South Africa: The world in one country

February, 2009

Cape Town…pretty much the best place on Earth…

When the itinerary changed and I found out that instead of Italy Turkey and Egypt we would be going to the southern portion of Africa, I wasn’t initially happy at all. But the closer we came to arriving in Namibia and South Africa the more excited I became. My excitement was damaged at the pre-port meetings when they mentioned how dangerous this port was especially at night and the sorts of crimes and things that have happened to people in the past. It made me really nervous about coming here. But now I’ve only been here two days and already I am completely in love with South Africa. I thought I loved Namibia and I did, but the deans were right when they said if you love Namibia then you will love South Africa even more and it’s so true. This is probably one of the best places I’ve been to so far on this trip and ever. I would love to take a family vacation here, because there is so much to do and I know we would have a great time. Not to mention it’s real cheap for Americans even right now.


Thursday February 18th
Robben Island/A night on the town

After the pre-port meetings were over people couldn’t wait to get off the ship. We had pulled into the best port yet with so much to see and do! I went upstairs to exchange my money. It was the first time they offered this service on the ship, I’m not sure if they do it anywhere else. I didn’t want to take my chances on an ATM right away after everything that I learned about them at the pre-port meeting from the officers. I know so much more about ATM’s now and scams than I ever thought I would know in the first place. I got ready and went down to the dock to meet up for my day-trip that I had signed up for. I ran into Courtney who was upset because her shark-diving trip was cancelled because of winds even though it was beautiful outside, but it was a bit windy. We had decided that we would meet up for dinner that night, after the day-trips were back. I hung out with my friend Nora, Courtney’s roommate and some new friends of hers that I met. Turns out one of them goes to Iowa State. It’s a very small world! We all were on the SAS trip to visit Robben Island. We walked from the ship to the “Nelson Mandela Gateway to Freedom” to board the ferry for a half-hour ride. So strange! But some people from SAS got sea sick on the half hour ferry ride!! They can sail on a ship as rocky as ours but not handle a ferry. It was strange, and too bad for them. I couldn’t feel it move at all really. We got to Robben Island and began our tour around.

The tour was so interesting because an ex-prisoner. He led us around to the different areas talking about it and telling us his personal story as well led it. The prison took a year to be built, starting in 1963 and ending in 1964. Long before that, the island was used to keep people who were sick so that they would not infect the rest of the community. Individuals with leprosy were the big population but also people who were physically and mentally handicapped and criminals. After this, It was mainly a political prison meaning that it held activists against the government at the time and such people who fought for equal rights and change. Many of the prisoners who were held there had formed such great friendships for many reasons but they all shared the same thing in common, what they were fighting for. Many famous leaders came out of that prison, including Nelson Mandela, which makes the prison so famous today. After the prison was closed and made into a museum, many ex-prisoners came back to work because of the people they met while they were there and the friendships they made, they also didn’t want history to repeat itself in a bad way so they wanted to give their stories back to the community and inspire others about them fighting for freedom and equality. For a time during WWII, the island also served as a base for the army so we we’re able to see everything left over from that which was neat too.


Once the tour got back I met up with Courtney, Nora and with some other girls I made friends with during the day and we all decided to get dressed up and go out to eat. Our first meal in Africa! We went to the Quay Four which is a really nice restaurant that had local food and cheap drinks. It was a great dinner and we all got along great and had a lot of fun. It was really cheap. I had got a couple drinks, an entrée and a dessert for 12 or so American dollars. It was awesome! I’ve missed real food. After we had finished our dinner we decided to go out on the town for the night. “Long Street” is the big street in Cape Town where all the bars and clubs are located so we got a taxi to take us there. We went to a few bars and clubs, which were all very different, some more chill the others more party-like and we had fun dancing. We first decided to go to the Dubliner, I liked, which was an Irish bar obviously. I was really nice inside and we went up to this upstairs balcony that looked over the whole bar but was sort of private at the same time. We had a great time and made friends with people in the bars who were local and it was nice to interact with other people and talk to them. That’s one of the best things on this trip is interacting with the local people and talking to them about different things and learning similarities and differences. It was a great night. I really liked the girls I hung out with and got to know them a lot better and we had a fun night together going to different bars and clubs and just hanging out and talking to people around. I had such a great night. I can’t even write everything that happened because we talked about so much and just had a great time hanging out and dancing and having some classy drinks.



Thursday February 19th
Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point/Dinner Out

Thursday was our second day in port. Originally I didn’t have anything planned but I decided to get up early and try and get myself onto another trip. If there is a trip scheduled that you didn’t sign up for originally and you want to go, they encourage you to show up at the meeting time and if its not full then you can get a ticket or if someone doesn’t show up you can get one also, someone can also donate a ticket. I got lucky. The trip wasn’t full so when I went down the field trip director wrote me up a ticket. I was so happy because I really wanted to go. I’m not sure why I didn’t sign up for this trip in the first place. Turns out that one of the people ended up donating their ticket and the field director decided to give that to me as if the other person donated the ticket to me. It was great because this way I didn’t have to pay for it now, it was a free trip and what a great trip it was! It was an SAS trip traveling through the winelands and visiting Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope. I had some friends on the trip so I hung out with them during the trip but mainly my friend Lauren, who goes by “Elle” or “L”. She is in the play with me and it turns out we had a lot in common and got along really well. We stopped first at a market and were able to bargain for things. I found and “evil eye” bracelet and bargained the price down even though I really didn’t need to but I wanted to practice. I’ve always wanted an evil eye bracelet and this one was really pretty so I was happy about getting it. I got it from 45 Rand to 30 Rand, which is only 3 dollars so it was a great deal. After that we drove around the coastline to The Cape of Good Hope where I took lots of pictures. It was beautiful! Elle and I hiked up to where the lighthouse was and I was so out of breath ha. I don’t do a lot of aerobic exercise except in the summers at the gym and even then its more stationary but running or hiking kills me haha and I had to hike Table Mountain in two days, I figured I’d better suck it up. We got to the top and had a great view of everything around the point. The point is where the two oceans, the Indian and Atlantic meet. Two places at once! There we’re signs everywhere warning up about Baboons and not to mess with them and if you get attacked to just drop your things and run. Apparently they are very very mean and dangerous and Baboons have mugged many people. I think its really funny, I was hoping to see one on the mountain but we didn’t. We were disappointed.

After we were finished at the Cape of Good Hope we drove to lunch at this very fancy seafood restaurant called “The Black Marlin”. I sat with my friends and also a professor and his wife. I think he teaches Physics and other sciences. He is from Italy and his wife is from Scotland. It turns out they met elsewhere in Europe while he was on business and she was on vacation in the same area that he was during the same two weeks. I don’t know all the details but they met and have been together forever since. I said it sounds like its just like the movie “An Affair to Remember” and she said actually “yes, it kinda is…I can tell you it really does happen like that” They seemed so happy together. It gave me hope ☺

After lunch we traveled to Cape point on the other side of the bay. On our way there we were delighted to see baboons on the side of the road and crossing. We had to stop for a few minutes and then drive really slow because they were overtaking the road. We all took so many pictures of the baboons haha, we were very excited! We even saw some Baboon taboo as well which was something else haha. At Cape Point we parked and walked through the village to the beach. Over there they have an enclosed area off from the public town where tons of penguins dwell so we were able to walk down the dock into the Penguin area and take lots of pictures by the ocean with them. They were so cute but they smelled a lot haha. Elle and I decided to leave the penguins a little early so we could walk back to town right outside and visit the local markets. We had passed by there on the way down to the penguins and they had a lot of cool stuff but it was a lot and I wanted to wait and see what was in Cape Town because I was sure it was all the same stuff for the most part which it seems to be.

It was a long day but a great one. That trip was so good that this blog doesn’t do it justice. The beauty of the scenery and the peacefulness and happiness of everything was wonderful. Elle asked me if I wanted to get dinner when we get back and so when we got back to the ship we decided to meet up again for dinner. We ended up just walking around the harbor area for awhile before dinner, visiting all of the little shops and the mall. She was showing me around to different stores and we had a really fun time. Dinner was amazing!! We found this nice Italian restaurant and we ate outside. It was so nice out and not too chilly because they had fancy space heaters spread throughout the area. A saxophonist was playing nearby so it was really cool. The food was AMAZING! I had the best spaghetti ever. We both had to consciously slow ourselves down because we were devouring it. After dinner we just hung around the harbor and visited the little shops, enjoying the weather, the people and local music.


Friday February 20th

Friday I had nothing planned to do. Everyone on the ship was gone on day trips or on the safaris in which they were gone the whole time. I got ready and went up to lunch and met up with a girl I had met on my trip to the Cape of Good Hope and we decided to walk around together and go shopping. I was just gonna go on my own cause sometimes I like to shop on my own so I don’t feel like I’m holding others up, especially those I don’t know that well, but it was nice to have someone there to talk to. We walked around to the different little stores around the harbor and then to the mall to get some extra things we needed. They say Cape Town is the last place you can really buy things that you’ve run out of or need to replace.

The mall in Cape Town is ridiculous. It’s one of the biggest malls I’ve been to and the majority of the stores they have are ones that I’ve never seen before but only heard of on MTV or E channel. They had Louis Viton, Versace, Prada etc. I don’t even know how to spell them. But it was all designer clothes and accessory stores. Completely unneeded. I was intrigued to see so many wealthy white people all dressed up as if they we’re going to a ball or fancy horse derby or something like in pretty woman when they where all the big hats. I didn’t even bother walking in those stores and hardly looked in. All of that stuff in there is really just “stuff” and completely trivial to life. Yet, these rich white people are all dressed up and carry multiple bags of this stuff through the mall. I felt out of place a little bit. The girl I was with wanted to visit some of these stores so I guess I did go in a couple. Everything looked perfect. There we’re people there at the door to greet you and the jewelry stores even had gates around them and gatekeepers to let you in. I felt like I was being judged when I walked in places because I was just in jeans and things and not dressed up, like I wasn’t good enough to get in. But I was American so they expected we had money. We didn’t buy anything and it seemed at one place one lady got a little upset about that, as if it was a waste to walk into a store and just look at stuff, like we had to buy something. I don’t work like that. Especially on things I don’t need, like a Polo tie or a Prada purse.


