and watching my struggle, they came and taught me how to do it. It was a wonderful moment. They didn't speak English, I didn't speak Turkish, but we had this connection. It meant a lot to them that I was trying to experience their culture, and it meant a lot to me that they took me in as one of them. Moments like this one are the reason why I'm here. It was so real and so pure. While it may seem simple and trivial, it truly touched me.

 

As a small social experiement of my own, I decided to wear my headscarf while I was in the park. I didn't need to have it on there, none of my friends did, and most tourists did not either. I wanted to see the reactions I would get. I was very surprised to see the amount of judgment. Even though we were in Turkey, where wearing a headscarf is completely the norm, I got so many looks (mostly from other non-Turks). I could tell exactly what was going through their heads. Why was I wearing a headscarf? I'm not Muslim. I'm not Turkish. That is THEIR culture, not mine. It was so interesting to experience. Something I thought was also rather surprising, was that I received comments from my own friends about how I didn't need to be wearing the headscarf then and that I looked silly. Silly?! It blows my mind how brainwashed we are in America. As I keep saying, this concept of Islamaphobia has been so horribly ingrained in our minds after 9/11. It's tragic really.

 

When we finally did arrive at the Blue Mosque, it happened to be during the call to prayer, so it was closed to visitors. We happened to run into a rather persuasive carpet salesman who convinced us to come check out his family's store while the mosque was closed. We agreed and followed him down the street. Upon arriving at his family's carpet store, we were treated like royalty and escorted upstairs to a viewing room, where we met his nephew, Anil, who interestingly enough goes to school in Santa Barbara. First, they provided us with some traditional Turkish apple tea, which is incredibly delicious, and I need to buy an enormous bulk package of it to bring back with me. Anil gave us a very detailed history of Turkish carpet making, and it was surprisingly fascinating. He really knew his stuff. He told us about the different styles, and how each kind is differently handmade. He showed us the different kinds of carpets, and they were gorgeous. After about an hour long presentation, of course Anil was the world's best salesman, and convinced me and Caroline to get some small carpets. Mine is literally maybe 2 square feet. It's very small, but it's handmade, and will make a great wall hanging that I can have for the rest of my life. Not to mention, that it will forever remind me of the ridiculous carpet salesmen and our experience in their store. It was a great time.

 

After leaving the carpet store, we finally headed back to the Blue Mosque. Since it is still a functioning mosque, unlike the Hagia Sophia, we had to cover up and take our shoes off to go inside. It was beautiful. It is called the Blue Mosque because there were thousands of blue tiles used in the design of the inside of the mosque. From the outside there was nothing blue about it. It was only when you go inside that you could appreciate it's name. The detail of the architecture and the artwork was stunning. I can't wait to post pictures from today.

 

After the Blue Mosque, we took the tram back to the port and got on the ship for dinner. I decided to go down the street to Starbucks (authentic Turkish culture) for some wifi. It was then that I found a WONDERFUL surprise! (this is where the link at the beginning of the post comes into play) There was an excellent article written about me in the Beacon Times (a Chicago-area newspaper). I am absolutely THRILLED with it. Thank you so much, Al Benson, for your kind words and for taking an interest in my story. I love the article and appreciate it greatly. I hope to get ahold of an actual copy of the paper so that I can frame it. I've had the biggest smile on my face since I discovered it.

 

And...because as always, I'm Alissa and my life is ridiculous...I've got an excellent story. I was walking back to the ship by myself after discovering the article, absorbed in my 15 minutes of fame and glory, and consequently paying a little less attention to my surroundings than normal. I was walking down the street toward the ship terminal when all of a sudden I found myself ON A MOVIE SET...oh, and not just any movie set...RUSSELL CROWE'S MOVIE SET. My life is so ridiculous all the time!! The best part is...I was so absorbed in how ectastic I was about the article that I didn't even realize it was Russell Crowe! When I got back to the ship I told somebody about it, and they said, "Oh yeah, I heard that Russell Crowe is filming a movie here." Ridiculous. Welcome to my life--I accidentally crash A-list celebrities' movie sets.

Hello Istanbul!!!

I finally was able to get off the ship today and experience Istanbul in all its splendor. What a city. It is absolutely incredible. I can see now why Dr. Butler (my Global Studies professor) went on and on about how this was his favorite place in the world.

 

My day started off with a visit to the Grand Bazaar, and boy was it grand. Mazes upon mazes of shops, with crowds so big you could barely move. It was a blast. I did a lot of shopping for others today. I got a lot of things for my parents, and I am so excited about it. I know they will absolutely love what I got them. It builds off of what I got them in Greece! The major purchase for myself was a Turkish lamp! It is stained glass with different shades of blue on a brass stand. It is gorgeous. The man selling it even gave me a converter so that it will work in the US for free! I can't wait to use it in my dorm room next year!!! I also got myself a real pashmina. It is a beautiful light purple, and it is so soft. It will be great for those cold Chicago winters. The other thing I got for myself was a really nice handmade necklace. Other than that, everything I got was for other people. It was a blast finding little gifts for the people I love. I even found something extra adorable for a certain someone at work's new baby girl. After hours of shopping, my friends and I ate lunch at a cafe in the Bazaar. I got a ham panini, and it was delicious. We continued shopping for about another hour and then headed back to the ship.

 

Exhausted, I managed to drag myself up to dinner, then to the library for some research and paper writing (oh hey...I'm really in school...). I was going to take a nap, but that idea fell through. My roommate Amanda offered me her ticket to the field program, "Walking Discovery of Istanbul at Evening." I jumped at the offer and took the ticket. The trip was great. It was from 2000-2300 (8-11pm). Our first stop was to the New Mosque (Yeni Camii), where we were fortunate enough to witness the 4th call to prayer of the day. Not only were we lucky enough to witness all of the locals flooding to the mosque, but we were even allowed to go inside and observe the rituals. After placing a scarf over my head and removing my shoes, I headed inside for a very humbling experience. The call to prayer was beautiful. It was culture shocking. It was so...real. It greatly saddens me the level of Islamaphobia we have within the United States. The Muslim religion is one of the most peaceful lifestyles a person can live by, but a group of extremists have destroyed their name and image in our country. It was incredibly refreshing seeing crowds of women walking around in their burqas without any heads turning. While I do not necessarily agree with the concept of concealing women, I do appreciate their culture and their right to express their beliefs. Being surrounded by so many burqas, however, has opened my eyes to the concept. While it can clearly be seen as sexist and restricting, I have become much more aware of how wearing a burqa can be a form of liberation as well. There is something freeing about not having to impress others, but the simplicity of being able to simply be oneself.

 

Anyway...Observing the call to prayer will definitely go down as one of my highlights.

 

Our next stop was to the Kumkapi dstrict. It was so lively. There were lights everywhere, gypsies playing music and dancing, fish markets and seafood restaurants lining the streets. It was magnificent. I hope to return for dinner while I'm here.

 

Our last, and final stop, was to Istiklal Street, which was insanity. At 10:30pm, all of the stores were still open. The locals were eating and drinking in the ally ways. There were lights strung over everything. It was like Times Square...but better! The best part was that all of this flair was mixed with 19th/early 20th century European architecture. It was this perfect chaotic blend. I can't wait to come back and really get to explore this area with my friends!

 

I had a great time on this trip. I'm really glad I got to go for free! It was even better because the trip leader was Deb, who was my work-study supervisor when I was helping with the extended families program, and she is one of my favorite people in the whole world. She is wonderful. It was great to get to spend some time with her tonight.

 

I am in love with Istanbul. The culture is so beautiful. I love it here. It continues to amaze me how each country gets better and better. Tomorrow some friends and I are going to go visit the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and another famous mosque. I am very excited for our site seeing expedition!

 

Goodnight, Istanbul! I will see you in the morning!

