I can't believe a month ago we were on the ship heading to our second port in Italy, only our second country and now we are on our way to our last port, Morocco, and our forth continent. We only have 15 days left aboard the M/V Explorer :( The website for Semester at Sea has done a great job with keeping up with photos and videos from the voyage and I will try to get caught up on the blog as soon as possible. The main purpose of this post however was to inform everyone of my birthday plans and invite those whom wish to participate. Rather than indulging in a 'special event' dinner (which they aren't even offering on my birthday) I plan to participate in the Semester at Sea Hunger Banquet which kicks off tonight at 7 pm and consists or raising awareness of world hunger and a challenge to fast for 24 hours with only rice along with those around the world who must go with out.

Day 35…
        Another country down and I’ve never been so happy to be back on the ship. Don’t get me wrong.. I adored Greece but I spent the majority of it traveling around by bus touring all the major sights (Probably 24 hours total on the bus camped out in the back seat) including Delphi, Meteora, Olympia, The Corinth Canal, Mycenae, Athens, ect. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many ruins in my life or been in so many museums. It was fascinating to see but a lot to take in. I didn’t realize that Olympia was separate from Mount Olympus. I was a little disappointed that in all my travels I didn’t see the mountain since it is the highest in Greece but I did see quite a few and drove through many. The Acropolis in Athens and Mycenae were probably the most intimidating sights because of the steep incline to tour both but I survived and I’m probably better for it. I would love to come back to Greece some day and tour the islands. If there is one thing I learned from this trip is that three or four days is just not enough time in one place. This whole trip has been a sampling of each country and the more time I spend reflecting on it all, the more places and sights I can add to my bucket list to return to. Greece was probably the most intriguing port so far due to its history and was the best for shopping since I love buying tacky souvenirs. The food on the other hand was hard for me to adjust myself to since their favorite plates were mostly meat. We stopped yesterday for lunch at a banquet style restaurant that served lamb and potatoes. I thought I would be okay just eating the potatoes but of course they were touching the lamb so it didn’t end so well for me. On the other hand, I had a club sandwich with turkey AND mayonnaise today. As if life couldn’t get any better. My roommate from the hotel last night, Emily, mentioned she just wanted to do sandwiches for lunch today which got me thinking about turkey sandwiches at home until I soon realized the chances of finding that anytime soon were slim to none. Its funny the little things like sandwiches that you begin to miss the most when you are out of the country. I was a little upset and immediately added it to my list of things to do as soon as I get back to the US. We walked up to the town of Olympia and lord and behold the first restaurant I saw had Club Sandwiches. There was no question in my mind about going anywhere else. To actually top that, they serve popcorn at all of the bars! The first night in Athens we walked to a local bar area where no one really spoke English and stopped at a few different places. It was expensive but well worth it since the popcorn on the ship is not good and with out a microwave I’ve been lacking on the popcorn diet. We also ordered a ‘finger food platter’ and to our surprise it came with onion rings and cheese sticks!! As far as American food, Greece was awesome for it. I even found my favorite energy drink today, which was the best ending to a beautiful port, and I bought the ring I had wanted since day one in Greece. My friend bought it and I really liked it but didn’t feel like spending any money on it. She ended up wearing it so all I day I had to see and it and regret not buying it. I walked in to the last store today to buy something to represent my new goals in life I have come up with in the last few days and as I put the wooden owl down on the counter I saw it. So happy. I just keep saying today was the best day ever. I know it wasn’t but these past few days have been by far some of the better. Its funny that people spend their whole lives trying to discover who they are and yet they are only chasing behind the person they are becoming. We are only half way through the voyage and already I feel like so much has changed. I just hope I keep the same mentality when I get home and I don’t just mold back in to the same life. P.s. for some one who NEVER ate tomatoes, I now eat them plain. As I said, it’s the simple things. Although many are probably going to disagree, all this time away has made me begin to strongly consider moving off campus and getting a job so I can save up to do more extraordinary things in my life. I think its time to finally maybe grow up? We will see.

Some other observations and interesting happenings: The government is in negotiations for budget due to a major debt that is accumulating at a fast pace so fear of strikes kept everyone on the ship on their toes. We took a taxi into Athens on the first day, which was quite convenient, and by the second day the taxis were on strike. Our tour bus was an hour late because the taxis blocked in the buses and surrounded the ports and airport. It was very interesting to see but odd to walk out of the terminal on the second day where there once were millions of taxis and men everywhere offering you rides to absolutely no one but the stray dogs. The last few ports have been full of stray animals. I saw at least three different stray kittens and all of the cats are huge. They have the longest legs I have yet to see on a cat. Thank God I am on a ship or stray cats would infest mom’s house right now. Also, I’ve seen Ralphs EVERYWHERE. It seems that in every country dogs are mixed with bassets or other oblong shaped breeds. Makes me miss him a bit.

I’ll try to think about the other things from Greece and maybe update this again but I don’t want this to get too lengthy especially since I still have to update from my other ports. The bad news, its hard to find time to update this or get the motivation up in the little time I do have. Its harder then I thought to take classes in between all this traveling. Getting in and out of the class mentality is almost near impossible and I’m not looking forward to getting right back in to school when I get home. The good news: I am having way too much fun and loving life way too much to be able to update the blog. Sorry! Back to class tomorrow for two days and then off to Bulgaria!!!

Side note: I want to go to Hydras and ride a donkey in my future plans to tour the islands. One day….

