SPAIN!

Day 1
After we got to Cadiz early in the morning Nick, Laura, and I went to get some café con leche (or an espresso shot with steamed milk). After that I had an FDP for my psychology class, and then wandered around the town with a few people. We found a look out tower, the tallest one in Cadiz. It was absolutely beautiful, and you could see the fusion of old and new in the city. The whole city also smells like fresh bread, a smell you never get sick of. There are awesome door knockers here that look like hands! We also found the market that sold bread, fish, cheese, and meat. It smelled bad, but the food was awesome and fresh. At night I went to Flamenco night, where we saw amateur bullfighting practice and then a flamenco show. After Flamenco a group of us went out to the discoteque and el barro, where Semester at Sea students took over the establishments. We got back to the ship at about 1:45.

Day 2
After waking up early for breakfast Steph, Laura, Emily, Jeff, Ian and myself took the 1 hour 50 minute train to Sevilla. It is so weird being in the minority, and we really sensed that we stood out. At the ticket counter to buy the train tickets the couple behind us got mad that we were taking so long to order the tickets and he started to yell at us! It was so frustrating because we didn’t know what was going on and we were just trying to figure it out. The train is very confusing. You have assigned seats! On the train it was interesting to see the geography of Spain. There were rolling green grassy hills, farms, and spots of lush forest all within a few miles. Sevilla was absolutely gorgeous. Again, like Cadiz, it was a fusion of old and new culture and buildings, except more extreme. The new part of Sevilla is much like any other city in the US, but the old part of the city displays amazing buildings. My favorite two were the Plaza de Sevilla, home to the world’s fair, and Sevilla Cathedral, resting place of Christopher Columbus. I would try to describe the buildings but my words would not give them justice. We walked so so so far, and were all tired, so we sat down to get some ice cream and tapas. Ian and Jeff ended up staying in Sevilla overnight while us girls came home to the ship.

Day3
Today, so far, the group of us walked all around the city. We walked around the beach here and ran into two huge fortresses along the water where we could tour. After that we got some pastries and walked around some more. Tomorrow we plan to tour the new part of Cadiz before departing. :-(

Cadiz

I am in an internet cafe in Cadiz, Spain right now. It is such a beautiful city. The old blended with the new archecture is stunning. Tonight I am going to see a Flamenco show, and then tomorrow I´m headed to Seville (where I hope to upload a few pictures). Europe is amazing, and this is only our first stop! Miss you all!

Espana Manana!

 

Tomorrow I will be in Spain!  The whole ship is extremely excited to reach land, and since we have been learning about Spain for the past few days we can't wait to experience the food, culture, wine, art, ect. that we have been hearing so much about.  Other than taking notes for my FDP's (class requirements) I am all caught up on homework until after Morocco.  I just took a few pictures of everyone, or most everyone at least, in our little group that I have been hanging out with.  I hope to post them while in Spain.  We just all sat out on the deck and watched the sunset.  In fact, about 300 students were out watching the sunset.  Sometimes you need to savor moments like that.  It's something that happens everyday, yet we don't ever really notice it.  The only sunsets that we notice are those with bright oranges, pinks, and purples.  The sunset tonight wasn't colorful.  It was actually the most ordinary sunset that could possibly occur.  No clouds ... but as the sun slipped under the horizon its simple reflection on the water caused 300 students to pause for just a few minutes.  We are here, and this incredible experience is real.  Don't take any moment for granted.  Live, and love life.  It is the simplest moments that remind us that we are alive.  Now I am sitting in the Paino Lounge and there are people singing, playing guitar, and playing piano.  ALl of the students who were outside are now inside, all relaxing, just listening silently to the music.  We are the lucky ones, and I think we all know it.  I'll post again when I can, but it might not be until after Spain if I can't find an internet cafe.  ALthough I miss everyone tons, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else right now. 

 

"Do one thing everyday that scares you"

 

Just Chillin with the Fish

Two nights ago was one of the most fun nights so far on the ship.  Because Swing dancing was such a big hit the night before, there were student led Salsa dance lessons last night.  After that we all played cards in the Garden Lounge (also a cafeteria during meal hours) and then, having to loose another hour of sleep, went to bed.  It is funny to think that we have lost four hours so far, so we are four hours ahead of everyone at home.  Doing it progressively isn’t that bad though, and with coffee in the morning I feel well rested!  Yesterday was another full day of classes, followed by relaxing outside and then watching a documentary entitled “Finding Face” at night.  One of the producers of the documentary is our video guy on the ship!  The documentary is about acid attacks on women in southern Asia, focusing on Cambodia.  It was a hard hitting film, especially because we are going to that area.  Also, the documentary hasn’t been released yet because they still need to ensure the security of the people/families involved and promote it through various media outlets.  We are only the second group of people ever to be shown the film, the first group being the Fall ’08 voyage.  After that, although we had all planned to go to pub night, we all went to bed.  Right now I am sitting in the Piano lounge in between breakfast and Global Studies.  We are rocking more today than we have been ever before and it is actually fun.  We look out on the horizon and count the bars on the outside decks to see how high and low the horizon goes from our perspective!  Oh the little things in life.  After Global I’m relaxing some more, maybe playing cards, eating lunch, and then napping and taking a shower.  LOVE LOVE LOVE being rocked to sleep.  It is glorious.  Oh life is hard, life is hard.