Sleeping in Turkey

I slept the entire day today. I'm incredibly bummed that I missed my lecture, but I have to take care of my body. I am officially cleared to be out of my cabin again. I'm feeling much better, but I'm still exhausted. I think I'm going to go back to bed soon for the night. Tomorrow some friends and I are going to go explore the Grand Bazaar!! My roommate came back with the coolest stuff today, so I can't wait to go see what I can find! I should be 100% better by tomorrow. I can't wait to go explore Istanbul!! The view out my window right now is absolutely phenomenal! My eyelids keep closing, so I should probably go back to sleep, but I will let you know how Turkey is tomorrow!!

 

ps. We had to have visas for Turkey, so we got our passports stamped!!

 

pps. Remember when I said it was unbearably hot in Croatia? I just learned that it hit 114 degrees with high humidity. While we were there, an all-time record high heat for the country was set. I can't believe I survived!

 

ppps. Ok, I really am going back to bed now! Goodnight!

My Day Spent Hooked Up to IV's...and Yesteday.

Well today was not great. It was "Turkey Day," in preparation for our arrival in Istanbul tomorrow, so we had a 2 hour Global Studies and no other classes. I felt miserable during class, and went straight to bed once it was over. I wouldn't have gone had they not made an announcement saying that the material covered today would be worth 10% of our exam. I got up and started throwing up (which, if you know me, is a big deal because it is so rare for me to actually throw up). My heart was pounding in my chest. It was horrible. My roommate finally convinced me to go to the medical clinic, where I was until 2100 (9pm). 5 hours. They gave me IV fluids, Zofran, Reglan, potassium, and Peptobismol. My heart rate was down to 52, my blood pressure was low, and my heart beat was irregular, so they did an EKG as well. I had an arrythmia. My heart is really sensitive to losing fluids. They finally pinpointed what was causing me to be so sick...I had gotten frozen yogurt with fresh peaches on it in Bulgaria yesterday, and it was from the fresh peaches. There was another girl in the clinic who went to the same frozen yogurt place and was sick as well. I'm terrified to see the damage this doctor's visit is going to do to my bank account.

 

After I finally got back to my cabin, there was a knock on the door. It was the nurse practioner. She had a form for me to fill out and wanted to let me know that I'm not allowed to leave my cabin for 24 hours. This really sucks. I have my lecture tomorrow about the virginity testing and hymen reconstruction, and I was really looking forward to it...not to mention that's a whole day in Istanbul wasted. Luckily we are here for 5 days instead of 4. I might sneak out and try to go to the lecture since it's on the ship, but I'm just worried because they have put in an order for me to get food delivered to my cabin, and I don't want them to deliver my food and have me not be here. I don't know. I'm conflicted. I just got delivered a tray of "food"...and it looks...yummy? Dry cereal, a banana, two slices of bread, and something hot in a bowl that I have no idea what it is. Quality dining right there.

 

My plan is to fall asleep for the night ASAP.

 

Before I do that though, I realized that I forgot to update yesterday! Yesterday was actually a really good day. It started off with a trip to a cafe for some wifi! I got to Skype my parents, and they had hooked up their webcam finally, so I got to see my kitty cat! Aww. It was next that I got my poisonous frozen yogurt...I do have to admit though...it was delicious. We decided to go out for some shopping on our last day in Bulgaria. I got some really cute wooden dolls that are dressed in the traditional Bulgarian costumes, one for Varna, and one for Sofia (the capital). They're adorable...plus...they have a vile of rose oil inside! It's everywhere! I also did my clothes shopping, and found a lot of great deals! The exchange rate is so great. There was a store that was having sales with clothes for 6.90 Leva or 9.90 Leva, which is about $5 and $7! Great, right? I ended up getting two tank tops, two shirts, a skirt, and some undies! I thought it would be pretty awesome to have some Bulgarian underwear! After shopping, we went on a wild goose chase to find some stamps to mail my postcards. We found the post office...on the other side of town, and I managed to get my stamps! We had to hurry back to the ship for on-ship time, but I was able to get my postcards sent!

 

Later last night we had our first meeting for our TEDxSemesterAtSea event!! I'm so excited! I think it's going to be really, really great. Our theme for our conference is "Live with Purpose, Work with Purpose, Travel with Purpose." I think it's really neat that I get to be part of the first ever TEDxSemesterATSea. So cool!

 

Anyway...that pretty much summarizes up the past two days. Fingers crossed that I will be feeling better tomorrow. I'm so tired of being sick on this ship!!!!!

Salt Lakes of Bourgas, Healing Mud, and Nessebar

I had the best day of my life today. My roommates, Kendra and Amanda, and I all had the same field program to the Salt Lakes of Bourgas, Healing Mud, and Nessebar. The day started off with a 2.5 hour drive from Varna to Bourgas. I passed out for quite a bit of time, which was nice because I got entirely too little sleep last night. We arrived at the salt lakes and healing mud. They are a natural resource used by locals as well as foreigners as a form of Eastern medicine. The salt lakes and the mud have healing properties. The really neat thing about it is that it is not a tourist attraction. There aren't any luxuries or modern facilities, and it is completely free. People frequent this place to heal health problems or take advantage of its beauty effects. Going into this trip, I had no idea what I had in store for me!

 

We arrived, received a 10 minute presentation about the salt lakes and healing mud, and then we actually got to do it! First we started off in this pink lake of lye. It smelled SO bad, and it really burned, so I didn't stay in there very long. After the lye, the next step was to go over to the black mud and cover our entire bodies! We were black from head to toe, even our faces. It was so much fun! I can't wait to post pictures! After we were coated in mud, the next step was to walk over to the beach and lay in the black sand while the mud dries. It felt so good covering ourselves in the sand over all the mud. Finally, to get the mud off we had to run into the sea! It was AMAZING. The sea was a beautiful light blue. The water was warm. The waves were the perfect height to be fun, but not overpowering. All I wanted to do was stay in the sea all day. I have never felt more refreshed than I did after the mud bath being in the water. Unfortunately, we did have to leave, and we got back on the bus.

 

However, the day was not over yet! Our next stop was to the town of Nessebar! We spent three hours there, and my roommates and I had a blast! We found the coolest souvenirs! I mentioned in an earlier post about how I got some Bulgarian rose oil. I had no idea at that point what a huge deal rose oil is in Bulgaria! Every single store we went to in Nessebar had an enormous selection of rose products! Apparently the majority (I want to say 80%...) of the world's rose oil comes from Bulgaria. It also is so special because it takes thousands of rose petals to secrete one single drop of rose oil!! Crazy, right? I went all out and bought rose-everything. I got mini rose oil souvenirs for friends, rose body lotion, rose hand cream, rose soap, rose face cream, rose water mist, rose lip balm, and even some rose jam for my parents! I LOVE this exchange rate!! Everything is so cheap! I got all of that for about 20-25 USD. The rose products smell amazing and feel so refreshing. I'm so excited. Nessebar itself was a lot of fun. I really liked the town. The buildings there were the images I had in my mind of what Bulgaria would look like. There were Roman ruins spread throughout the town. It was right along the sea too. It was just beautiful. I had so much fun with Kendra and Amanda. We took a two hour ride back through the beautiful Bulgarian countryside to return to Varna and the ship.

 

After taking the world's most needed shower, some friends and I went out to dinner at a restaurant called Mr. Baba's, which was in a "pirate ship." We were actually sitting on the upper deck of this pirate ship while we were eating. It was great. I got some fresh mozzarella with bread for an appetizer and breaded calamari for my meal. It was delicious! Great meal. I came back to the ship after dinner instead of going out with everybody else. I'm exhausted and I need to get some sleep.