The Aquarium

After window shopping we decided to walk back to the ship because she wanted to use the free internet in town and I didn’t have a desire to get online and talk to people. I kinda wanted to go off on my own shopping and exploring. I dropped off my bags and walked around to the shops and found a lot of neat things and another market that was really cool. It was a nice day to just reflect on where I was and what I was doing. I was happy, it was such a beautiful day and everything around me was happy. I decided to walk to the aquarium and I bought a ticket and walked around by myself. I hadn’t been to a zoo or an aquarium in such a long time and I really want to go to some when I get back. The fish we’re beautiful and there was something about this visit to an aquarium that was different than any other. Maybe because I was all alone in a place in which I was unfamiliar with and knew nothing of, the newness of everything made me more pensive. But I think it was everything I was and did in America, compared and contrasting with everything I am and have done here. It made me look at things differently. Like how small I am compared to everything, and how I thought I knew that before but knowing I didn’t. How precious life was and how there was soo much of it, all around me in the world and you don’t even know. How the circle of life is all connected to each other. Each organism has a purpose. It amazes me how people and scientist discovered these organisms and how they found out everything about them and can now share that with the world. I was just really thankful for everything. I had a great time at the aquarium. I saw lots of fish and organisms, penguins, sharks, stingrays and other things. I saw a crab that was huge and could clearly cut my arm off, it just amazed me, what these animals can do. And being able to see them up close was fascinating; I could stare for hours just wondering.

They had a special frog exhibit going on there as well which I visited. There was a display case in which they had pictures of about six different frogs. They we’re cut out in a way that made them look so real. But I looked at the description of the frogs and it said that these frogs “were now extinct, and would never be seen in the world ever again”. That statement caught me offgaurd and actually made me really sad. Sad to know that these animals would never exist again and no one would see them. It made me wonder how they became extinct; did it have something to do with us humans and what? And what other animals are we killing off to extinction in the world? Also, what I could do to help. It’s as if we’ve stolen something from the world, we’ve killed off a species. Perhaps it wasn’t humans, but in a lot of cases when it comes to animals endangered and on the brink of extinction, human affiliation has a lot to do with it. As I’ve grown up I’ve realized that I care a lot about animals and wildlife and preserving it. We really need to pay attention to this stuff, animal rights and preservation. I really liked the aquarium. Who thought that someone could get so much out of it. Its like everyday we are so concerned with our own lives and daily duties we don’t really stop and look at life. Even when we do take the time, we don’t really see it. It’s kinda like in an art museum as a kid or even at the aquarium I saw kids there with parents and the kids were running around excited about the fish. They we’re so energized they we’re on to the next thing before they finished the first and the parents just followed not even looking at the fish or animals or pictures and really seeing the real fascinating part of it, life. For us it’s just the same routine day after day just walking through. I think there is some truth in saying that “life has killed part of life”. That the lives we lead today, so busy, working, overloaded, trivial, stressed, concerned with ourselves etc….has really killed the reality of what life really is and what it means to actually Be alive.



Township Music

After the aquarium I walked back to the ship to meet up with an SAS tour called “Township Music”. It was a smaller group but a great one and the trip was great too! What a good end to the day. We drove around the townships that we’re created from the Apartheid era. The government to separate people by race instituted the apartheid. It was mainly to separate the blacks and whites. There was and is still a huge issue with racial discrimination. The blacks we’re moved from there homes and forced to live in these townships of poverty, they we’re told where they had to live and what they could and couldn’t do. It was sort of thought that taking the blacks out was cleaning things up and making them better in the country. It’s a very sad thing to see. But while driving through the townships and seeing such poverish conditions similar to those in Morocco, they we’re a lot different. Even though these people are forced to live in such poor conditions they are so happy. When they saw us people would come running to the street so excited to see us, waving and smiling. It was somewhat strange to see, I thought that they wouldn’t like me because of where I was born but in fact they we’re fascinated with us.

We got to the community center in which we participated in a African music workshop. We learned about African music and how it is made. It was really cool because they don’t learn and see music the way I have been taught in school in books and reading it. It’s all done by ear and feeling. Yes, there are basic rules like rhythm and staying in the same chord. But it was really neat to see how they made the music a part of themselves and exuded that to us. We we’re then able to be taught on the instruments also and we’re able to play too. After that lesson we all went to another room in which we partook in a traditional African drum circle ceremony. We each had a drum and the teacher led us in an African drum chant. It was so cool! The guys and girls we’re then separated because the guys we’re to beat the drums and girls we’re to dance. It was a really fun time learning African music, playing it and learning African chants and dances. I had a really good time and learned a lot.

For dinner they took up further back into the township to a friends local restaurant, or there version of one. It was so cool because we were completely 100 percent immersed in their world for the night. We ate their homemade food, stomach of some animal... (probs something I won’t ever have again) and stayed at their place and talked to everyone. They were all fascinated with our trip and what we were doing and how we were learning and they were blown away by it and kept telling us how lucky we are, and they were so honest and genuine you could tell they really meant it, and it made me realized even more how appreciative I was for everything. After dinner everyone congregated outside and more locals came by for drinks. The African musicians ate with us and after dinner played music for everyone and everyone and we we’re able to join in as well and danced. SAS-ers showed them how we do it and they showed us their way and it was really neat to see and experience in the sharing and the mixing of cultures. People from opposite ends and completely different world lives can overcome boundaries and come together and share a common bond. It was awesome! It was the weekend so everyone was socializing, relaxing and was so happy. The locals were all so nice to us and very friendly. It was weird to see sometimes. To know that they were black and we were white and of other races. That people of our color in South Africa had forced them to live in these conditions and shunned them from society. Yet, they we’re still friendly to us and so happy to be where they were. You could really tell that these people loved life to the fullest and lived it, despite the conditions. It showed me such a contrast of the two cultures in the same country. How materialistically these people really had nothing but they had all the life in the world. And those back in port, rich whites concerned with their malls and jewelry and designer clothes. I don’t want to sound racist because I’m not. But it was interesting to see such difference here and segregation. It was like stepping back in time if that was at all possible.


Saturday February 21st
Table Mountain Adventure: Life changing experience

On Saturday I climbed Table Mountain!!!! I know I sound really lame to people back at home who have no idea but that whole day and the mountain, I consider it to be one of the biggest accomplishments of my life! Probably the hardest thing I have ever done physically. This was no ordinary hike but really really hard. Climbing up a stairmaster basically only one made out of huge boulders. Me being so short I literally was climbing this mountain. It was so hard, and tiring and everything hurt about me on the way up. I almost turned back because I thought it might be too hard but I decided to keep going because I wanted to do it, I didn’t want to turn back, I wanted to finish my goal, to reach the top, to climb to the top of the mountain, to not regret it and to be so proud of myself when I reached the top and could say “yeah I did that!”.

It was an independent trip, a Facebook organized group. We met outside the ship at 7am and we’re transported by the company we booked the trip through, to the base of the mountain. Once we were there we were off hiking. It was such a strenuous hike that is incredibly challenging at times. You must be in good health and physical condition to do it. Besides the tiredness and pain the hike was one of the best things I’ve done yet. It was such a good experience for me personally and a challenge not only physically but mentally as well. And that wasn’t even the hard part yet. It took us about 3 hours to get to the top of the mountain but I finally did it and I was so happy and excited and proud I couldn’t stop taking pictures! Everything was so beautiful on the way up and the view was breathtaking from every step! What an accomplishment! I hiked up to the top of a mountain!!!

I was so proud that I made it to the top! Everyone was exhausted and some people fell asleep for a nap in the restaurant that we waited at. They also had a gift shop and I got a t-shirt. We we’re all excited and couldn’t wait for what we were about to do next. The big reason we we’re here and the most challenging thing for me yet! Before I left of this trip a friend of mine asked me “what is the craziest thing you’ve done?” And honestly I had no idea what to say, because generally I’m not really a crazy person. I hadn’t really done anything insane yet. UNTIL NOW!!!

The craziest thing I’ve ever done so far and probably one of the best things I have done for myself and have to do again is abseiling down a mountain! I wasn’t even sure what it was before and figured that it sounded cool so I signed up for it. I was so scared! So many things we’re going through my head at the time I didn’t even know what to think or how to react, I was in a daze. Literally, I could not believe what I was doing! After thinking I was going to die from hiking up this HUGE mountain, I thought I was crazy for ever thinking that that was hard. This was the hard part!!!! It took every bit of myself to keep my cool and to trust this guy who was holding on to the other end of my lifeline literally. Only being attached to a rope and being told to just simply lean backwards over the edge of a cliff off the tallest abseil mountain in the world, I really thought I was nuts!!! I can’t even describe the feeling I had abseiling down this mountain. It was unbelievable!! At any moment I could die. I looked down a few times and that really scared me how high up I was just attached to a rope. I had to mentally keep my cool and really tried to enjoy my surroundings. It was amazing! Just me, the rope and nature all around me. All I could hear was the wind and the falling rocks from my footsteps along the side of the mountain. What a killer picture that would have been!! The guys at the top said that there would be a surprise halfway down and I was thinking more of like a camera to take our picture. NOPE! All of a sudden the wall just stops and you have to lean upside down and repell off the mountain into a cave area where your feet aren’t on the wall of the mountain anymore but you are just dangling of the rope, way above the ground and there’s nothing you can do! As I was just dangling from a rope off the cliff of a mountain, I was really able to take everything in. How amazing this thing was that I was doing! How lucky I was! How happy I was! How appreciative I was! I was in the best place in the world, in the middle of everything beautiful from nature! I was dangling off the side of a mountain hundreds of feet from the ground! WHO DOES THAT!?!?! Seriously, It was INCREDIBLE!!! I was scared to death but so happy at the same time. What an exhilaration!!! I abseiled the tallest abseil mountain in the world!!!!!!!! I can’t believe I did something like that!! And I now realize that I need to do it again! It’s the most incredible feeling in the world, doing that, being a part of it and saying that you accomplished it! It’s just amazing!! That’s what this trip is for though. Getting our of your comfort zone, doing crazy things, soaking up life and everything! I just still can’t believe I did it and I’m so excited that I did! If you ever get a chance to do it, DO IT!!! Even if you are scared of it!! Nothing can compare to that at all!!!! Wow…

That night I met up with Elle again and some other girls and we got dressed up for our last night in Cape Town and headed out to dinner and the bars/clubs. We went to the same Italian restaurant that we loved and had great food and good conversation. I’m glad I’ve made such good friends on this trip, they are hard to find sometimes, especially here at times. But these guys are amazing.
After dinner we all got a cab to go to Long Street, the big party street in Cape Town. Some of the girls wanted to go out and dance and we wanted to have a good time on our last night here in Cape Town. We went back to the bars that I had went to a few nights earlier and had a great time! There we’re other SAS-ers out as well go figure and it was a really fun night!


Sunday February 22nd

The next day I was expecting to be sore from hiking the mountain because it was so challenging for me but I wasn’t sore at all. Sunday was our last day in Cape Town and basically I wanted to soak up as much of it as I could before I got back onto the ship. I got up early and spent the morning on my own. I walked to the amphitheater and sat outside using the free wireless Internet. Catching up on things and changing photos. The main reason was I wanted to update my IPOD, it still won’t work though it still says I don’t have access privileges to my own IPOD. I give up on that. Maybe I’ll just have to replace it, or find someone who knows what they are doing.