Day 24…

I guess I should update this and let everyone know that I am alive and we are headed to Croatia. We are expected to get there early tomorrow morning and I have a field trip scheduled for the afternoon to visit a Synagogue, the Maritime Museum as well as the aquarium. I’ve been holding off posting a blog until I could get the full Spain blog posted but I’ve had some complications due to the way I wrote it with pictures included so hopefully with in the next two days I will have the chance to sit down and figure it out. I didn’t realize how taxing this trip would actually be. I’ve spent the time in the ports running around and sight seeing not to mention getting lost just for an adventure. When we are back on the ship we always have something to do. If it isn’t homework its class or mandatory meetings. Our day off between Spain and Italy we had the Sea Olympics, which consisted of games all day long. (I got my hair done instead.. Oops) but I did participate a little bit. My team came in second, which means we will be second off the boat in Boston. I know Eric will be there but for any one else in the area or willing to travel, there will be appetizers and drinks served on the ship the night we arrive in Boston so it’s a good time to see where I have lived for the last few months. It really has become like a new home to me. Sometimes when I am in port I miss the ship. It has become so familiar to me I feel like I have been here for longer than just 24 days. I remember how strange everything seemed on the first few days and as I stood on the 5th deck today watching dolphins I thought about the first time I had walked out there and how foreign it all seemed. Its home now. I can’t say it’s the most comforting place in the world. We are on a strict eating schedule and if you want snacks they only serve all unhealthy foods. This is working out in my favor (Maybe I’ll lose some weight?). Also our laundry is on a schedule and we do not have a laundry day for 17 days and it’s already been at least 15 days since the last one. I’m sure some people will be proud to know I have mastered the skills of sink washing. The only thing now I need to practice is hanging clothing with out wrinkling or stretching. I’ve also bought a few clothing items but not too many. I’ve heard to wait to do all the shopping in Turkey. As of now we are still going to Greece. It’s been up in the air for quite some time considering the violence. It should be interesting. I wouldn’t necessarily complain if we cut it back and went back to our plans of Egypt since we heard it has cleared up.

I had dinner with my extended family today. Yvonne and Dwayne are just wonderful. They ordered us chocolate cake for after dinner and we have made plans to meet back up after Croatia for dinner and sundaes. Today is my roommate’s 21st birthday, which she didn’t even tell me. I didn’t find out until her friend mentioned it to me yesterday. She said it is the worst birthday ever because she has so much to do and she is getting home sick. I am getting a little nervous about my birthday. (I just realized it’s in less than a month! Wow! I think this is the first time I haven’t been counting down to it. How odd). My birthday will be the day before we get to Morocco and it will be Ramadan there so it should make for quite a different birthday.

What else is going on onboard the ship? Strep, Pink Eye and Staph are going around which is nerve wrecking. My roommate had Pink Eye at the beginning of the trip and I some how managed to survive that situation even with in such a small space so hopefully (fingers crossed) I’ll be okay. We get off the ship tomorrow and I have an overnight trip in Montenegro (a different country than Croatia!) on Tuesday so that should help to get me out and away from everything. The night before every port we have a meeting about the politics, logistics and culture of each country we are visiting so I am watching that now about Croatia. Hopefully I can find Internet tomorrow and get the Spain blog uploaded! It took me several hours to write and insert pictures and I’d like to finish my Naples and Rome blogs tonight. Sorry for such a delay!


Happy birthday Papa George! I hope you are having a wonderful day!

Can’t wait for everyone to be able to get caught up with my travels.

Day 10...
The sunset today was probably the most inspirational setting I have experienced in years and it makes me ponder what life is going to be like tomorrow when I wake up in Barcelona. We saw land yesterday but that barely begins to be the tip of the iceberg of experiences in the days to come. I start off the day with a tour of two vineyards and then a Flamenco Dinner (If the timing works out). The rest of the week is planned out accordingly and hopefully I will find some time to find an Internet Café and upload pictures.

I have spent a lot of time talking to a girl from Arkansas and learning all about how different the state is from the rest of the United States. It’s an odd concept to me that a place so near can be so different. I also met a Bulgarian couple today who use to live in Pittsburgh, Reserve Township to be exact, and the husband did a lot of work in Hampton Township although I am not quite sure what type of work he did. They now reside near the University of Virginia. I am also proud to say that we have been traveling with a Spanish Knight who was knighted by the King for his dedication to the Spanish Culture and Literature. He will be getting off the ship and remaining in Barcelona.

As of this morning we have traveled 3,663 nautical miles since the Bahamas into the Mediterranean and are nearing land by the hour. Since we left we have scrapped 379 pounds of food. All of which I am sure is pasta and potatoes. I am ready for a change!!

Hopefully I can keep up with the updates but only time will tell. I thought this past week and a half was an adventure but it is only the beginning. Only time will tell.

96% on my first test out of 100 and all questions worth 4 points.. Not so bad!! Probably one of the only ones amongst all the students.. Now I want to know what question I could have possibly missed!

Back to moving... We bunkered right in front of the Rock of Gibraltar. I was awe struck at the sight and all the other days of being out on the open ocean with nothing to look at but the rolling waves seemed to have faded away. I feel like we were never far from land to start with. The land scape is beautiful with rolling hills and modern architecture. The refueling part itself was interesting. It started around 4:30 our time today and involved a fuel ship anchoring next to us and connecting a fuel hose. The whole process took until about 11 o'clock tonight (Once again our time). I assume it was a lot of fuel but I didn't think it would be such a long process. My test went okay but I can't say it was the easiest test I've ever taken. It was the first test of 2011 for me and I'm hoping I did somewhat decent. The scores should be posted tomorrow. We have one more day of classes and then it is off to Barcelona!! First 24 hour day we have had in awhile and I'm already ready for bed! Goodnight! Can't wait to post pictures of today!!