 

I had the best day today. I am so happy right now. My life is so incredible. I have experienced more in this past month than most people will in their entire lives. I am so lucky. I find it rather ironic that I was so upset when they announced that Bulgaria would be the replacement port for Egypt (which was initially on the itinerary before chaos broke out). I was so excited for Egypt, and I thought Bulgaria was not anywhere near as exciting. Who would have known that I would fall madly in love with Bulgaria?? Bulgaria! Out of all places! I am very tempted to say that this has been my favorite port so far. Greece and Spain are right up there too. I am so sad that tomorrow is our last day here. I will return to Bulgaria someday, someway though. It is far too special for this to be the last time I see it. For now though, I will savor every minute of tomorrow!

 

Time for bed! Goodnight, Varna :)

"If your friends jumped off a bridge, would you follow them?" Yes.

That is EXACTLY how my day went today.

 

I did the most out-of-character, terrifying, and liberating thing I have EVER done in my life: I went bungee jumping. I jumped off of a ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY foot bridge on a highway over the Black Sea. I have never been more scared than the moment when I was standing on that railing unsure whether I should jump or not. I decided to take a leap of faith and just go. Those few seconds of freefalling that seemed to go on forever were incredible. The fear was taken over by a surge of adrenaline, and I just floated. It was so unbelievably liberating. Not only was it liberating in the sense that I overcame my fear of falling, but in so many other ways as well. I literally put everything aside and took a huge leap of faith, letting everything else around me go. This is exactly where I am with my life right now, and it was a nice physical representation.

 

As terrifying as it was, I had a blast, and I'm very glad I actually got peer pressured into doing it, despite my reluctance. I feel on top of the world right now.

 

You can start breathing again, Mom and Dad! I'm alive!

 

OH ALSO...because I'm Alissa and my life is ridiculous, of course I couldn't go bungee jumping without something ridiculous happening. MY SHOE FELL OFF while I was bungee jumping. My gym shoe! It was literally dangling off my foot and I had to grab it once I was swinging upside down waiting for them to pull me up. I thought it was for sure going to end up in the sea, but somehow I managed to get ahold of it!

 

Now it's time for dinner, shower, and adventuring in Bulgaria!

First Day in Varna

Today was an interesting day to say the least.

 

We were woken up early by the Assistant Executive Dean blasting her token "Attention please! Attention please!" over the loud speakers to inform us that we have arrived in Varna. After eating some breakfast, we had a diplomatic briefing from the Bulgarian US Ambassador. He gave us an interesting presentation on the country and on the US-Bulgarian relationship. The average income per person in Bulgaria is only 13,000 Leva, which is very low in our eyes, however they have a virtually perfect economy with their national debt at only 13% GDP (a striking comparison to Greece's 145%). Also, the US and Bulgaria's relationship is the best it has ever been. I had no idea that we had such strong ties with this country. After the briefing we each had to go through immigration one by one, which was interesting because usually they just hand over everybody's passports and the ship is cleared as a whole.

 

I did end up going on the "Wonders of Bulgaria" field program. It was pretty neat. Our fist stop was to the Aladzha Monastery. It is no longer a functioning monastery, but a museum and an attraction. It was beautiful. Tucked away in a forest, you would never have realized it was there. It was so green and so lush. I definitely felt a sense of calm in the nature. The really neat part was the fact that the rooms for the monastery were carved into a cave. We got to climb through the caves, and there were even some catacombs!

 

Our next stop was at The Stone Forest, which was a "forest" of giant rock formations. Scientists have determined that it was not man-made, but they have not discovered the cause. It was so cool! Some of the rocks look like different things. There was one that looked like a face, one that looked like a poodle, one that looked like a heart, and one that looked like...well, let's just say it was called "The Stone of Fertility." In the middle of the forest, there was the "magic circle," which supposedly has healing powers. We all put our hands on the stones and were barefoot in the sand. I didn't really feel the positive energy, but it's a nice thought. At the gift shop I bought some postcards and some authentic Bulgarian rose oil. Rose oil is a very special Bulgarian product. Not only does it have a wonderful fragrance, but it also is supposed to help with sleep, stress, health, etc. I thought that was a very uniquely Bulgarian item to get!

 

After the trip, we headed back to the ship for dinner. My friends and I decided to go out to the Bulgarian Summer Music Festival, which was a free outdoor concert...IN A ROMAN RUIN! How cool, right? Tonight's performance was entirely percussion, and they were very talented. On our way to and from the concert, we ran into a baby kitten who couldn't have been more than 4 weeks old on the sidewalk, and it tore my, Lindsay, and Caroline's hearts apart to leave it alone on the street. It was so cute and so little.

 

We came back to the ship, and I decided to stay in for the rest of the night. Bad news #1...I think I left my camera on the bus on my trip. I'm so disappointed in myself. I am always so anal about making sure it is with me at all times, and I swore to myself that I would not lose anything on this trip. I suppose worse things could happen though. My roommate got her credit card stolen in Greece and they made charges on her card. My friend has an extra camera with her on the trip, so luckily I can just use that for the rest of the trip. Also luckily, I had just uploaded my pictures last night, so the only pictures I lost were the ones from today, and I can steal Amanda's pictures from the trip. I am very sad that I lost it though. I'm going to keep checking at the purser's desk to see if anyone found it and turned it in.

 

(Kind of) Bad News # 2...I got my first B of the voyage on my Race, Class, and Gender paper. My teacher tore it apart. The funny thing is that on my last paper my TA tore it apart, but my teacher gave me an A, and then on this one, my TA liked it, and my teacher tore it apart. Oh well. As bummed as I am to end the A streak I had going on, it had to happen at some point. Constructive criticism is always a good thing. I turned in my Photo Essay (where we had to take pictures based on a theme in our class and write about them) today for that class, and I'm happy with it. I chose the topic of the breaking of gender roles in the countries we have visited. I got pictures of female police officers, men with children, a male dancer, and a female coast guard officer. I think I tied it together nicely. Hopefully she doesn't tear that one apart too! Even though technically it doesn't matter if I get A's in these classes because they don't factor into my GPA, I just get the credits, I still want to get A's because 1. it will help when I apply for the Spring 2012 Voyage, and 2. It will look really good for grad school applications to have all A's on a UVA transcript.

 

Bad News #3...I had a mini breakdown tonight. Finally the exhaustion and the stress of everything came down on me, and I just started sobbing. I suppose it was good though because I haven't really cried in a very, very long time, and it needed to be let out. I'm really homesick too. I miss my parents and my cat a lot. I wish I could call them, but I don't know where wi-fi is to Skype them, and a phone card costs $20 for only 13 minutes on the ship. Being on this voyage has made me realize how much I appreciate my parents and how much they mean to me. I love you, Mom and Dad.

 

I'm physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted right now, watching Crash, and getting ready to go to sleep. Tomorrow will be a new day and a new start. I think my friends and I are going to try to go swim with dolphins! I really hope we can!!!

Bulgaria, TEDx, & the Spring 2012 Voyage

Today was a pretty good day overall. We actually arrived early to Varna this morning, but because our berth isn't ready until tomorrow (plus we have to deal with immigration and customs), we've been anchored in the middle of the sea all day. We will dock tomorrow morning, and officially be in Bulgaria! They also told us that immigration will be stamping our passports! Hooray!

 

I'm very excited for Bulgaria. I've heard it is a beautiful country. I've never experienced Eastern Europe before, so this will be a first! I'm also excited that the exchange rate is for once in our favor! 1 Bulgarian Leva=1.35 USD. I only have one field program for this country, which is the "Salt Lakes of Bourgas, Healing Mud, and Nessebar" trip. Both of my roommates are going on that one too, so I bet it is going to be a great time! Other than that I don't really have any solid plans as of right now. I might try to get on the "Wonders of Bulgaria" trip with Amanda tomorrow afternoon because it would be nice to get to see the major points of interest, and to be honest I feel a lot less prepared for this country than I did the others. I have much less of an idea of what I want to do. One thing I believe my friends and I might do is go to the Dolphinarium! I'm not sure whether or not we would actually get to swim with the dolphins, but either way it would be a lot of fun!