I walked back to the ship for lunch and met this guy Mike. I’ve met him before in Spain. He said “aloha” to me one night and I said “don’t you mean “hola?” And he said yeah. Hah, I nicknamed him Hawaii ever since, but I use his real name now. I ran into him the night before at the bar and he was rehydrating himself at lunch and came to sit by me and asked if he could hang out with me while I wondered around and shopped so we spent the whole day together talking, getting to know each other and walking around. We stopped for lunch at one point because he hadn’t eaten yet and then we later stopped for a few drinks. We ran into Brandy and Chera and Holly at the bar/restaurant and they we’re eating. Brandy and Chera wanted Sushi so they went upstairs to the restaurant but Holly wanted regular food so she stayed with us. We ate outside again at Quay Four. I just had a drink and some of Mike’s fries. It was good to catch up with Holly again because I hadn’t seen her in awhile or really had the chance to talk. After they ate we walked around some more. Holly had been on a safari the whole time and was trying to do all her shopping that day. I had been everywhere so I showed her where all the good stores were and we walked around in them. Mike had left us at one point, letting us get our “girl time” in he said. It was a great day and I had a great time hanging out with Mike and Holly again. After shopping, we stopped for ice cream before heading back to the ship to catch up with our other friends. I had such a good time in Cape Town, it was simply amazing and I’ll never forget it, and definitely for sure going to try and go back.


So in response to my title I chose for this blog. When talking about South Africa and hearing about it from the locals, they all called their country “the world in one country” and it really is true. The whole world can be seen in this country depending on how you look at it, its amazing. They have the ocean, mountains, and abundant amount of wildlife and every kind of food. Not only that but the people are all different as well coming from every side of life. The closer you are in the cities its more commercial, more fancy and the wealth of the country lives there. The further out you go things get a little less fancy and more real. There’s poverty and people living in not great conditions and its dirty. There are also tribes that still inhabit South Africa and carry out the old traditional style of life that many don’t practice anymore. It’s amazing to see the variety here in just one country. It’s all just beautiful to see and experience and be a part of everything Africa. I love it!

"I kissed the rain down in Africa!.."

February 17, 2009

Happy Birthday Mikey!!

Yay, no more digital T.V. commercials!!!


Just got back from Namibia and had a blast! What a beautiful and friendly country! I love Africa already! I wasn't sure what to expect, but everything that I did expect turned out to be different, but in a good way. Like I said I didn't know what things were going to look like. I knew I was in Africa in Morocco but being in Namibia really felt like "okay, I'm in Africa now!" :)

We got up early on Friday because we we’re pulling into port. After an inter-port lecture from U.S. ambassadors and special agents from the foreign embassy in Africa we were allowed off of the ship. It was a pretty intense lecture. Apparently South Africa is the world’s murder capital and has the highest crime rate. I did not know that nor expect that at all. Once again they have scared you so you question whether or not you even want to get off the ship. But they just want you to be aware and know your surroundings and what’s going on. Some people aren’t so smart though and don’t take what they tell us into consideration.

As a welcome ceremony to us, a small choir of young African girls came to perform for us! They sang and danced traditional music and we’re so good. After there performance we we’re able to talk to them. Each of them was so friendly and gave all of us hugs, they were really excited to be there. Some people sang an American song for them, a sort of call and response song so they could join in. They are amazing singers and they can just start bursting into perfect harmony whenever. I love their voices. We gave them bracelets and stickers and they enjoyed that a lot. After their performance they we’re let on the ship for a tour and a meal I think. It wasn’t till later that I actually found out that they weren’t necessarily from a school, but an orphanage. That made me sad to know, because they we’re so precious.

In Namibia I did the Wild Dogs Safari. I along with 120 others found our different buses and hopped on. I was on bus 9 and it was a pretty good group! Our tour guides were awesome! They knew a lot and we’re so much fun! It was quite a wild bus ride. It was a nine-hour drive that we we’re originally told by the girl that organized it that it would be 4 hours, not! It took us NINE hours to drive to Etosha! One big reason it took so long is because we had to make quite a few bathroom stops on the way for certain people who chose to drink on the way. By the end of the drive people we’re pretty toasted which was annoying at times and somewhat ridiculous and unnecessary of course. I honestly don’t see the need for it at all, why some people insist on being drunk for everything and desiring and feeling that they want or need to be that way. It’s just an embarrassment to the other students and the program, the program SAS, that does NOT support it, but students make their own choices even if they are dumb. We drove by the house of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. I guess they picked up a baby here on a trip down here. So people were excited about seeing where they did that and stayed. Meh…

On the way up we stopped in Swakupmound (sp??) which is a local German town that is very popular. It was really pretty there! We all split up and walked around and went to the banks and hurried back on to the bus and we we’re off. Me and another girl Tiffany went to exchange cash, we were there FOREVER. They are so slow to do anything here, I really worked on my patience and have advanced. I will definitely be a pro when I get home. Things just aren’t as fast paced as America our here. The town was really cute and I wanted to wander some more but we we’re going to stop back in on the way back anyway so we ran back to the bus.

Africa is beautiful from what I saw driving up there. We drove up the coast of Namibia for a little while, which they call the Skeleton Coast because of the shape of the sand dunes which are amazing! We also saw a ship that was shipwrecked on the coast, our guide says that happens a lot here. That ship’s engine went out and it eventually floated to shore and has been stuck there ever since. It was neat to see an old looking ship. We drove from Walvis Bay (pronounced like Wall-vish Bay) to Etosha park way up in the north of the country so we got quite a tour of the country.

Like I said I’ve learned nothing goes according to plan…
We had also made a stop because it started pouring rain on the drive. African rainstorms are really intense, they weren’t kidding when they told us! But they are beautiful. Turns out it rained so hard that the buses were leaking a little bit because of the pop-up roof. Ours didn’t leak all that much but Bus 5’s did and so much so the battery ended up getting wet and died. All nine buses pulled over on the side of the road and we all got out and made the best of our situation finding it kind of enjoyable. A lot of people took pictures while lying in the middle of the road that went on forever into the distance of Africa. Others grabbed their drinks and headed to hang outside. The rain had stopped and the sky looked really cool. Everyone noticed how incredible the clouds looked. The sky in Africa in general always looks so pretty especially the clouds always. In Morocco it was the same but down south in the country it was beautiful to see against the sand dunes and up north with the different variety of vegetation and the mountains. It made me want to go back and visit the mountains in the U.S. The broken bus had to stay behind and get fixed by the mechanic so the people in that bus got split up and put on the other buses. So four people joined our bus, one sharing a seat, one up front with the guides and two sitting on the coolers in front of our bus by me, as if it wasn’t crowded enough already, but they turned out to be really cool and a lot of fun. They joined in on our music, one girl brought an ihome so we played music on the bus and all sang to the good songs. The guides seemed to enjoy it a bit as well. It was a long bus ride but I met a lot of people and tried not to get too annoyed by some of the music choices. Since they we’re feeling good with their drinks, they enjoyed club music, I don’t enjoy rap and gansta music that much in general unless I’m out. But I dealt with the noise and just made friends with other people and joined in on singing the songs I knew.

We got to the camp late and it was already dark and pouring rain. Yes, I’m learning how to be very flexible! The guide suggested we take off our shoes which I was surprised about but she said they wouldn’t be dry in the morning so most people took off their shoes and walked around barefoot and set up everything in the rain and mud. I was wearing flip-flops and had brought extra shoes so I didn’t take any off and I’m glad because there were HUGE beetles everywhere, I would have flipped if I stepped on one, haha. I actually wasn’t feeling that great because I’d hadn’t the chance to eat anything really all day. If I don’t eat regularly I’ve noticed that I get a stomach ache and start to feel like I could be sick just because I haven’t eaten. It was already 10pm or so and they still had to make dinner.

We had to put up our own tents in the dark and pouring rain. It was quite an experience! I’m glad I brought my poncho and flashlight! I shared a tent with two girls that I had met up on the bus ride and hung out with, their names are Christine and Steph. All three of us got along great and I found big things in common with both of them and I. We set up our tent in the pouring rain and got all of our things in there, we we’re soaked! The guides made us dinner after everyone’s tent was set up. We didn’t actually eat dinner until 11pm. We we’re supposed to get to the camp before 7:30 but things never work out as planned, I have been learning on this trip. The dinner was fabulous! Some sort of pasta with traditional African sauce and other side dishes! I wasn’t sure I would like the food but I loved what they made us. I was really glad to get some food because we hadn’t eaten since lunch, dinner would have come earlier if we didn’t get there so late so I was excited to eat and was pleased it was so good.

Our guides were amazing! Their names are Lezinda and Jason and I loved them. They we’re so nice and helpful and they seemed to really enjoy hanging out with us and joking around. If there was something we wanted to do then they would try and make it happen. They were very down to earth and very real, we could talk about anything with them and I enjoyed hearing their stories of past trips and experiences that they’ve had. They were awesome!

After dinner our group chatted around the fire and others mingled around the campsite to other bus groups. II met a lot of really nice people and had a good time. It was a huge campground and so nice. There was our camping area, an area of cabins and condos and even some seasonal houses that people could live in. They had great facilities there and even a really nice restaurant and pool/bar area. Not too fancy like U.S. but fancy in the African style. It was real neat to stay in. The camp was located in the reservation set off for the animals to roam. There was a watchtower that you could climb and watch and also a waterhole that had benches around it so you could watch the animals. It was awesome!

Everyone got up at six to get ready and get breakfast. It was still dark outside but by the time we left the sun was out. We drove around all day looking for animals and saw a lot! We stopped for lunch at another campsite. Some of us took a hike around the site and went to the waterhole at this site to take pictures and chat. Afterwards I went to the shop to buy some gifts with people, It was really crowded with SAS-ers. A lot of us went and we were in line for almost 2 hours because the service was so slow. The cash rep. had to look up each individual item in the computer and select its price so it took a LONG time. I have gained so much patience from being on this trip and respect and appreciation. I was not feeling well because I was so dehydrated because of not eating much for breakfast and it being so hot outside. Where I was sitting on the bus the sun was always shining on me the whole time. We got back to the camp and they had made hot dogs for us. They we’re good and I liked them a lot because they were boiled. I was careful about what I ate. We couldn’t drink the water there for the same reasons as in Morocco so we could only eat and drink things that we boiled or heated and not rinsed in the water. You could eat and drink whatever you wanted but you risked getting sick with traveler’s diarrhea, food poisoning, throwing up and whatever else. I had a hot dog and drank a lot of my water bottle I brought. I brought two large bottles that I refilled for this trip. I’m gonna need a couple more for India because I know we can’t drink at all there, and I’m not sure about the food. Last voyage I heard, everyone got sick in India. I’m going to try my best to not do so.