 

“Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take, but by the number of moments that take your breath away…”

Some Morning Words

To sail is not a way to get from Point A to Point B, there are faster means for that.  It is a way to experience the vastness and complexity of the world, to savor the insignificance of the individual, but to yet understand the fire that ignites the human spirit. 

Hey everyone!  The rest of my day yesterday was someone uneventful.  A large group of us ate dinner together and we managed to stuff 16 people at only two tables.  I think we sat there for at least an hour, just talking and getting to know each other better.  After dinner we went our separate ways, expect for Jeff, Nick, and myself who went to the Piano Lounge to do some studying.  An hour later Laura, Colleen, Jill, Colin, Jeff, Nick, and myself (I know their names don’t mean anything yet but I’ll post pictures when I can) all met up in Laura’s room and watched Wedding Crashers on a computer.  Laura’s room is an inside room so she had a third bed we pulled out of the wall to give us more sitting space.  It was a fun time.  The rest of the 16 who ate with us went to the Union to watch a movie that they were showing on the big screen.  It is cool to find a group of people who isn’t eager to rush to Pub Night.  I hear the “Pub” is fun, but I am just happy that my new friends don’t have to engage in drinking in order to have fun.  Today I woke up at 7am, but we lost an hour so it felt like 6am.  Today was also the first day that I got up in time for breakfast.  They stop serving breakfast at 8:30 so most people miss it, but since I have an 8am class I figured why not, and I just skipped my shower this morning.  I had orange juice, fresh fruit, scrambled eggs, and a small and extremely yummy bran muffin.  I wasn’t hungry for lunch so I only had some pinto bean soup.  Yum.  I had all 4 of my classes today and was done that by 2:50 and have been studying and doing homework ever since.  My hall doesn’t get internet in our rooms because of the fireproof doors so we all sit out in the hall to get online and to email and to access our Intranet system (ship wide system).  It is funny I am actually done my homework for the next two days now so tomorrow I plan to lay out at the pool, something almost everyone has done except me!  I am going to meet some people for dinner now, and then we are going to take swing dance lessons in the union!  It works at well because there are an even number of guys and girls in my new group of friends, so we are all forcing the guys to play along! HAHA!  Tonight is open mic night at the “Pub” so I think we are going to go there after.  Should be fairly entertaining!  Including the day of departure we have been on the ship for 5 days, and we only have 4 more days to go until Cadiz.  We are all excited and anxious to see what the first port brings.  The first day in Cadiz I am doing an FDP (faculty directed practicum) called Observational Learning.  It is a requirement for my Cognitive Psychology Class.  That night I am doing another FDP that is not required for any my classes but that I am using as an elective FDP for one of my classes that is more lenient with the FDP requirements (all classes have field requirements, some require you to do the FDP’s for that particular class, some require you to do any 3 FDP’s taught by any professor, and some classes require you just to write papers on anything you want write on).  So the FDP that I am taking that night is a Flamenco Night which should be amazing.  The rest of my 3 days in Spain my friend Chris from home and I are taking a train to Seville and just doing whatever!  Miss ya!

 

 

I didn’t post this blog yet because I didn’t have time to get to a place that had internet in the ship, but now I am done dinner.  I forgot to say that today is Nick’s (from Cabrini) birthday so last night before I went to bed I wrote “Happy 20^th Birthday Nick!” (one letter per sticky note) and put it on his door.  At dinner his mom must have bought a cake because they brought him out a ¾ of a sheet cake…it was hugeeeeee!  So yummy though.  After dinner we laid out on the deck and relaxed on lounge chairs in the dark before swing dancing.  Dancing was so much fun.  There were about 75 of us, and they are going to have classes every week!  Anyway, I’m about to play cards in the Piano Lounge and then there is open mic night and the “Pub”! 