 

During our preport lecture (where they discuss the cultural and logistical issues regarding each port) tonight, we had a special guest visitor, who was from the TED Conventions. For those of you who are unfamiliar with TED, here is their mission statement: "We believe passionately in the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives and ultimately, the world. So we're building here a clearinghouse that offers free knowledge and inspiration from the world's most inspired thinkers, and also a community of curious souls to engage with ideas and each other." If you would like to learn more about TED, you should check out their website: www.ted.com. It really is a phenomenal program. They place all of their "TED Talks" online for free. They have conventions all over the world, and within the past few years, an extension of TED has been developed called TEDx. This allows third parties to hold their own TED conventions, and promote their concept of "ideas worth sharing." I feel very privileged to be a part of the Semester at Sea Summer 2011 Voyage because we are the first voyage to be forming a partnership with TEDx and begin having our own TEDx presentations. The inaugural SAS TEDx event will be happening in a couple weeks. I am so excited!

 

I had a really big highlight today. Something that I haven't posted about on my blog yet, but that I've really been thinking about is the possibility of me sailing on Semester at Sea again. I am planning on applying for the Spring 2012 voyage. I have calculated that as long as Semester at Sea would give me scholarships once again, that combined with my financial aid from Aurora and the government, I could receive nearly a full ride for a semester-long, around the world voyage. The summer voyages are focused on one particular region, whereas the fall and spring voyages actually circumnavigate the globe. Here is the itinerary for next spring:

 

Nassau, Bahamas

Havana, Cuba

Manaus, Brazil

Takoradi, Ghana

Cape Town, South Africa

Port Louis, Mauritius

Cochin, India

Singapore, Singapore

Ho Chi Mihn City, Vietnam

Hong Kong, China

Shanghai, China

Kobe, Japan

Yokohama, Japan

Hilo, Hawaii, USA

San Diego, California, USA

 

Doesn't that sound absolutely incredible? SAS has been so profoundly life changing for me. I have this intense desire to see more and learn more about the world around me. I can't get enough. I need to see beyond America. I need to see how the rest of the world works. I need to be outside of my comfort zone. I need to be culture shocked. I need to have my world turned upside down. I made this voyage happen; I can make another one happen.

 

Anyway...the reason why I brought this up is because of how this ties in to the highlight of my day. I have been worried that SAS might not give me scholarships again because they really do try to spread their aid out to provide as many people with this experience as possible. I had one of my supervisors make sure there was not a policy about giving people scholarships twice (you would be surprised at the amount of students who sail for a second time). Fortunately, there is not. It is all on a case-by-case basis. Since the potential of me sailing again relies so heavily on SAS's scholarship, it has been of concern. I know I have mentioned several times recently about how I've been encountering the Dean of Students, Beth Hellwig. While it has always been positive, it has been somewhat superficial. Today I marched up to her, and told her that I would like to talk to her. I told her that she should get to know me. I told her that I'm here for all the right reasons. I work hard, I've gotten an A on every single assignment so far, she will never see me in the "drunk tank" (where they hold students who come back to the ship drunk until they sober up), I have so much passion about this experience, I'm paying for it almost entirely by myself, and it has been so profoundly meaningful and inspiring to me. I told her about my plans to try to sail again, and that it would mean so much to me if she would take the time to get to know me because nothing would look better than a letter from the Dean of Students on this voyage (the faculty/staff is different each voyage) advocating on my behalf about how I deserve the scholarships again. She told me that she would absolutely love to get to know me. She said that she would love to get together for dinners or various other activities on the ship. This is such a huge deal. I felt so brave and so proud of myself for going up to her and saying all of that, and it means so much to me that she cares so much. This also really relieves some of my nerves about the situation because I think that a letter from her coupled with a letter from my work-study supervisor will go such a long way.

 

I feel on top of the world right now. Watch out, Bulgaria, here I come!

Sailing Under the Bosphorus Bridge

Tonight was incredible. We sailed through the Bosphorus Strait and under the Bosphorus Bridge, which connects the European side of Istanbul, Turkey with the Asiatic side. It was one of the coolest things I have ever done. The strait was only about a mile wide, and we were surrounded on both sides by the city of Istanbul. It was phenomenal. The whole city was lit up. We could see the Hagia Sophia and many other important buildings. I am so excited for Turkey! I can't wait til we come back next week. Tonight we are just passing through on our way to Bulgaria. I think it is so interesting that not only is the country of Turkey separated into two continents, but the city of Istanbul is split as well. The bridge was brightly lit with color changing lights. It was so incredibly cool passing under it. Everyone cheered. I took a video...I'll try to post it when I can. The city also happened to be setting off fireworks right after we passed. What a great experience.

 

Tonight was my last family dinner. Isn't that sad? Dottie and Ed are getting off the ship in Istanbul so that they can make it home in time for their family reunion. Since we only have one day between Bulgaria and Turkey, we had our last family dinner tonight. We got a really nice family picture though, which makes me really happy. I hope I can continue to keep in touch with Dottie once I am back in Illinois. She has really been an asset to my SAS experience.

 

They're playing Crash right now, which is one of my favorite movies, so I think I am going to go watch it and get ready for bed.

Gay Advocacy in Greece Lecture, A Funny Story, and Deaparting from Greece

Today I went to a lecture from the heads of Athens Pride, the largest LGBT advocacy organization in Greece. It was a really, really interesting talk, and definitely eye-opening. The main lady was actually an American who has been living in Athens for the past 22 years, and the other guy was a student at the University of Athens who created the first student-run LGBT organization ever in Athens. They talked to us about their organization and their efforts to create a safer, more accepting environment in Greece. They also talked about Greece's attitudes toward homosexuality, and I found this to be particularly interesting. Americans have this idea that Europeans are much more open with their sexuality and there is a much greater sense of freedom, but in reality this is not the case. As it turns out, Greece is a much more closeted society than America. It is understood and unacknowledged. They have the "I'm fine with people being gay...just as long as it's not my child" kind of mentality. The speakers talked about how Greece's hypocracy on the subject is harder to combat than outright homophobia.

 

Currently, there are no laws protecting the LGBT community from hate crimes, there is no domestic partnership agreement, and gay adoption is simply out of the question. They said that marriage and adoption are so far on the back burner because in Greece they have much more basic issues to deal with. They have to deal with the issues of tolerance and acceptance, especially within families. There is a distinct lack of visibility for the LGBT community in Greece, particularly in universities (which is certainly not the case in US schools), and this lack of visibility maintains the wall of oppression. Unfortunately, it's a vicious cyle that continues to fuel itself.

 

After the lecture, the speakers stayed for lunch, and we were able to eat with them and talk some more. It was really neat getting to talk with the student, Steffanos, about his life, his activism, and his experiences. It was also really neat getting to talk to the lady, Andrea, about the differences between being gay in America and being gay in Greece. It was all very eye-opening, and I feel that I gained a lot out of the lecture and the lunch.

 

It made me realize once again how out of touch we are with reality in America. We live in our little American bubble. I had no idea the hardships the LGBT community in Greece and other European countries are faced with. I really admire these people for finding the passion and making a lifetime commitment to fighting for what's right. I don't understand how people can be so cruel and so violating of human rights. Love is love. I really hope that at some point throughout my lifetime we will see great changes on this issue. I hate even calling it an "issue," because it's not an "issue." Nobody should be victimized for any reason. Nobody should be treated differently than others. Nobody should have their rights stripped away. Nobody should be a second class citizen.