We left again for our afternoon safari. It was so pretty outside! The clouds look amazing and it reminded me a lot of Iowa. I’m starting to notice it more, but a lot of the world and its geography isn’t that different from home. I love traveling and seeing knew things but there’s always something somewhere that reminds me of home. I can travel all I want but I know that the one place I will always want to come back to and love the most is little ole’ Iowa and my neighborhood and home. We saw a lot of animals. One group said that they saw a Lion catch a Zebra and eat it! That would have been sweet to see! Our bus saw two giraffes mating. No one could resist the temptation to burst out in song singing “The Circle of Life”. I had a great time on the safari and was glad to see a lot of animals. I would have liked to have seen more, it gave me a real desire to go back to one of the big Zoos back home, that’s something I really want to do when I get back.

When we got back to camp for dinner we had some free time before dinner would be ready. Some people went to the pool to hang out and have some drinks at the bar. I decided to go to the top of the tower with people and watch the sun set. It’s not everyday you can watch an African sunset. It was gorgeous and I took a lot of pictures. I talked to some friends up there and we enjoyed the beauty of everything together. After awhile of being up there, Christine, Steph and I walked down and headed over to the waterhole because we would have a great view of the sunset from there too. We took a lot of pictures there also and by that time the colors had darkened because the sun was lower and it was gorgeous. Our guide told us that in 2005 a man fell asleep at the waterhole and overnight a lioness and her cub somehow got through the barbwire fence and ate him because the next morning the security guard was making his rounds and found the man being chewed by the lions still. Scary! They’d fixed the fence so now its not as easy for the animals to get through anymore! Good thing. The only animal in camp was Jackals and they we’re pretty cute I thought and very skiddish so we weren’t too worried about them, they just wanted our leftover food. At dawn and dusk is when the bugs come out so once we got out pictures and enjoyed the sunset we headed back to camp to take our Malaria pills and load the Deet bugspray on.

We had a really nice dinner and I made some more friends and chatted with them for awhile. The skies were clear that night so some of us walked out to the waterhole to stargaze. It was incredible! I’ve never seen this many stars before. At home you see a lot when you go into the country but they are all spread out. Here, there are layers and layers of stars and it was the Southern Hemisphere so maybe that made a difference but it was neat to see different constellations. We could even see part of the Milky Way. There were trails of dust rolling across the sky. It was so beautiful I love the stars! We had to get up early the next morning so after stargazing we walked back to the campsite. Some people chose to hang out all night and celebrate someone’s 21st. I went back to the tent with my tent mates and we chatted till we fell asleep.

We got up at 5am to pack up and eat and get on our way. A group of us walked to the tower to watch the sun rise. When the suns rays hit the ground, of course we started the intro to “Circle of Life”! What an amazing site to see!! It was gorgeous! The colors of the clouds and sky were so pretty I took so many pictures and was inspired to paint such a beautiful site. Nothing compares though and the pictures as always just don’t do it justice. I love Africa and I just want to share it with everyone. I wish my family would take a vacation here, it’s Amazing here and beautiful not to mention incredibly cheap for Americans too!..

Our buses picked up those of us who were at the tower and we all got on our busses and were off to go back to Walvis Bay. We didn’t stop too much on the way back because we didn’t have time for another 9 hour ride. Some of us wanted to do extra things and noone wanted to be late and get dock time. On the way back we stopped in Swakupmound again which was really nice. Our tour guide on the way back called an ATV place and booked us for ATV-ing in the desert on the Namib sand dunes! How awesome is that!! We then went to the street vendor markets in town and were able to barter prices down on hand-made African items. The artwork, carvings and jewelry were beautiful and so intricate and the locals were really nice. It was so much more comfortable than in Marrakech and bartering in the Souks, that I did not like so much. But Africa here, I loved. I got this really pretty marble statue thing of what is to be a man with no face, he has his head resting on his hand and in the other he is holding his face. I like it because it tells a story to me, I love things that tell a story. I walked by it a couple times and it was like calling to me, I couldn’t stop looking at it and hearing stories in my head about what was going on. Why was he holding his face? Was he happy or sad? Was he hiding? Did he not want to put on the face? Was it fake? Does he just want the world to see who he really is? Many things came across my mind. It tells a story and it spoke to me personally as well and I felt connected to this piece. I know you think I’m crazy ha, but I’m an artist and a dreamer at heart. You just have to see it I guess and maybe the same wonder will arise in you too as it did to me.
I had a fabulous time in Africa!!! After everyone was joined again, our tour guides took us for a short walk on the beach to end our trip. We walked out to the end of the dock and back. It was so pretty outside and the ocean was beautiful. What a great ending to a great trip!! We got back to the ship and thanked our guides and bid them goodbye with hugs. They we’re awesome and I had such a great time with them! It was a long line to get through security and onto the boat again, a ton of us we’re waiting but it went a lot faster than expected. From talking to other people at dinner it sounded like everyone had such a great time in Namibia and loved everything they did! I wish we had more time there, I would have loved to have done some of the things the others did. Nora camped out in the sand dunes with locals and Courtney stayed with the Ovahimba tribe (one of the remaining traditional African tribes), which sounded incredible! Maybe on another visit! I had a great time in Namibia and would love to come back some day and do the things I didn’t. It would be a great vacation destination for sure!! Maybe my family can come do it someday. Next stop is South Africa tomorrow for a 5 days, I can’t wait!! ☺

Into the Southern Hemisphere...

February 13, 2009

Happy 213!!

And Happy Valentine’s Day!

Well I just got back from the cultural and logistical pre-port meeting for Namibia and they scared the crap outta us as usual. I’m really excited for Namibia! I’m going on an independent safari through a company called Wild Dog Safaris. It must be a reputable company because the girl who’s setting it up got the info from previous SAS-ers who said it was really good. Our independent trip has about 120 SAS students and faculty and families going on it. It should be a good time. We’re doing safaris and things during the day and game driving and camping in the desert at night and have the opportunity to do a night game drive for some extra money, so maybe I’ll do that too. I can’t wait to see all the stars!! And the constellations of the Southern Hemisphere, it will be my first time!! They say to look for the Southern Cross I think? That’s the big one.
I hope we have time for some shopping cause I’d like to look around and get postcards. An interesting fact I learned though is that the combination of the SAS voyages from fall and this spring to Namibia will make up 10% of their tourist population for the whole year. Namibia is the size of Texas but the population is less than the city of Houston. So its pretty dense. I heard from Meaghan yesterday! It was her birthday and I wished her Happy Birthday on Facebook. It was really nice to hear from her because I haven’t heard from her since she left for college, she’s not very good at keeping in touch with the family or me at all really, which makes me really sad. But I was surprised and happy to get an email and response back to my many tries. ☺

Neptune Day!

We crossed the equator!! My first time!! I forgot to mention it. Neptune day was awesome!! We were woken up early by the crew parading through the hallways banging on pans and blowing whistles! They were all dressed up in costumes that they made and painted neon green to represent the Kingdom of Neptune. The captain of the ship was painted all green and dressed like the King Triton from Little Mermaid, he was in front of the group leading the parade who all woke us up and summoned everyone to the 7th deck for the initiation ceremonies. People got fish guts dumped on them, had to kiss the royal fish and then jump in the pool to cleanse, get out and be dubbed from Pollywogs to Shellbacks. Another tradition is shaving your head. I did not do this! But a ton of people did, most of the guys and quite a large number of girls shaved their heads too! More power to them, I have a hard enough time cutting my hair short ha! Some girls didn’t shave all the way but got a boy cut. Most can pull it off. After the ceremonies, we all just layed out on the deck and drank smoothies. I couldn’t stay out too long because of my sunburn. I got a really bad sunburn from the last post I wrote when I was laying outside. I started blistering that night and peeling ever since. It’s pretty bad, I look like I have a disease ha, but I have been taking good care of it and its getting a little better. Now that I started my Malaria medication, it makes me A LOT more susceptible to sunburn so I’m taking precautions, packing sunscreen, bugspray, long sleeves, pants, pants, glasses, lotion, chapstick etc. as I pack for my trip right now

I can’t wait to visit Namibia. I never heard of this country until now, but after learning about it I’m way excited to go. When we arrive we are going to be greeted at the dock by a children’s school choir who traveled a long way and are going to sing to us when we arrive as a welcome to their country. We are all getting up early for breakfast and then going to go up on deck and listen to them sing. What a great experience!

Well I need to get back to packing and then head to bed ASAP, big day tomorrow! After nine days in a row at sea, I’m ready for my third “spring break” as we call them. Can’t wait!! Welcome to Africa! ☺

Neptune Day is upon us!!

I just received the following email...

SUBPOENA to all POLLYWOGS,

You are hereby requested to appear before the ROYAL COURT OF THE REALM OF NEPTUNE, in the DISTRICT OF EQUATORIUS, because it has been brought to the attention of HIS HIGHNESS, NEPTUNE REX through his trusty SHELLBACKS, that the good ship M/V EXPLORER is about to cross the equator and enter those waters accompanied by passengers who have not acknowledged the sovereignty of the RULER OF THE DEEP.

THEREFORE be it known to all Slimy Pollywogs that The Royal, King NEPTUNE REX, Supreme Ruler of all citizens of the deep, will, with his Secretary and Royal Court, meet in full session on board the offending ship M.V. EXPLORER on the 9^th day of February, A.D. 2009 at 0900 on Deck 7 aft, to hear your defense.

Regards,

-King Neptune and His Royal Court

In addition: All pollywogs with hair longer than 8 inches who wish to donate their hair to a worthwhile charity, should do so BEFORE undergoing the initiation ceremony, as only clean hair is able to be donated.

If there are any pollywogs who have brought hair clippers on board, your services are hereby solicited by King Neptune and his Royal Barber. You may help by bringing your clippers to DECK 7 aft, tomorrow morning.

P.S. I got sooo burnt today sitting out. Note to self: I'm never laying out while crossing the equator every again! There's a big difference in sun exposure, duh I knew that. Ugh haha!

Reflections at sea...

Dakar, Africa – Fuel Stop
February 8th

This picture has nothing to do with this post but I wanted to share it anyway since I can add a picture for every post.

I wanted to share some of my reflections from class today but now I’m distracted by another event happening right now. We are currently at this moment docked to get fuel in Dakar, Senegal, which is located right below Mauritania, Africa. From what I see from the port, it’s a small commercial city. Right now there are African men sitting on the dock and one of them has set up his own little shop on the side of the deck trying to sell things to us onboard the ship. We aren’t allowed to get off the ship to purchase things but he is trying to tell us that he will throw a rope to us and tie the objects to the rope for us to pull up and then send the money back down. It’s rather amusing. And I was just expecting to layout in the sun and write on my reflections from class.