Day 4

Hi everyone!  It is 8:45 and i am sitting in the Piano lounge/bar with about 50 other kids trying to wake up and listening to a student play the piano and sing!  It is bright sunny day outside (again).  Yesterday was my first day of classes and the professors all seem so willing to work with you and your schedule in order for you to complete the class requirements.  It is cool getting to eat dinner with your professors as well.  They are all so down to earth, and most of them brought their families with them.  There are about 30 children ranging from 8 months to 17 years old.  It is a very multi-generational ship in that respect.  After classes yesterday I had some free time so I did some homework.  After that was the activities fair, and I didn't sign up for anything because nothing really fit my interests . . . however, after students put their individually led clubs together I'm sure that I will join one or two of them.  After that was dinner, and then there was pub night on the swimming pool deck, or they had a showing of The Black Night in the Union.  Still not being completely used to the swaying of the boat, I choose not to partake in any alcoholic beverages and opted to watch the movie with a few friends.  Today is another day of classes, but since I had most of mine yesterday I only have Global Studies, that class that everyone has in the Union and the lounges.  Then I think I will head outside for the rest of the day to read a little and to take in the sun.  I hear that it snowed at home . . . bummer.  We are now truely in the middle of the ocean . . . haven't seen another boat/ship in 2 days!  We had brownies last night for dessert and they weren't that bad, but I am craving sweets like crazy since they don't have much of that on the ship.  The food is actually healthy and that's good so that I don't come back 309482 lbs.  The work our room has a sign up sheet a mile long and that's just not worth it for me.  In Spain I need to buy some laundry detergent (which is the one thing I forgot), a rinky-dink watch, hot chocolate packets, some drinks, some more sweets, and some peanuts.  You can't get food outside of the times they have assigned for each mean, and they don't let you take food out (although I have a runaway apple in my fridge).  I hope all is well at home!

Day 2!!!

Hey everyone!  Right now I am in my room looking out my window at the endless, beautiful ocean.  It is absolutely amazing and breathtaking.  The Bahamas started my trip.  There were about 12 SAS students who stayed at the Paradise Island Harbour resort, myself including.  About 6 of us hung out for the 2 days, and a few of us ended up going to Senor Frogs the night before the ship departed (Sunday night).  Senor Frogs was overrun with SAS students and it was fun to have our first looks at each other.  Monday we stood in line after line after line but finally I was on the ship!  We had our Muster drill, where we all put on our life jackets, and will be having three more over the course of the trip.  Soon after that we left.   At 5pm on Monday, January 19, 2009, my life truly began.  You all have no idea how absolutely empowering it is to be on a ship with about 730 other students all anxious to travel the world.  As I waved bye to my dad and the rest of the parents I felt the excitement of everyone.  We passed by one more island and have been in the open ocean ever since.  We had a few meetings yesterday and then had plenty of get to know you free time.  Everyone is sooooo nice it is insane!  I am hanging out with a large group of people from the hotel plus a few others we have met along the way, but more particularly I am spending a lot of time with Nick (from Cabrini who I had previously met), Colin (I forget where he is from), and Dave (from DC but he goes to U of Miami).  Everyone is amazing.  We have had meetings all day today and it was really boring, but tomorrow we start classes!  Also, today during our free time lots of people went swimming and layed out, but I choose just to relax clothed in the sun.  It is surprisingly warm at the moment, but I am sure that it will get cooler as we get farther into the Atlantic.  My room is bigger than I thought that it would be and there is plenty of storage.  The bathroom is very big and the shower is bigger than on a cruise I had gone on previously.  My roommate, the big test, is very nice.  Kayla and I will get along great.  We have a fridge which we are looking forward to filling once we get to Spain.  One of the best things about this ship is our captain…he is British and has the best accent ever, so whenever he comes over the loud speaker all of the girls hearts melt.  Today I we all watched Obama get sworn in…we didn’t have to watch it as it wasn’t mandatory, but almost everyone chose to watch it which was amazing.  We clapped and cheered and stood as we gazed out into the endless ocean.  Everyone cared, and everyone felt the energy in the room as our nation changed before our eyes.  Tonight brings dinner (which isn’t too bad) and one more meeting, then more socialization and tons of sleep.  The rocking is the best thing for sleep…its like being a baby again.  It is hard to stay awake in all of the boring, yet important, meetings.  Starting tonight and for about the next 5 or 6 nights we loose an hour of sleep!  Yikes!  Well I hope to hear from everyone.  My email is ckmathues@semesteratsea.net .  Please take the time to email me, as I wish to hear from everyone.  Today I stood on the deck with the wind blowing against my face.  I looked at the water foaming around the boat as we passed through the waves.  I feel so drawn to being here.  I know I am here for a reason.  This world is a beautiful place, and the ocean is the best place to realize that.  We may be a tiny boat in comparison to the enormity of the ocean, but the 1000 people (students, staff and crew) who are on this ship, we all feel like the biggest thing in the world. Finally, I won’t be able to post or email pictures because of restrictions on email, but I will be sure to share all of my pictures when I get home! I miss and love you all!