 

I really got a lot out of the lecture/lunch. It was one more thing that I feel made me open my eyes and step a little further out of my American bubble. It also touched my heart a little. I feel that I need to reach out more, be more compassionate, and more aware of the struggles of others. We all walk a long road and fight a hard battle in this life, and for some it's much harder than others. Everyone could use a hand or a shoulder from time to time.

 

Anyway...on a completely different note, I have a rather comical story. I went to the market to get some Greek groceries to bring on the ship to spend the last of my Euros (none of our remaining countries use the Euro). I got some yogurt(!), some snacks, some juice, and some lemon soda. Unfortunately, I wasn't paying attention and all of the beverages I purchased were twist off tops, so as soon as I got to security to board the ship, they had to confiscate all of my drinks. I was so sad. They told me that I could drink it outside of the ship before I got on. I ran to my cabin to put my yogurt in the fridge, and on my way inside I ran into Craig. I told him the situation, and asked if he wanted to come help me drink some juice. We had quite the time trying to explain to the security guard inside the ship that we had to get back off the ship to drink some juice (we're not allowed off the ship once we've gotten back on within one hour of "on-ship time" prior to departing from the ports). The security guard off the ship that confiscated my drinks told him it was ok, and they let us off. We were standing outside the ship with all of this juice, and we passed some out to the LLCs (Living-Learning Coordinators...they're basically RAs) and to the Dean of Students (once again, getting on her good side!). It was a pretty hilarious moment. We were joking about how we were "getting juiced with the dean." I seriously have never consumed so much juice in one period of time. I couldn't even eat dinner afterward because I was so full from the juice.

 

We have departed, and I am watching the sun set over Greece in the distance out my window. I am really sad to be leaving this beautiful country, this beautiful culture, and these beautiful people. There was something about Greece that was just so special for me. I don't know that I could even pinpoint it or put it into words. This country really grabbed my heart, and I know I will return someday. We're setting sail for two days at sea before reaching our next destination of Varna, Bulgaria.

Pictures from the Tarquinia Cooking Class in Italy

I was trying to upload pictures, but the internet connection here wasn't strong enough to upload a bunch of pictures...so for now, here a few pictures from my Tarquinia cooking class for you to enjoy! You can click on the pictures to make them bigger.

(the instructors showing us how to make the pasta)

(my pasta!)

(the finished product! yum!)

A Nice Long Day in Athens

I had a really nice day today in Athens. Kendra, Lindsay, and I took the metro into the city. While they went and explored the Acropolis, I relaxed at a cafe, ate some Greek yogurt with honey, and filled out some postcards. I found an international press store, and bought a USA Today to catch up on what is going on back on the other side of the world. They returned, but Lindsay had to leave early, so Kendra and I headed over to the New Acropolis Museum. It was really cool. They had four floors worth of artifacts from the Acropolis. Outside was really neat too because the floor was glass and beneath was ruins. I realized I never talked about this before, but the Parthenon (I also realized that in an earlier post I accidentally wrote "Pantheon"...wrong country!) was built for the goddess Athena. According to Greek mythology, there was a competition between Poseidon and Athena as to who the city would be named after. Eventually, Athena won, the Parthenon was errected in her honor, and the city was named "Athens." There's a little fun fact for you.

 

After the Acropolis Museum we discovered that there was a fine arts festival in town. Much to my delight, we discovered that Sylvie Guillem would be performing later tonight!!!! Not only was she performing, but she was performing in the theatre IN THE ACROPOLIS!!! For those of you who don't know who Sylvie Guillem is, she is a French ballerina from the Paris Opera Ballet and the Royal Ballet in London. She is an absolutely phenomenal dancer, and the suppressed ballet fanatic inside of me went insane at the thought of seeing Sylvie Guillem live at the Acropolis. Unfortunately, the show was sold out, and my little ballerina heart was broken. It would have been an incredible performance, but it's ok. I was very impressed that almost all of the people coming to see the show were locals and not tourists. It is really refreshing to know that despite everything happening in Greece right now, there is still a support for the arts. That makes me happy.

 

Kendra and I got a real Greek dinner. I ordered Moussaka. It was SO DELICIOUS! It was a multi-layered dish composed of eggplant, mincemeat, spices, and this creamy cheese sauce. Oh man. It was fantastic. I'm glad I decided to be adventurous with my menu selections. I'm usually not, but this was so worth it. For dessert I had, you guessed it, Greek yogurt with honey once again! Incredible. I'm going to try to go to the supermarket tomorrow to buy some prepackaged yogurt to bring back on the ship.

 

After dinner Kendra and I went shopping! I ended up buying two dresses, a real pair of handmade gold Greek leather sandals, and a really nice present for my parents. I'm really excited about it. I know they'll love it, and I really wanted to get them something to show how much I appreciate them. I'm also really excited about all the clothes I have purchased in the different ports. It is a really big deal for me to have a wardrobe that I feel really good about, and have clothes that I feel good in. I'm not going to get into anything, but for those of you who know me, you know what a big deal this is. I'm really proud of myself, and I think it is definitely a worthwhile investment for very many reasons.

 

For my Race, Class, and Gender class we have to do "Photo Essay," where we take several pictures about a theme pertaining to the class and then write about them. I'm doing mine about the breaking of the typical gender roles we have constructed in America. So far I have gotten pictures of men carrying children around and female police officers. I think it's a good assignment, and I think I picked an interesting topic. It really is rather fascinating to notice the difference in gender roles between America and Europe. There are an enormous amount of women working in "masculine" fields, such as police officers, and I have seen a lot of men alone with their children in public. There are other examples as well, but these are two of the more prominent ones that I am focusing on for my project. It makes me really happy to see this. I wish America could adopt the ideas and the mindsets of the people in these countries.

 

This leads me to my next point...I have come to many, many realizations over the past several days. Kendra and I had a long talk about this on our walk back to the ship. I am embarrassed to be an American. I see the ignorance in myself regarding the world around me. I see the ignorance in my peers as well. I see the way I get treated as a "less-than" in some of these countries because I am American, and the world recognizes our ignorance. It is so sad that the entire world can see our ignorance, but we have no idea. I found it very interesting when I was buying the USA Today and talking to the lady at the store that she asked me where I was from, and before I could answer she said, "England? Canada?" It made me realize that based on my behavior, this woman assumed that I could not have been from the US because I was not living up to her stereotype. It makes me so sad to think that that is the image of Americans in the eyes of the rest of the world. This experience is so life changing. Semester at Sea is opening up my eyes and truly creating a global citizen out of me. I needed this. I needed to get away from America and remove myself from everything I knew. I could not be more proud of myself and the growth in me.

 

I have more to say about this, but it is 1:15 in the morning, and I am exhausted. Tomorrow is my last day in Greece, which I am terribly sad about. I am stuck on the ship for quite a bit of the time we have left because I have a lecture to go to, but hopefully I will get one last taste of Greece (and by that I obviously mean yogurt!) before we leave for our next port--Bulgaria.

Mykonos Disaster

Well...Craig's and my trip to Mykonos was a huge disaster. Let me just first state, that the day started out with a mile long walk around the port to get to our ferry because the Athens taxi drivers went on strike AND they blocked all the buses in. We decided to take the 5:45pm ferry instead of the 7am one. We ended up taking a highspeed one, so it only took us 3 hours to get from Piraeus to Mykonos.

 

We got in around 9, and what do you know...the whole island had a blackout. It was pitch black. Our plan was to find the hotel where our friends were staying. Instead we were mobbed by people trying to get us to stay at their hotels, and we ended up going with this one lady back to her villa. It was beautiful and cheap, but my friend was worried that it would be too far away from the downtown area. The lady kept telling us that nobody downtown would have any rooms available and to just stay the night and figure it out in the morning. At this time, the electricity had come back on. Craig wanted to leave, so she dropped us off at the bus stop. The only problem was we didn't have any cash...and the nearest ATM was downtown...so we walked probably 3 miles down the main road with our luggage to the city center.