It’s really hot out here now, I’m not sure of the temperature but we are down the middle coast of Africa and the season here is summer so based on our location and this climate its probably in the 80’s –yay Global Studies class!

Actually, its really hot here because we’re about to cross the equator tomorrow. Tomorrow there are no classes because it’s a holiday on the seas I guess you could say. Crossing the equator is significant and its called Neptune day. I’m not sure I remember the history of it, we were told once and we’ll probably learn more about it tomorrow so I will share that with you in a later post. But what I do know, is it’s a celebration of initiation of sailors. Ones who have already crossed are called the “sons of Neptune”. It is tradition for those who have are making their first crossing of the equator that they be initiated into the Kingdom of Neptune. There’s initiation rites to go through, I know back in the day it used to be very brutal to be initiated in, you can Google it. Obviously what we’re doing isn’t severe. But traditions of Neptune day and semester at sea include. Getting your head shaved and getting fish guts dumped on you. I am not shaving my head! Haha, but there are a lot of guys and girls who plan to do it tomorrow. It should be a fun day!

I can’t believe how hot it is outside right now, and I can’t believe I’m complaining about it haha. I’m just not used to it right now coming from Iowa and the negative degree weather. But I sure don’t miss the cold! I hate it haha and I love the sun! ☺

But anyways back to the initial reason I wanted to make a post. I just wanted to say how great I think this program is. I know I’ve always said that and did so even before I went on it because I knew how great it really was going to be. But its just the simple things that happen that you really see how interconnected everything is here with education. The professors are so passionate not only about what they are teaching you from books and class but about the ship and the globe around us. My art class that I have is my favorite and my professor is really the best at adapting everything so it relates to what we are doing at that very moment, to help us understand better and expand our minds and our way of thinking and how we look at things. Like I said today we are fueling in Dakar. In class today we were studying a painting by Edward Hopper called Office in a Small City. Its basically a painting of a man staring out of an office window at a very boring looking city. The view this man had was not exciting at all but just the top roof of another dull brick building. There isn’t much color or excitement to this painting at all but the message is much more deeper than that. The artist used a numerous amount of lines and sharp angles in this painting to reflect the harshness of the atmosphere and repetitiveness. Also in the painting are many rectangles resembling restrictiveness, confinement; that this man lives in a box..

Just as we were discussing this in class was when the ship was pulling into the dock and our professor Fred Levine, asked us to open up the curtains because this was an important event that we should see. Pulling into port doesn’t seem too exciting but it really is. Finally we see land again and can now add a new country to the ones we visited. Like I said we weren’t able to get off the ship because all we were doing was fueling for a few hours and leaving. However as we looked outside at this new country an excitement arose and a strong desire in everyone wanting to just get off.

This feeling was very similar to the painting. Just like the man at the moment in his box, we too were stuck on a box wanting to get out but unable to get off.
You can’t see the expression on his face, which allows us the viewer to be able to be that man, to share our expression of a desire to leave to get out of this cubicle and explore what else is out there.

It was really neat that things happened the way they did, we had no idea we’d be getting there at that time and our professor didn’t plan to make such connections like that that helped us learn not just about the painting by looking at it but he found a way that we could go even further in our analyzing and the way we thought about it, to develop our thinking and grow more as individuals.
He really tries to push us to think harder and from all perspectives. He wants to hear our thoughts on things and for us to reflect on everything not just that we’re going somewhere and have all these trips but to really notice the little things and the natural beauty around us. That’s our I think personally and how I strive to be and it feels so good to be in a class and in a setting where the professors aren’t so uptight about deadlines and correct answers and busy-work. That’s not what makes one grow I don’t think. I love this class that I’m in and wish I could take more classes like it and be more encouraged to do such things, even simple ones that mean so much.


More later,
Em

Flexibility and Culture-shock

Feb 1st -6th

One of the pieces of advice my Dad gave me when planning this trip and getting ready to leave was to always have a plan B because plan A never works out, he said to “be flexible”. I didn’t realize then how flexible I was going to be while on this trip. A lot of things had happened where I would have to remain calm, not get upset and just be flexible about changes and other things for example:

1.) When the itinerary changed for the first time removing three of my top 5 favorite countries I was visiting.

2.) Packing and repacking in the airport

3.) Staying up all night in the Philadelphia airport between flights to save money on a hotel and transportation.

4.) Having my luggage get lost for two days somewhere in between Philadelphia and the Bahamas (Luckily I got it back before I got on the ship!)

5.) New beginnings on the ship such as meeting people, getting used to my new home, the rocking and sea-sickness etc.


Another recent development that disappointed a lot of people happened on Feb 1st , a day the ship declared Morocco day in which there was no outside classes except one where we learned about Morocco because we were to arrive there the next day on Monday. We made it from Cadiz, Spain to Gibraltar to refuel. It was really pretty outside that day and very windy and the seas were getting really rough because a storm was due. We could sea Spain, Gibraltar and the coast of Africa in the distance. It was exciting! And we got to sea the big rock of Gibraltar, which was really pretty. They tried for hours to connect the pipes from the oil ship who was going to give our ship gas to ours but because of a storm, and strong winds and rough waves the two were unable to connect and didn’t want to spill oil into the ocean. It takes 7 hours to do the whole fueling process and they couldn’t do it until the storm had passed in the morning. This meant that we weren’t going to make it to Morocco on the date that was intended. We had to be flexible. The ship did end up getting fuel and by late morning we were off. By dinnertime we made our way into Morocco. I guess for some reason around there now the seas get really rough from the time you’re outside the harbor until you get in. The captain came over the loudspeaker and announced to everyone to make sure that things in their cabins were secure and to prepare for the ship to roll quite a bit. We weren’t sure what this meant but we all took things off of tables and put onto the floor and taped our dressers closed. We had about a 5 min. warning. I secured my things and then grabbed my camera to film what was about to happen. It took us all by surprise, I was in the dining hall at the time it started and all at once the ship rolled swiftly to one side, people fell out of their chairs, water pitchers spilled all over the floor, people tried to keep plates of food from falling, dishes broke, plants fell leaving dirt everywhere and before you could get up the ship rocked again to the other side leaving the same mess. There we’re mixed reactions, obviously everyone screamed at once and grabbed ahold of something to hang on to, some were scared but most were laughing at the event and thought it was kinda fun. That was me, I enjoyed it and filmed everyone else. A lot of people filmed what was going on in different areas of the ship. The rocking only lasted about 10 min or so and then it calmed down as we slowly made our way to the dock, everyone had the videos uploaded to their computers by that time and were watching them. It was about 8pm and we we’re a whole 24 hours later than planned but we were finally in Morocco!!


I got lucky and nothing for my intended trip was changed or cancelled like some peoples. Courtney’s camel trek from her trip was cancelled but ours was still on which made me very excited. The next morning I got up and met with the group for our trip and then we loaded the bus and were on to Marrakech from Casablanca. The first thing I noticed about Casablanca was the traffic it was insane! People don’t really follow traffic in a very organized way like they do the the U.S. people just drive where they want to, very close to one another in mixed up lines and pedestrians cross the street in front of cars and will stop in the middle of traffic even to wait! I thought our bus was going to get in an accident or we would witness someone get hit. Obviously the people here are used to how they drive, but I know I couldn’t handle driving here and I’m glad I wasn’t it did not seem fun at all.

I didn’t know really what to expect in Morocco. I guess when I thought about it and saw pictures it was all of beautiful palaces, Arabian decorations, belly dancers, mosaics, bright colors music and dancing and such. When we finally made it to Marrakech I realized that Morocco is not what I thought at all! We were to tour the city of Marrakech which I’ve heard people say is the place to go, clearly they must have been talking about something else. We all got off the bus and we’re completely out of our element, some people had a harder time with it (such as those who are used to getting what they want and being cleaned up after and treated like a princess at home there were some girls texting on their blackberrys the whole time complaining about the dirt and smell not believing that they were being made to walk in this condition) That’s what this is about though, coming out of your little bubble and seeing the world for what it really is besides yourself. I knew of impoverish places because you talk about it in some classes and see it on t.v. but nothing that I have seen on t.v. or read in a book could prepare me for this or even compare to what I gained from it. It’s one thing to see something on t.v. or read it in a book, but to actually be thrown in the situation to see it, smell it, hear it, experience it is completely different and overwhelming. You really get the entire picture and there is no other way to learn about it and truly understand until you have gone there and had this kind of experience, which is what we were getting.

In this culture we were told by our interport lecturer (who resides there now), that we wouldn’t be able to take pictures. You had to ask permission first. Many people from here believe that if you take their picture its really you stealing their soul and their essence. It kind of sounds silly to us who come from a place where pictures are second nature but to them its very personal. You are taking away some of them with you and stealing it. It’s true though, we’ve come to this country as tourists and people visit places in general and want to take pictures to share with others. But I really took that to heart. Pictures to us are our entertainment and we can take pictures of something sad and awful and take it back to our perfect lives and share, but for a lot of people, its like our entertainment is our pictures and videos. But these people are not entertainment! This is their home, where they live, this is who they are, and they can’t leave. And us taking pictures of them to put in a scrapbook is not right, this is all they have. It was a very different experience but a real good one in that I learned a lot about myself in relation to other people and other cultures and became better able to understand and empathize with people.

Also, harassment of females was very common. We weren’t allowed to make eye contact with anyone especially males because they think that it means other things in their society. We had to wear baggy clothing and dress in layers that we’re not flattering to our body’s to help us not be harassed. This first day we basically toured the inner city of the old Medina. It was an eye-opener! These people are living with absolutely nothing in the worst conditions possible! I wasn’t even sure what to think, I just felt bad and there was not much I could do for anyone that would help everyone. Some of the locals were curious about us but others looked at us upset it seemed. I wasn’t sure what they we’re thinking but I did have a mixed emotion of

1.) That I was so lucky to be born where I was, be from the U.S. and have everything I did but

2.) Ashamed of where I was from and what I had because there are so many people who have nothing.

It really makes you ponder about you and your life as well as the lives of your family and friends and people in your country in general. So many people in the U.S. are so preoccupied with their lives; they have money and are well-off. The simplest things though such as food, water, shelter, and CLEAN conditions we take for granted so much! I know so many who do this and they don’t realize that they are so lucky and shouldn’t take what they have for granted. They have clean clothes, good food, clean water etc. It made me take a step back and look at my life and the trivial things that I would complain of or think was important sometimes, and I realized its not at all. From the moment I took my first steps off of that bus into literally a completely different world, I knew I was changed already.

