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.
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