 

We got there and tried to get ahold of our friend, but the call cut out. We walked all over downtown looking for either a hotel to stay at or for people we knew. Everywhere was booked, and we didn't find anybody. We decided to get a cab to take us to a hotel that might have somewhere to stay, and we ended up waiting in the taxi line for over an hour. By this time it was after midnight, we still had all of our luggage, nowhere to stay, and didnt' know where our friends were. In the taxi line we ran into this couple from Belgium that was staying back at the first villa. We decided to ride back with them and just stay there for the night. We got all the way back, and we could not find the lady. We were in the more remote part of the island once again with nowhere to stay.

 

We walked down to the market, which had been open when we drove by in the taxi 10 minutes prior, but of course it was closed. We had no choice but to start walking all the way back to the city. We found the bus stop and this time we had change, so we hopped on the bus (now it was about 1am), and he dropped us off at some strange location. Craig started to freak out and have a panic attack about the whole situation, but I was just laughing about how ridiculous of a failure it was turning out to be. I knew we would be fine.

 

We came across a hotel, and checked to see if there were any availabilities. There were! However...it turned out to be a luxury hotel, and the room was 300 Euro. I thought we should leave and keep looking because that is a ridiculous amount of money, but Craig's anxiety was too much for him to handle and he refused to leave. I said that I didn't feel comfortable paying for half of that bill, and he said that he would pay for the entire thing. He was afraid he would pass out from his anxiety. I felt really bad, but I knew he couldn't be rational about the situation while he was having a panic attack, so I was trying to be the voice of reason and say that spending that much money for the hotel would impact the rest of his trip, but he absolutely refused to leave, so we ended up staying there. Not only did we stay in the luxury hotel, but we were given the biggest room they had. I have never seen a bed so big in my entire life. Four people could have easily fit in there. I took a shower and went to bed, but I had a really hard time falling asleep because Craig's anxiety was so bad that it was causing me to have anxiety.

 

The next morning we got up and had breakfast, but Craig just wanted to leave the island and head back to Piraeus. I was really bummed that we literally did nothing in Mykonos, but I didn't want to put him in any position of having another panic attack. We got our tickets for the ferry, and as we were trying to figure out which way to head to the port, a Greek man in a tiny scooter truck contraption asked if we needed any help. He told us he would give us a ride. Craig was sitting in the back of the truck, and as I went to hop on the back, the man insisted that I sit in the front with him. The cabin of this scooter-truck thing was absolutely tiny, and I was cramped in their with this large man. It was the most ridiculous moment of Craig's and my life. I have a picture of it. I can't wait to post it. It is so funny. We arrived at the port, and had about an hour to kill. This time we did not take a highspeed ferry, so it took us about 5 hours to get back to Piraeus. Fortunately, I was able to knock out for a great portion of the time, which was nice because I can't usually sleep while traveling. Once I woke up they were playing Monk and House, which are two of my favorite TV shows, so I was content. We arrived back in Piraeus, and had to walk the mile back to the ship. Once we entered security getting on the ship, we got "randomly" selected for a drug test. Good news! I passed! I got all the drugs out of my system!!! (Kidding...I don't do drugs). I saw on the list though that somebody earlier failed it. I don't understand why people would risk losing such a once in a lifetime opportunity for something so stupid.

 

Now I am back in my cabin. I took a shower, and now I'm watching Toy Story 3. I'm really bummed with how Mykonos turned out. It was an absolutely beautiful place, and I would have loved to have actually taken advantage of it. I did manage to get some pictures, not many, but a few. Hopefully someday I will be able to return and actually experience it. For now, though, I'm just going to laugh at the whole situation, and enjoy the rest of my time in Greece.

Athens & the Acropolis

Hello from Greece! What an incredible country! I have been here for less than 24 hours, and it has already become my favorite port so far.

 

Today I did the SAS field program, "Sights of Athens and the Acropolis." My roommate, Amanda, signed up for it as well, so it was really fun to get to do it with her! We hopped on the bus and were given a city orientation of Piraeus (the port city) and Athens (which, fortunately, is only 6 miles away). We got to stop and take pictures of the first Olympic stadium!!! I thought that was so cool! I LOVE the Olympics. We drove around some more, but we had to get off of the bus earlier than expected because the road to the Acropolis was blocked off. Guess why it was blocked off! Hillary Clinton is in town! Half of the city streets were blocked off today because she is here. How funny. We walked about ten minutes up to the Acropolis, and there it was in all of its glory! I have never seen anything more incredible (well, the Colosseum is up there with it). Being there, surrounded by something that is such a huge part of history was an amazing feeling. It was absolutely beautiful. I got to see the Pantheon and how it really, truly was built without mortar. I thought that was fascinating. There was another really cool building, I can't remember how to spell the name, but we got to walk all the way around it, and it was just so neat to see. The Acropolis, which means "high city," really was a high city; you could see all of Athens from up there. It was the most spectacular view. I got a lot of great pictures. Visiting the Acropolis has definitely been the highlight of my voyage so far. I had the absolute best time today. Even the weather was great. Croatia was so miserably hot and humid, and here there was no humidity, plus there was a really nice breeze, so it seemed much cooler than it was. I even managed to get some color today! Woo!

 

We came back and had dinner on the ship. Dottie invited us to sit with her and Beth, who is the Dean of Students for our voyage. She sat next to me in Global Studies yesterday too. She is wonderfully nice. It's good to get yourself on the Deans' good sides!

 

After dinner, Amanda, Lindsay, Jeff, and I took a cab into Athens and explored! Our first stop was to get YOGURT! That was my main mission for Greece: getting real Greek yogurt! Oh man, it was SO good!!! I got the traditional yogurt with a scoop of forest berries. I have a feeling I will be consuming enormous amounts of yogurt over the next four days (we get 5 whole days in Greece!! I'm so excited!!). We walked around some more and got some touristy things. I bought a tshirt that has the Greek flag on it with "Greece" written in Cyrillic above the flag and in English below. It's pretty cool. I also got some postcards and a 5 Euro pair of knockoff Ray-Ban sunglasses from a street vendor. He tried to get me to pay 21 for them...ha! We did some further exploring of Plaka, a major touristy part of Athens, before heading back to Piraeus and the port.

 

OH ALSO...We got our passports stamped here!!! I'm so happy!!

 

I went out into the terminal, where they have free wifi, and was able to Skype my parents for a while, which was nice. It's 1:30am here, and I am about ready to pass out. I'm going to the island of Mykonos tomorrow with my friend Craig! I think we might be staying two nights there. Our plans aren't really set yet. I'm very excited though. I've heard Mykonos is so beautiful.

 

I love, love, love Greece. It makes me so sad to know that this beautiful country is so close to facing its downfall. I want to talk about this more, but my brain has already shut off for the night. I will get into it more later. Goodnight, Greece. Goodnight, World.

Preparing for Greece Tomorrow

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. The email server was down until almost midnight, and I update my blog through my email.

 

We lost another hour last night, so I am officially 7 hours ahead of Ohio and 8 ahead of Illinois.

 

I actually enjoyed Global Studies today. It was really interesting. We learned all about Greece and the current situation they are facing. I had no idea it was so bad. As of right now, their debt is 145% of their GDP, and it has increased by 15% in 2009 and 10% in 2010. That is shocking. I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity to come now before the situation gets worse, potentially leading to a huge downfall of the country. Another thing I learned today that I thought was extremely interesting is that the Parthenon was built without mortar. The only thing holding it together is gravity and a flawless design. Can you imagine constructing something so grand perfectly enough that simply gravity can hold it together? I couldn't believe it.