I really don’t know what to say in this blog about Morocco except that I really can’t say things. It’s one of those places where you just have to go there to understand what its really like because it really overwhelms you.

There are so many people there, and they are so poor living in such poverty that people come up to you and harass you for money. A few times while walking through “the square”, which is a place full of shops and souks, snake charmers, fortunetellers, dancers everything you can think of. It was like a circus with people packed in together, but not a happy circus, more like a nightmare. I was grabbed at by people asking for money saying because I was American I had money and when I told them I didn’t have anything (which I really didn’t, I left everything on the bus because of all the thieves and pick-pocket-ers around) they harassed me and her telling us “you are Americans! You have money!”, surrounded me and my friend grabbing at us wanting our watch and other things, we ran away disgusted, ashamed, and scared with really nowhere to go but run into more who were at us about the same things.
Snake charmers came up behind you and would wrap snakes around your neck and which point they would tell you to take a picture and you would so they’d leave you alone and then demand money from you, it was the same with the people with monkeys.

I was excited to have a picture with the monkey because they are my favorite animals but at the same time, it was gross. They monkey was filthy and everything around us was so dirty. Before we got off the ship the medical clinic had a list of things not to touch, eat and do, especially not to drink the water. We had to carry bottles of water with us that would last the duration of our time in port. Many people followed the rules and still got sick from the food. Others forgot about the ice in their glasses at restaurants and got sick, others from alcohol because they chose to go drinking. I didn’t. The food was actually good though, but because I was on an SAS sponsored trip, I knew I was in good hands when it came to food and accommodations and I knew I could trust it. Marrakesh was definitely an experience that was good and bad at the same time and opened my eyes to a completely different world than my own.

The next day was a learning experience in itself also. We had rode the bus to the Palm Groves, Morocco which wasn’t too far from Marrakesh. It was pouring rain and we were on our way to a village not knowing what we we’re going to do. Turns out we we’re to be ATV-ing in an adobe village which was a blast! at the time, and something I’ve never done in the mud, puddles and rain before. It would have been more fun if I was at home and knew I could shower and change into new clothes, but here we couldn’t. No one could go anywhere to get clean or brought new clothes, we didn’t know we’d be getting so dirty. I’ve never felt so dirty in all my life. We we’re riding so fast through the village of mud in the pouring rain and we’re soaked by the end and freezing. It was another eye-opener because people were all so dirty and confused thinking that the people would offer us a place to clean up at or a towel atleast. The thing is though, they had nothing. If they had even a towel there that they owned they would not be so dirty themselves. All they could give us was tea and some small pieces of bread that they were making. The people in this village were gracious to us and we’re really nice for letting us visit their village. It was a great time except the fact I was covered in mud from head to toe, mud was in my shoes and I was sloshing around in it, it was all over my pants and face and it was raining and cold. It wasn’t pleasant but as we were all huddled in a little hut I realized that it really wasn’t that bad. I was uncomfortable yes, but these people live covered in mud and dirt, walk in sewage water and live like this in this same condition everyday and I realized how lucky I was and how grateful I was. They we’re doing everything they could to help us keep warm by serving us hot tea in a cup that we could wrap our hands around to keep warm and pouring hot water on our hands that they boiled. Even though it was dirty water, it didn’t matter. They we’re giving all they had to us, and we should be very thankful to them. We really were able to experience a day in the life of one of the villagers and what they lived in everyday. It was a great experience, which left a lot to reflect upon. Some girls complained about not being able to wash themselves before dinner, and soon we realized that it really wasn’t an issue over here, we all went dressed as we we’re covered in mud. We tried to look as best as we could and we had lunch at the restaurant which was very good. Surprisingly for me, I enjoyed the Moroccan food. It wasn’t too exotic and tasted like stuff you could get at home. They served an appetizer of different selections such as a bean thing or a sort of salad, then the chicken, cheese and vegetable wraps that were toasted and in the shape of triangles so we called them that, the next was the main course usually consisting of Beef and vegetables in sauce over cuscus (koos-koos) and for desert was the largest and most delicious oranges ever! I love oranges and am going to get Moroccan oranges wherever I have the choice from now on.


After lunch it was time for camel riding which was one of my special goals on this trip, to ride a camel. After Egypt was canceled I knew I must do it in Morocco and was lucky I was still able to do it. I had a blast! I was sad to find that it didn’t seem they treated the camels too especially well, but then again if it were me, I would spoil them, animals mean a lot to me. But still, animals here are not treated as well as they could be and don’t live in great conditions or are cared for like they should be but then again, neither do the people. We rode the camels through the Palm Groves of Morocco another village area and were greeted by the villagers and their children coming out of their huts to wave and the kids tried to give us high-fives. It was a great time for sure! We rode the camels to a Moroccan home where they served us tea and bread and some locals dressed in traditional outfit and played some traditional music, which was fabulous. I love music and being able to hear someone’s native music not just from a “music history CD” for class and talk about what we heard, I got to actually be there and see it, hear it and feel everything about it right there in the country itself, it makes all the difference.

On the way back from the village to the buses while on my camel I looked around me at the village and the people in the desert and living in their huts, hand-made from mud and trash. While watching the sunset (which is gorgeous in Morocco) I reflected upon my time in the village thinking, all of my friends right now are sitting in class, reading books, studying for tests and such and I am living on a ship, touring around the world, right now in Morocco riding a camel around a village learning about religion, culture, music, their way of life and everything first hand. You can’t experience that from a book. A book just can’t beat it at all! It’s amazing what I’m doing and I’m so happy and proud of myself that I made this dream come true and indefinitely grateful and thankful for my Mom and Dad for helping me and sending me on this wonderful experience.

After the camel ride and visit to the villages we went back to the inner city in Marrakech, Medina to go to a special popular pharmacy. I guess its big because they import their items to people all over the world especially in Europe and celebrities in the United States. They sold a lot of what I call “magic” stuff, weight loss products, creams, cold remedies, and other things to keep the body healthy and look better. We tried some of the things he offered and they actually worked, so I bought some stuff to give as gifts. It was pretty interesting, he reminded me of a witch doctor because his building had shelves of jars of random herbs and things. It was really neat though and I got a massage, which was really nice. After the pharmacy we drove back to the hotel and finally was able to take a shower, it took me a very long time to scrub the mud out of my shoes. Me and my friend Chera, my roomie for the trip talked for a long time about things and relationships in particular, it was a good talk and great to get to know her better. I wrote my postcards for people and then fell asleep. I was awoken at about 4 am again because of the “call to prayer”. Morocco mainly practices Islam, so the people there pray 5 times a day and they are called to prayer by someone (I forget the proper name) who calls to them from the Minaret (atop the mosque and usually the tallest point in the city) to pray. He recites the prayer over again. It’s as loud as the tornado sirens back home, you can’t miss it. But that’s how the people here wake up so that was an interesting feature and experience to add to our trip as well. It was really neat. The bus ride was long back to Casablanca so I slept for what I could. When we got back to the ship, I dropped off my things and met my friend Jason whom I met on my trip, and we walked around the city of Casablanca. It was a different feel from Marrakech, Casablanca is very modernized and reminded me of home to an extent with the way the buildings are and business people around. We got poured on, we were in Morocco during their rainy season so it rains about every half hour or so. My only pair of clean pants left got stained with mud and dirt again from the streets and the dock where the ship was which wasn’t very clean at all but very busy with commercial ships and industrial sorts of machines, tools and things. I was very happy to know that our “sea” had laundry day the next day so when I got back to the ship, I took a good shower and separated my laundry out for the service to do the next day.

I met up with Courtney, Val and others at dinner and we talked about our trips in Morocco and found many similarities about the way we felt, culture shock and other things but everyone had a very good time and really learned a whole lot about this country and themselves. It was a good experience for sure but I’m not sure about vacationing there again. It’s definitely something different, but I had fun on my trip for the most part. Some parts we’re scary but overall it was a great trip! ☺


Its this sort of trip that changes your perspective on things, on yourself, others around you, good and bad, right and wrong, what really matters and what doesn’t and that the simplest things to you are everything to someone else, not to judge others and where they come from, we are all the same at heart, we all are bonded by some form or another, we all need each other in some way.


It’s hard to explain what I saw and went through here. When people ask how was it? I’m not really sure what to say…good? Yeah I guess?...I did have fun. A lot made me uncomfortable but some parts were fun? …But it wasn’t good necessarily because it wasn’t fun, it wasn’t a vacation anymore, it wasn’t about just seeing the world and traveling to different countries and marking them off on a list. Its much deeper now, this experience is more than what I expected and they said this would happen but because of the places I have been to and what I have seen and experienced here first hand its so much more personal and so much more meaningful on many different levels.

I don’t want to sound like I didn’t enjoy this trip because I really did, but it was somewhere that you’re not really sure how to feel because of the situation the country is in and the people, you don’t know what to do necessarily or how to act about it. But it was an eye-opener and a good experience that has changed me and many others and our perspectives on the world and the reality of situations and how lucky we are to be here. Morocco was a good experience and I'm way excited for Namibia and my safari in the desert there!! Can't wait!!

When in Spain!

January 29, 2009

Well its been while since I undated and so much has happened so I thought I’d start now. First off, I’m in Spain!!! But I’ll get to that later…

After being on a ship for a whole week seeing nothing but water I can’t tell you how exciting it was to see a ships lights in the distance at night! That’s what happened the other night while me and some of the other girls went out on deck to get smoothies. Some students said they saw a whale earlier in the week also, but I’m not sure if that was true or not. I think the last time I updated was Sunday. Basically things are the same, still going to classes, things are getting more in depth. I’ve gotten used to the ship and its rocking, and I think its actually slowed down quite a bit. We were averaging 21 knots or so and now we’re down to 15. We were ahead of schedule I guess and couldn’t get to Spain early so we slowed down, which a lot of people appreciate a lot. I had my first play rehearsal as stage manager and it went well. Should be interesting to see how well the actors hold things together on stage while the ship may be rocking. Hopefully it turns out to be a good show though. Went to the choir club on Monday, it was nice to sing again. I really miss choir at Clarke, we’re really good I think. Thanks to Fran, he’s an awesome director and a ton of fun. I’m sad he will be leaving the end of this year ☹ Hi Fran and Clarke choir! I miss singing with you!

Everyone is getting excited for Spain! On Tuesday night before we were supposed to arrive we had a pre-port meeting for Spain and they also covered a lot of basic info for the other countries as well. Topics included; transportation, security, safety in port, what to do for emergencies, rules and regulations, health issues, political issues, field trips, independent trips and other tips. They scared us all with the safety precautions telling us stories of past SAS-ers finding themselves in trouble with getting robbed and such. It made me kind of paranoid. I’m not going to carry a bag anywhere on my back and if I need a bag it will be wrapped around me and in front. Leave nothing in your pockets, but keep a money belt. Those are really nice; I got one here and it works really well. You can’t even tell I’m wearing it under my pants. It only looks awkward when you’re trying to reach to get money out haha.