 

I'm very excited for Greece tomorrow! I'm feeling more excited about this port than I even was about some of the others. I'm doing a field program called "Sights of Athens and the Acropolis." I can't wait to tour the Acropolis and walk the streets of Athens. I want to try to get some friends together to make a trip to Mykonos, which is the island where the quintessential image of Greece is from: the winding narrow roads with the white houses with blue roofs and shutters. I've heard it's absolutely beautiful.

 

Last night we had the first informational session for the Global Ambassadors Program, which is what I'm helping with for work-study. The GAP is a group of SAS alumni selected from each voyage to spread the word about SAS in their home areas and universities, as the majority of students who participate in SAS find out about it through someone who has previously sailed. I think I'm going to apply for it. I'm always looking for things to boost my resume. "Global Ambassador" certainly has a nice ring to it.

 

Tonight they're showing Toy Story 3. One of my favorites.

 

I better get off and head to Race, Class, and Gender. Today we're talking about ethnicity and nationality. Next time you hear from me I will be in Greece!!!!

Goodbye Dubrovnik!

Well, Croatia has come and gone. What a whirlwind. I ended up not going snorkeling this morning because I was too tired, but that is just fine because our next stop is Greece, and the snorkeling will be even better there. I spent the day with my roomie Kendra in the Old City. We grabbed some lunch at a local restaurant. We settled on the pizza, but there was one option on the menu we could have ordered that I have to share with you. This was the funniest concoction I have ever seen. First, let me just say, that it was called the "Afrodiziac," and here is the description: "tortilla stuffed with chicken, cheese, peanut butter, corn, onion, pepperoni, pineapple, tabasco sauce, and chocolate." I'm completely serious. I think we'll leave that one to the locals...

 

The day was spent very low key. We bought postcards and sat at an outdoor cafe surrounded by street markets while we wrote them. It was lovely. Kendra, Miss Popular that she is, got NINETEEN postcards and spent FIFTY US dollars on postage alone!!! I stuck with four. While she spent an hour writing her postcards, I walked around the Old City determined to find myself an item of clothing as that is what I'm getting as my souvenirs in each port instead of a touristy knick-knack. Eventually I found this really nice shirt. I'm really excited about my new European/African wardrobe!

 

After mailing our postcards we got one last Croatian gelato and set out on a mission. The crew members were not allowed to get off of the ship in this port. I'm entirely sure what the reason was, but one idea might be because of visa issues as the majority of the crew is Filipino. Anyway...we decided to get something for Edwin, our cabin steward, since he didn't get to go to Croatia and because he is so wonderful and cleans our disaster of a room all the time. Also, out of 700 students on this ship (granted, he only deals with one area, but still...) he knows me and my roommates by name and always says hi when he sees us. We found an adorable chocolate shop, where we got him a big box of chocolates that had a giant picture of Dubrovnik on the front. He was so adorable when we gave them to him. He said that he was going to give them to his daughter when he gets to go home after Morocco. I thought that was so sweet.

 

We ran into Dottie and Ed, my wonderful grandparents, while we were in the Old City, and Dottie gave me her bus card so I didn't have to pay for the bus back to the ship! That meant that she had to go buy another one for herself! She is just too nice. I'm so happy to have met someone so wonderful who lives so close to me at school.

 

I've really enjoyed myself in Croatia and Montenegro these past several days. These countries are so beautiful and so rich in culture. I feel lucky to have been a part of it for even just a short amount of time.

 

I can't believe we have come and gone to another port. I've seen five countries already (well, technically six because Vatican City is it's own country), and I still have four more to go. This whole experience is so surreal. I'm realizing more and more with everyday how unbelieveably fortunate I am to have this opportunity. Not one moment of it goes unrecognized or unappreciated. This experience has done so much for me already. With each and every day, I find myself striving to be a better person. I have so much to give this world. I want to be more caring, more compassionate, more understanding, more accepting, more open, more selfless. I want to be more. I want to do a program like Doctors Without Borders for mental health. I want to give back. I want to fight for what I believe is right. I want to stand up for those who don't have a voice. I want to empower. I never want to stop growing and learning about the world around me. I never want to stop traveling. I want to make it a priority and experience as much of the globe as I can. I want to do right with my time here on Earth. I want to make those around me proud. I want much bigger and much better things than my Midwest American bubble. I want to change lives. I want my existance to be meaningful. I can do it. I have it in me, and now, thanks to Semester at Sea, I know it.

Montenegro

Sorry I did not get to update yesterday. I was in Montenegro and didn't bring my laptop.

 

Montenegro was beautiful. We left yesterday morning for our two day adventure. The border is an hour away from Dubrovnik, and much to my delight, Montenegrin immigration stamped my passport! We drove for about another hour, and then arrived in the city of Kotor. We got to walk through the town and go inside one of the cathedrals.

 

After Kotor, we proceeded to drive up to the top of a mountain! It was incredible. There were 25 curves from the bottom to the top. You could see the entire Bay of Kotor--the sea, the houses, the wildlife. It was beautiful. At each level we thought the view couldn't get any better, and the higher we got, the more incredible it was. The drive up the mountain was rather unerving, slightly reminiscent of the drive in Capri, but much higher. Fortunately for us, our bus driver is the 3rd place All-European Bus Driving Champion. Seriously. He is number one in Croatia and third in all of Europe. Who would have known there was such a thing as competitive bus driving? I thought that was the funniest thing I had ever heard.

 

Once we were up the mountain, we stopped in a tiny village (I'm not sure of the name) for a snack. The served us proscuitto and cheese on the freshest bread I have ever had. It was very tasty. Across the street from the restaurant was a souvenir shop. It was essentially a wooden shack. It was there that I found my favorite purchase of the voyage so far: handknit wool bootie slippers. They were only 5 Euro, and they are so cool! Handmade slippers from the tiniest little village in the middle of the mountains of Montenegro! I love them.

 

After our snack, we headed to the former capital, Cetinje (pronounced seh-TEEN-yeh). We were supposed to visit two museums, but unfortunately we showed up late and they were closed, so we just walked around for a while. There was a blacksmith on the street who looked like Santa Claus. He was dancing to the music with his iron molding tools. It was hilarious. We hopped back on the bus and rode to our final destination, Budva.

 

Budva was a much busier than the other cities. It was definitely much more touristy. It was beautiful though. There was an Old Town area surrounded by walls very similar to Dubrovnik. We went into an old cathedral. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures, but it was absolutely breathtaking on the inside. All of the walls and ceiling were covered in paintings, and the color was so rich and so deep. It was really neat. It was a really small church too, which made it even more special. Budva is located right on the sea, and the whole area was filled with all kinds of floral trees. It was so nice.

 

SAS put us up in a really nice hotel, where we actually stayed in the villas. We ate dinner at the hotel, and then me and two other girls decided to go find a local pub to get a drink. We found a really cute outdoor pub, where no other SASers went, so that was nice. We got to sit amongst the locals, drink some wine, and chat. It was a good night.

 

The next morning we had some free time. My friends and I hung out at the pool until noon, when everybody went to a local restaurant for lunch. We got a SIX-COURSE meal! It was delicious! After lunch we explored Budva some more before heading back to Dubrovnik. Instead of driving all the way around the bay like we did on the way there, we got on a ferry! We were on the bus on a ferry! It was a neat experience. On our way through customs back into Croatia we got our passports stamped again, and I was one happy girl.

 

Once we got back to Dubrovnik, our ship was no longer at the port, but in the middle of the water. Two larger cruise ships arrived today and since we were there for longer we had to move out of their way. To get to the ship, we had to ride the lifeboats! I was thinking of taking a picture of everybody in the lifeboat and posting it saying we sank as a joke, but that might have been a little mean.

 

Something interesting I learned is that Montenegrin is the same language as Croatian, but they use the Cyrillic alphabet instead of the Latin alphabet. Also, Montenegro uses the Euro even though they are not yet a member of the European Union. Croatia does not use the Euro. They use the Kuna, but they are a candidate for the EU, so I'm sure that will change in not too long.

 

I had a really great time in Montenegro. I did quite a bit of introspection while I was there, which was nice. It was absolutely beautiful, and I'm really glad I went. Right now, I'm back on the MV Explorer in Dubrovnik, and I believe my friends and I are going to go out into the city to get some gelato and maybe go dancing. Tomorrow morning I am going snorkeling, and I can't wait!

Dubrovnik City Walls

Hello from Croatia! Or should I say: Zdravo! We arrived in this beautiful country early this morning. Traveling on a ship is a really strange phenomena...you just wake up and suddenly you're some place new! You don't feel like you're traveling because you're walking around, living life the whole time instead of being stuck in a seat for hours.

 

I was able to go do my tour of the city walls today. It was pretty incredible. The city of Dubrovnik is separated into the Old Town and the New Town. The Old Town is surrounded by the city walls (which were used to prevent invasions in the past). It took us over an hour and a half to walk all the way around. It was rather strenuous with all of the steps. It wouldn't have been a bad walk if it weren't for the fact that it is currently 100 degrees in Dubrovnik (which apparently is some wild occurance that isn't supposed to happen), and there was no shade on the walls. That made it a little treacherous, but the views were completely worth it. You could see the entire town, the sea, and Lokrum Island. Dubrovnik sits right on the Adriatic Sea. It's beautiful. The water is a very clear blue and it sparkles from the reflection of the sun. I can't wait to go swimming. There is a SAS trip where you go kayaking and snorkeling, and I might try to buy it from someone or see if there are any spots left. That sounds like so much fun!

 

I'm feeling better than I was yesterday, not great, but definitely better. Hopefully by tomorrow I will be significantly better. I'm so excited for my overnight in Montenegro tomorrow! I've heard it's absolutely incredible there.

 

I went down to the purser's desk to get my passport since I'm crossing the border into Montenegro tomorrow, and I was really bummed to see that they haven't been stamping our passports at immigration. I was so excited for all my stamps, but oh well, it's ok.

 

I am going to go relax before I go out to dinner with my friends! Goodbye! Dovidenja!

Another Day Sick at Sea

Well, that was extremely anticlimactic. After all of the uproar from my Global Studies professor about how crazy the water was going to be, we had one of the calmest nights at sea. What a disappointment. I also did not see Mt. Etna either, but that could be because I tried to go to sleep early.

 

I am getting sicker and sicker. I haven't been to class all day. I've been laying in my bed. I started the antibiotics yesterday, but they haven't kicked in yet. I was up the entire night coughing. I have no energy. I can't breathe out of my nose. Apparently my cabin is freezing, but I'm unbearably hot. My roommate told me I look yellow. I feel so out of it. I don't know what to do with myself. We get into Croatia tomorrow morning, and I'm doing the City Walls tour, which involves a lot of strenuous walking. I don't know what to do. Croatia is supposed to be the most beautiful place we're going, and I don't want to be sick while I'm there. It has been SEVEN days now. I just want to be healthy again, so I can enjoy my voyage!

 

I have nothing really valuable to say because I've been couped up in my cabin all day. I would love it for people to email me to provide me with some sort of excitement. It would really make my day (awevans@semesteratsea.net).

The Calm Before the Storm

This morning I finally went to the doctor again. He gave me some antibiotics, so hopefully I should be feeling better soon. I have been so miserable.

 

We resumed classes today after having almost two weeks off in Spain and Italy. I found out that I got a 94 on my Adolescence exam! That made me really happy. It was a little rough transitioning back to classes all day since I'm not feeling well, but luckily it was a pretty laid back day for the most part.

 

Tonight I had dinner with my extended family. I love having dinner with them. Dottie and Ed (Dottie's brother) are so great, and there's three other students in our family as well. It's a really nice group. We got to share what all we have done in the ports so far. It's really neat to get to talk to people about their experiences because everybody's overall experience is so different since we have so much freedom regarding where we go and what we do. I was really happy to have family dinner tonight.

 

Today the water has been extremely calm. The only ripple is the one from the ship. It looks like glass. It's beautiful. I got a pretty cool picture out my window. This is all very ironic because tonight we are passing through the Strait of Messina, where the the water is wild. There are strong currents and whirlpools. The Strait of Messina is between Sicily and Calabria, and, in fact, it is the location of the story of Scylla and Charybdis from The Odyssey in Greek mythology. The strait is so narrow and the water is so turbulent that a local pilot actually has come and navigate us through. Isn't that insane? We have quite the night ahead of us! We will also be passing by Mt. Etna, and rumor has it we might be able to see some smoke and lava! How cool! We passed by Mt. Stromboli this afternoon, which is another volcano, and that was pretty neat to see (no lava though). I'll let you know how it goes!

 

I'm feeling very overwhelmed at the moment. It is very hard to juggle all of this traveling, school work, activities, work-study, etc. (especially when I'm sick). I have a lot to do in a very short amount of time. It's absolutely crazy to think that the voyage is a third of the way over. Time is passing way too quickly!!!

 

But for now, I am going to enjoy every minute I have. I am going to go out on the deck and take pictures of the beautiful sunset! Good night everyone!

PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!

They're finally here!! Here are pictures from the Bahamas, Spain, Italy, and aboard the ship. Hopefully it loads for you because I uploaded a ton of pictures (and this is only the tiniest fraction of all of my pictures).Welcome to my world! Enjoy :)

(Bahamian sunset)

(the view from the ship as we embarked from the Bahamas)

(SAS!)

(Kendra and I in Spain)

(Adam, Kendra, Ben, and I out to lunch in Spain)

(La Sagrada Familia...this picture does it no justice)

(Todd, Craig, Lindsay, Me, Kendra, and Adam on the shuttle)

(sangria at dinner in Spain)

(protestors in Spain)

(Me, Kendra, Adam, and Caroline at the most beautiful park I've ever seen in Spain)

(Me, Kendra, and Caroline)

(walking down the street)

(Espana)

(Craig and I at flamenco with dinner)

(the best paella I had in Spain)

(flamenco!)

(a view of Barcelona)

(my home)

(I'm really proud of this picture)

(waiting for the train)

(about to get on the skylift to Montserrat)

(that is Montserrat at the top of the mountain)

(513, Cincinnati, OH represent)

(in the basilica at Montserrat)

(the view)

(the sunset in Civitavecchia)

(Repubblica dei Raggazi)

(part of their property)

(Lindsay, Ariel, and I with Francesca and Antonella (the two in the middle), two of the girls from Repubblica dei Raggazi)

(the Colosseum)

(me on the Spanish Steps)

(St. Peter's Square)

(candid)

(Jeff, me, Todd, Lindsay, and Andy in St. Peter's Square)

(Naples)

(Pizza Margherita)

(riding in a boat around Capri)

(we rode through this cave)

(in Capri...I really love this picture)

(the Villa San Michele)

(Lindsay and I touching the Sphinx...it brings good luck)

(the chair lift in Anacapri)

(love this)

(the view from the top of Anacapri)

(Pompeii)

(me in the amphitheatre in Pompeii)

(Pompeii with Mt. Vesuvius in the background)

(one of the bodies, covering their eyes from the ash)

(another body...it still had it's teeth)

(Pompeii)

(Kendra and Amanda...the best roomies anyone could ever have)

(me and the roomies out on the deck in the middle of the night on C2...what a ridiculous day)

(Amanda and I the first time we saw land in days)

(Kendra and I at the Sea Olympics)

(some of the Red Sea)

(this sign is posted right by the gangway (the exit/entrance)...I love it)