I’ve been hanging out with Courtney quite a bit. We decided on Thursday that we were gonna travel to Seville together on Friday with some others possibly, we looked things up in the guide book and are going to catch a train and see the city, it supposed to be really neat! The videographer and another filmer has been walking around taking pictures of students in class and activities and has recently been filming them and interviewing them on topics such as the ship, classes and port, specifically Spain right now. I was stopped 3 times by him to talk to the camera, this last time I was with Courtney in the library and he interviewed us. I think were going to be on the video! He took our names down and our schools! I really hope we are, that would be soo exciting ☺ We talked about Spain, what we learned at pre-port and what we were looking forward to the most about going to Spain and the other countries and the program.

That night I didn’t get any sleep at all, my roommate Valeria (pronounced Validia) talked until about 2 or 3 am about lots of things and getting to know each other even better. We were too excited to sleep! We were going to be in Spain in a few hours and couldn’t wait! That morning about 6 Courtney called and woke me up and then I got ready and met her at my door. We were going up on deck because we we’re to be arriving in Spain very soon and wanted to watch the ship pull into its first port of call. I can’t describe the mixed feelings of surprise, astonishment and excitement when we opened the door to the top deck and saw the lights of the city in the dark. The sun doesn’t rise till 8:30 so it was pitch black still. We were in Spain!! We hadn’t seen land in over 7 days and we were finally here! It was so quiet and peaceful and the ship very slowly glided closer to the port. Many more students had gathered up on deck to take pictures, and everyone was buzzing with excitement. It was so cold; people were all bundled up in coats and blankets. I took lots of pictures of the blackness and Courtney and I recorded a video! I’ve lost so much sleep recently but I am taking past SAS-ers advice and not going to bed when I still have the chance to hang out with people and experience things. We watched as the ship pulled in and was tied to the dock. The captain and crew were all abuzz and were preparing things. They loaded the gangway down and those who were still on deck watching, watched as the first crewmember stepped on land. We were in Spain! We greeted the Spanish ship workers from the deck who helped us pull in and greeted our crew. They looked like important people. Probably a political officer of some kind and customs people, they were coming aboard to check all of our passports through. Everyone was all excited and ran below decks to begin getting ready, we couldn’t wait to get off the ship and explore.

Courtney and I went to get breakfast on the ship and we watched the sun rise over the city of Cadiz. I sat with one of the professors and his wife. They are from Great Britain and I loved listening to the accents when they talked with me. The professor’s wife, Maggie is in the play that I am stage-managing. We talked for a while about the show and where we all from. They have traveled a lot and were fun to converse with. We talked for a while about Spain and what we were each all doing while in the country.

I went back to my cabin to get ready for the day and emailed my parents and best friend back home telling them I was in Spain! It was nighttime in Iowa so I knew they wouldn’t receive the e-mail till morning or whenever they checked it but I still wanted to share the exciting news! I headed upstairs and met up with some friends including Katy, Kelly, Danielle and Laura. We were going to walk around the city before our field-trips started that afternoon. It definitely hit me when I couldn’t read anything! We all waited in line to walk down the gangway and finally it was my turn! I walked down to the bottom with such excitement I jumped rather than stepped off onto the dock. I took my first steps in Spain, and that was only the beginning of my journey around the world on Semester at Sea.

The city of Cadiz is really pretty and I was surprised to see palm trees everywhere! Not something I was first expecting to see in Spain, but it is surrounded by water and the climate supports it. We walked around for a good few hours trying to get acquainted with the layout. The streets are so tiny and the buildings are old-fashioned and compact together just like you’d see in an old “Christmas Carol” movie. It was a culture shock to try and figure out ways to communicate when we didn’t know any Spanish. Those that took it in high school were our only hope, luckily Katy knew it well enough and was able to converse. The local people also knew some English so it was a mixture of languages being used while trying to communicate. Maybe I’ll try filming it sometime, its quite interesting and something totally new for me and quite exciting! It was especially challenging (but a good experience and fun) stopping at a outdoor café for lunch. We weren’t sure how to get a table and had to go ask them and they cleared one for us. We all ordered by trying to speak some Spanish, Katy spoke for us since she knew a little and we all ordered our food by pointing to the pictures in the menu. I was glad they had pictures and noticed many places did that, perhaps for that very reason. I wasn’t too daring because I was starving so I wanted something I knew I would like, I got Spaghetti. Yes, I really did that. I did try the other’s food as well! I’m not sure how to spell the food names but some included a sort of tortilla and churros. I also tried my first sangria and got a picture with it! We learned that they don’t split checks, so us being a large group put everything on someone’s credit card and payed her back in cash Euros.

Cadiz is so cute with all of there little shops. There are a lot of local people out, it seems they don’t work. But they do, its just like in the cities back at home. Everyone seems to be so layed-back and relaxed and happy, they were all just enjoying the day visiting the local stores. The city is beautiful because it has that old fashioned feel to it and all the streets are hand-layed cobble stone which was really neat. Something else that fascinated me was that the walls in the city are made of old shells! I learned that between the hours of 2-4 or so the shops shut down and the locals go home to eat and sleep and then come back to work, it’s a requirement to go rest. Isn’t that nice!? Quite interesting! We all walked back to the ship to get on buses for each of our respective tours and were on our way. I was on the Cadiz City Orientation tour, and Kelly and Danielle were on my tour as well which was nice! We hung out during the tour and had a lot of fun. Basically we already saw everything on the “walking tour” because we had already walked around the city ourselves but visiting the cathedral and museums were interesting and having a guide provided us with a lot of information and history. I took so many pictures and was pleased that they all turned out very well. I’m excited to share them with friends and family back home. Once the tour was complete we walked back to the ship and all got ready for another field-excursion through SAS, the Flamenco show and bloodless bullfight! To get a real classic feel for spain and a taste of local history and custom as well as music and dance, this was great!! Upon arrival we were greeted by rows of workers serving us Spanish – after-dinner drinks. It was nice of them, however I was not a big fan of the drink itself, but I did try it atleast. The shows were quite impressive and very entertaining and I’m glad I was able to do this trip and recommend it to future SAS-ers!! After the show in the bullring we were brought into a great hall where there was more food, drinks and entertainment, which even involved some audience participation in some parts, which was a lot of fun! I took a lot of pictures and lots of videos as well. Its hard enough to share the real experience through a picture, so I thought taking videos would be really nice to remember things by later but also share with people when talking about my trip.

Courtney and I hung out together at the show and we met some new girls on the bus on the way back to the ship. We got to the ship and it was a long line waiting to check-in and board the ship again. Everyone was anxious to go out later. I got ready and met a bunch of people to go out to a local pub. I made the mistake of forgetting I was wearing heels from the show before and we ended up walking all over town and my feet hurt so bad. We finally made it to the pub but I wasn’t all about the drinking and the smoke in the bar was really bothering it and me was hard to breathe. It was something I wasn’t used to since it banned in U.S. which I was so glad about. I really can’t be around smoke at all, I’m not sure why it affects me so much but it does, plus the smell just irritates me. Courtney and I walked around, we wanted to get away from the crowd who were being somewhat obnoxious and loud. We didn’t want to be known as the “so and so Americans”. That’s probably the one thing that I don’t like about this trip. I knew I would probably run into it so I was prepared but still it really bothers me. There are a lot of people here, NOT EVERYONE, NOT EVEN ALOT, but some for sure who seem to be here for the wrong reasons, motivations and excitement for being here or at least don’t show it very well. Perhaps I’m wrong and I’m not talking about everyone at all but there are select people who are very different than me I guess. One is able to find some people who will be a bit prissy and stuck on themselves and their looks and look down upon others. I have run into people here who have complained about not getting enough money from there parents to spend, specifically using foul language because they thought 5000 dollars PER PORT to spend wasn’t enough! Another someone I ran into was upset we were going to places like third world countries, because they didn’t want to be exposed to that and would be depressed. It seemed they were bored with the touring and seeing the country stuff and were more concerned about bars, drinking, partying and clubbing rather. How could someone be so ignorant and selfish?!? I knew these people existed but I choose not to associate with them, but now even talking to them and hearing it all first hand just really upsets me. These are poor countries we are going to and we are like kings to them and have everything where they struggle to even get some water for a week!! It’s not fair and I find it outrageous that people can be so ignorant, uncaring, selfish and unkind! I don’t think there are many places to party in India, I could be wrong. But the point is, that IS NOT what this experience is about. It also upsets me to see some students “pre-party” before going to night activities, such as the Flamenco night I went to. I left out the fact that some people showed up drunk to the event and made quite a scene when she entered the stadium and toppled over us sitting to go jump on some guy. Also later on running up on stage during one of the performances. It’s a great embarrassment to us students, the program and America. It seems we have a reputation of abusing alcohol. But that isn’t the case at all! I don’t want to be lumped into that crowd because that is certainly NOT me at all! Maybe its cause I’m a little older than most of the students and going out just isn’t in my interest anymore, although even a few years ago I wasn’t interested in drinking every night either. I guess you’ll run into these kinds of people who are really into that stuff, you’ll always find people who do things you don’t agree with and you just have to deal with them and do your best in each situation. I don’t want to start a “bashing or venting” blog here because that is NOT what I’m trying to do. I guess I’m just sharing the variety of types of people on this ship, the different backgrounds, values and thoughts and if someone is curious about this program to know that there will be some exposure. I’m NOT saying this about the program, but there will be some students who choose to behave in this way. It’s not the program, but the few student’s personal choices and actions.

I really try to stay positive and look for the best in every situation, people come into your lives for a reason and if anything these people I’ve met and the things they value just make me that more passionate about the real reason I’m here and want to help those who need it because that is what’s important and not designer clothes, lots of money, electronics, alcohol and partying. But All in all, I’ve met some great people otherwise, and feel bad for those who make dumb decisions, and there are those people wherever you go. I’m here to see the world and meet people, break my bubble that I Ieft. I want to be challenged and inspired, learn more about myself and grow as a person and expand my worldview. I want to not only see but experience how the real world really is in hopes that I can understand others, empathize and be inspired to travel back and do my part to help as much as I can.

Well enough of that. Thursday I got up to catch an SAS bus to travel to Arcos and Ronda for the “White-Town Route”. This has been my favorite SAS tour so far! It was beautiful!! It’s called the white towns because all the buildings are white in this small town. It reminded me of Greece and Ireland put together. It was gorgeous to look at the scenery from atop a mountain and see a bunch of little white villages on top of a mountain with deep gorges below covered in greenery and flowers and water falling to the crick below. It was so beautiful my eyes hurt to even look at it after awhile because it didn’t even seem real. One takes so many pictures and get caught up in the moment of capturing it on film that they don’t really just stare and look at it, taking it all in. I had looked at this trip on the pre-sale but didn’t sign up for it and did the city orientation instead. But when we arrived at the ship the first day we were able to sign up for trips that weren’t filled yet and so I signed up for this one cause I didn’t know what else to do and I had an interest in it before but my Dad wasn’t sure what it really was or how great it would be so he said I should do the city orientation tour instead. That is what I did, and I realized one really doesn’t need the Cadiz city orientation because you can pretty much do it on your own just walking around. I’m sooo glad I did the white-town route! My Dad and Mom would have fallen in love with the village and the scenery was breathtaking every time! I took so many pictures and videos to share.

We had a fabulous tour guide as well who spoke 10 languages who knew so much! He was very interesting to talk to and his accent was a little mixture of all of the different accents so it was fun to listen, he was a great guide and had a good sense of humor. Including the sites we saw he also took us to a real bull fighting ring!! It was quite exciting and I really felt like I was in Spain!!
We all ate lunch at a local restaurant with a traditional Spanish meal. It was alright and I ate it. Spanish is not my favorite food, I’ll always prefer Italian and I’m still missing American food or atleast American versions of Chinese and Italian. I met some new friends though which was really nice! They’re names are Taylor and Molly (who’s doing the play with me) and one other one but I forget her names. We sat at the same table at lunch just us four chatting about where we were from, politics, worldviews and the countries we were going to next on our trip. We sat near each other and chatted on the bus together and walked around with the tour together and hung out during it. I was glad to have made new friends to talk to. There was soo much walking during this trip, I’m glad I wore my “comfort” shoes that my mom bought me, they have come in handy during these walking tours. I got some good exercise but was exhausted and slept on the bus ride home from Ronda back to the ship in Cadiz. When I got back I cleaned up the cabin a bit on my side, chatted online and fell asleep watching the movies they were playing on the SAS t.v.’s in our rooms.

Friday Courtney and I got up early and walked over to the bus station to buy round-trip tickets to Seville. Once we finally were able to get across specifically what we wanted we received our tickets and boarded the bus. It was about an hour and a half ride. Courtney slept and I listened to her Ipod and watched Spain as we drove by. Once we got to Seville our first stop was and ATM and then breakfast somewhere. We stopped in a café because the doorman greeted us very nicely. He didn’t seem to speak any English at all and Courtney and I definitely didn’t know any Spanish. So using our hands and our own languages we tried to explain what we wanted. The chef came out with different plates of food trying to help us out but everything was all too fancy. Finally something he said sounded like Toast so Courtney and I said si, and pointed to each other and held our fingers showing the number 2 indicating that we both wanted some. The chef then proceeded to cut a loaf of bread in pieces and put them in a toaster. Yay. The doorman who was also beside us helping, indicated to us to sit down. I thought it was funny how he did it because he said the Spanish word that sounded like sit and began squatting in the restaurant as if he were going to sit down on air. I got excited because we found a way to communicate and responded by squatting with him up and down saying si, si. I felt silly afterwards, but it got the job done. He brought us to a table and shortly after brought out our orange juice which by the way was REAL orange juice, freshly squeezed from an orange itself, not processed, it was AMAZING! He soon after brought out our toast and I mimed spreading butter in my hand to tell him I wanted jelly. He understood and brought some out. The art of communicating with someone when neither of you know a bit of the language amazes me! It is a challenge for sure, but its so thrilling when it works out and you find you can communicate with someone and find you understand them when you are both from different worlds. Our breakfast was good and it was definitely a great experience. For the past two days I was with people who spoke Spanish so I found it easier to get around but today was going to be interesting for sure!

We walked around the city and looked in the little shops however for the most part they all seemed to be touristy stores which is something that I wasn’t interested in at all. We’re here to experience the real culture and trying not to be so “touristy” if all possible. We went to the cathedral of Seville, I’ve never seen a cathedral so beautiful and huge! I’ve been to some in Ireland but even this was greater. Courtney said she thought is was bigger than Notre Dame, I don’t know, I’ve never been to France yet. We walked all around it and I took lots of pictures and videos to share back at home. The Cathedral used to be a mosque but a cathedral was expanded on that and I think Courtney said it took 3000 years to build? Idk about that. She had come the day before and was telling me what she remembered from the tour. It did look like it was in the gothic style, I found myself remembering conversations in music history when we would talk about art and architecture. I felt so privileged to be able to go out and actually see it and what we discussed in class in little ole’ Iowa. We walked all over. The artwork is beautiful and I know it was something that Fran would have loved haha, I don’t even know how to describe the enormity of the size, and all-around beauty of the place, I was simply amazed! We proceeded to the bell tower entrance and walked 35 flights until we finally reached the top where we could look out on the whole city! I was so tired, but the view was worth it! It was awesome! There were so many bells up there too, large ones and little ones for ringing. I took a video for my Dad. I know he would have loved to have come to the cathedral and really hope he can visit it someday if he hasn’t because I just know he would like it a lot. We walked back down and decided to go to the Alcazar, and Moroccan and Arabian inspired building. It was gorgeous as well!!! I don’t know how to describe the beauty of the art, paintings, tapestry and gardens in words. I took a ton of pictures and video. It still fascinates and amazes me to see how huge these buildings are compared to me when I get my picture taken by them, it reminds me how small and insignificant I am in this world compared to such beauty and I feel so thankful that I am able to see it, experience it and be a part of it. I wish I could share it with everyone and take them to see it as well and see the inspiration and reflection it gives and brings about to them like it has me.

After we finished there we decided to grab some lunch we walked back to the main city area and walked into a café. I had to get the waiter behind the counter’s attention and motion him to follow me and I pointed to the sandwich I wanted in the glass case. He got it out and wrote down the price and I paid him. Courtney and I took our lunch and ate on the steps of a large building outside and watched the people walk by. There was a flutist playing his flute but not classical stuff, it was like old medieval and renaissance tunes that he was improvising. It fit perfect with the scenery and I really enjoyed listening to his music. On the way back to the bus station later in the day we stopped in a little shop and I bought some really neat accessories which I’m excited to take back and I got something for my mom that I think she will like so I can’t wait to give it to her. Courtney and I had a lot of fun in Seville shopping and sightseeing, taking pictures and walking around and chatting and our “Spanish” encounters were a lot of fun too! I’ve really enjoyed my time in Spain with friends and seeing everything! We rushed back to the bus station and got there just in time, we found a bus that said Cadiz and then went to the driver and showed him our ticket, he said or motioned as well, that it was the right bus but we had to exchange our tickets to one that said “to Cadiz” really. We bought one way, but we had to get a copy from their station as well. He motioned us to run cause they were leaving soon so we ran back inside and handed it to the teller and said to Cadiz and he did some stuff and gave us another ticket so we brought it back to the bus and the driver tore a piece of the ticket and nodded us on. We got on and saw some others from SAS as well and were driven home.


It was a peaceful ride, when we got back to the ship we both went to our cabins for awhile until dinner. I came back and loaded my pictures on. The ship was showing the movie “The Perfect Storm” on the televisions in our room, I don’t know why they would show that movie, it’s not very comforting while were living on a ship ha. Holly stopped by and invited me over to her room and Courtney came soon after as well. We all decided to go to dinner with Brandee and Katy and another friend they met. We chatted for awhile and caught up with each other about our travels and then walked to a café. We took a much longer way than we had to we realized on accident. It was sprinkling outside and misty but not a big deal. We got to the Spanish/Italian restaurant and all ordered Italian food, we weren’t a big fan of the Spanish food, or I wasn’t anyway and Italian sounded wonderful as always and it was the cheapest entrees I’ve seen in Spain so we were sold, we all got gelato or little cakes afterward. It was really nice to hang out with them again, it had been awhile and I missed it. It was a lot of fun. When we were walking back however, it was raining harder and then we got to the gate and they wouldn’t let us through because it was after 11pm, we had to walk around the whole dock to the other gate to get in. It was about 4 miles away just to get to the gate and then 4 miles back to the ship. That’s what someone told me. It was raining when we began but the wind picked up and it started pouring, we were in a monsoon! It was crazy and wet and uncomfortable but still a lot of fun! Finally I got back to my cabin and Val was back, she had stayed in Seville overnight with her friend Janelle the night before in Seville and they were back now. I was just glad to be in warm dry clothes, we watched some movies on the t.v. and chatted with each other and Janelle.

Saturday I slept in till 10, it was really nice. Valeria, Courtney, Janelle and I got up and went out into the city to get some breakfast. Val speaks Spanish fluently so things were pretty easy today. We walked around town taking pictures and shopped. It was a good day, we were all sad we were leaving though. I’ve had a blast in Spain but I can’t wait to get to Morocco. I found myself being drawn to the little Indian shops in Spain. So I guess that’s a good thing we’re going then, I like the style. We all split up later during Siesta and Courtney and I got lunch at the Italian place and then went to get some ice cream before heading back to the ship. It was fun walking around and we tries to soak up the last of Spain that we could. We got back to the dock and the line to get on the ship was so long, we were glad we got there sooner rather than later. It was a half hour before we got to the door, so about 5:15 I made it on and the line was still really long behind me. We had to be back on and checked in by 6pm (two hours before sailing). Some people are going to get dock time and that will not be fun. Even if you’re a minute late that means you have to stay on dock for three hours before you can get off the ship in the next port, its 1-15 min. If you’re 15- 30 min that’s six hours dock time and it just keeps getting worse after that.

Were all back on now though and headed to Gibraltar to refuel the ship, I wish I could get off and just touch the land so I could officially say that I’ve been in that country to and saw it, maybe just being in the city in the water could count? Either way, I’ll see the place from the ship so maybe I could kinda say that I’ve been there cause I kinda have.

Today is Superbowl Sunday, we won’t be watching it until midnight our time. Today was rainy and rough seas, we made it to Gibraltar and are refueling now. Tonight we have to tape our drawers again and prepare our cabins for rough seas again. The books in the library are all taped up and the clothing store and SAS shop. All the tables and chairs are still binded together from last nights weather. Should be a bumpy ride, more so than usual if we have to secure things down. Anyways, then were off to Morocco and will be there in the morning! I’m doing a 3 night/4 day camel trek in the Palm Groves Sahara Desert and a trip to Marrakech, I can’t wait! This is the sort of places I was really interested to see the most! Here I come! ☺

*~ Em ~*

EKNelson@semesteratsea.net