Semester at Sea Reflection

I can easily say that Semester at Sea has been the best experience of my life. We only had 22 class days out of our 66 day voyage. But in the end, Semester at Sea is not about the learning done in the classroom. Getting to explore all the different countries that we have visited has been the greatest education of all. The world truly was our campus.

The people I have met on this voyage I know will be life long friends. Even though I have only known them for two months, we all feel like we have been friends for much longer. On the ship when you are not in class or doing homework, the only way to pass the time is to socialize with people. We don’t have access to Facebook on board or TV in our cabins so the nature of the program itself forces you to meet and interact with people, bringing you so much closer. The result is that every night we ended up having two hour long dinners. It only took us about 15 minutes to eat, but then we would just stay in the dining hall talking all night. I now have more friends, spread across the country at so many different colleges than I could have ever imagined. The ship creates an atmosphere of being home. When we are at port, backpacking around the country for several days, there is nothing like returning to the comfort of the ship and your own cabin bed (after a thorough pat down by security at first to make sure you aren’t sneaking anything on!). My professors are some of the most enthusiastic and passionate teachers I have ever had. I am currently trying to convince them to transfer to Vanderbilt and teach there instead! I will forever be a Semester at Sea advocate. This summer has truly been life changing.

We arrive to Boston tomorrow and I fly straight back to Nashville and straight back to reality as school starts back up once again. It is definitely going to take me a few days to adjust to life off of the ship. I won’t be wobbling around anymore due to rough seas but I will most likely still use lots of hand gestures as if the person I’m talking to doesn’t understand English. It is for sure bitter sweet to leave and tomorrow’s goodbyes are going to be very difficult.

I would like to thank everyone who has read this blog over the past two months and who has kept in touch with me. And most importantly, thank you Mom and Dad for providing me with this experience and giving me the opportunity to see the world.

Love,

Madison

Morocco

Monday 8:           

After 5 days at sea full of class and lots of homework, we were excited to be back in port. Especially since yesterday the ship rocked so much that things fell off of our shelves, our bathroom door kept swinging back and forth and our drawers opened and closed throughout the night. We were very appreciative to be back on land again. Also, it’s pretty cool to note that within 6 days we have traveled to three different continents.

We got a late start off of our ship, due to the fact that Morocco decided to stamp all 1000 of our passports before allowing us to clear customs. When we did finally de-board, we were welcomed with 109 degree weather and an even more conservative country than Turkey. At our usual pre-port meeting, the dean told us that girls should tie up their hair. In Morocco loose hair implies a loose woman. We learned how true this is when Molly decided to wear her hair down and quickly received attention from all the males.

At 3:30 we took a 3 hour bus ride from Casablanca (where our ship is docked) to the city of Marrakech. Along with 10 other people, we had hired three tour guides to take us around. It was definitely the best way to go because we wouldn’t have been able to see half of the stuff we did without them. (Thanks Zach and Lee for giving us their info!) When we arrived we were greeted by our 3 tour guides, Hanane, Abdul and Simo. They are all university students around our age. From there, they took us to our Riad, which is like a Moroccan bed and breakfast, and where we will be staying the next four days. We were greeted by our hostess with many hugs and kisses. She is the nicest lady and served us Moroccan tea and cookies when we walked in. We socialized there for a little bit and got settled into our bedrooms. It is so cool that our tour guides are young because they are so open about sharing their culture with us. Abdul told us that in Morocco, if you really like a girl, you take her on a date to McDonalds. How weird! When the call to prayer played at sunset, we broke the fast with our tour guides with soup and special cookies made just for Ramadan. Afterwards, we were led into the city. It’s amazing how it came to life at night since during the day it was so quiet and hardly anyone was on the streets due to Ramadan. In the evening it was packed and the restaurants were full of people finally getting to eat. We went to a spice shop and bought all of the necessary oils that would be needed for when we go to the Hamam tomorrow. Next we went to a very very late dinner. We weren’t served our food until midnight but it was well worth it. We had salad, couscous, chicken, lamb and oranges with cinnamon on them for dessert.  We got back to our Riad pretty late and passed out, so tired from our first day in Africa!

Tuesday 9:           

This morning we woke up to tea, Moroccan coffee, fruits, crepes and apricot jam prepared by our hostess for breakfast. While we ate she gave us all Arabic names. Mine is pronounced as Faht-see-yah and means the introduction to the text of the Qur’an. Then we decided to give all of them American names. Hanane became Hannah, Abdul was named Drake and Simo’s name was Simon. We took a daytrip to Ourkia Valley where we first went camel riding. They were pretty gross and were swarming with flies but the ride was incredibly scenic. From there we went to a Berber village, the original people of Morocco. Here we got to learn about the traditional ways of these people and we toured one of their houses. It is incredible to believe that people still live this way. Their home was made completely out of stone and mud and was very primitive. The Berber people were very friendly and we had tea with them on the top of the roof. The father of the Berber family played traditional instruments and we danced around to the music. Our tour guides also taught us how to tie and wear a turban and it was pretty fun to sport those on our heads for the afternoon. Afterwards we stopped by the Argan Oil Women’s Association, which is a shop where they sell a variety of perfumes, soaps, shampoos and other products made out of the local Argan nuts that the Berber women grind up.

Next we had lunch next to the river and while we ate, I asked our tour guides a series of questions about their lifestyles. They were completely open to having a discussion about their culture and we discussed everything from marriage, religion, the hijab, Islamophobia and women’s rights. I learned so much from this discussion and it really is quite fascinating to hear their viewpoints. When we finished eating we took a nature hike up to the Siti Fatma Waterfalls. Abdul lead the way and he hiked up fast. We were so exhausted but no one wanted to complain or ask for a break since they were making this hike on an empty stomach and no water because of Ramadan. We eventually made it to the top and it was well worth it. The waterfalls offered beautiful views of the Atlas Mountains.

We drove back to our Riad so our guides could break the fast and then we went to the Hamam, which is the Turkish bath. Hanane took us to the one that they bathe in and it was essentially the same concept of the one we did in Istanbul but was very different at the same time. It was definitely no where near as nice or clean as the other one. At this one, you laid on the floor while the women straddled you and scrubbed you down with the roughest loofah ever. Somehow, these women had even bigger chests than the Turkish women and the boobs of the lady who washed me kept slapping me in the face. Gross! All around you was dead skin and hair and I left leaving feeling more dirty than when I entered. I will say, however, that my skin does feel extremely smooth now though! Abdul and Simo said that Moroccans usually go to a Hamam once or twice a week. Needless to say, we all came back to our Riad and took showers. Afterwards we went to another late dinner. Hanane said that it is typical for Moroccans to eat dinner around 1 or 2 AM during Ramadan. Wow! We ate on the rooftop of a restaurant and it was yet again another delicious meal.

Wednesday 10:

We woke up this morning to another great breakfast prepared by our hostess. Then we took a historical tour of the main monuments of Marrakech, visiting the Dar Si Said Museum and Majorelle Gardens. Afterwards we took a horse carriage to the home of a Moroccan family. There we ate lunch prepared by the mother. We all felt really bad eating in front of them because the family was fasting for Ramadan. It was so gracious of them to cook for us and to invite us into their home. While there I got the pleasure of experiencing a true Moroccan toilet which consists of a hole in the floor. Awesome…When we finished eating, Abdul taught us how to make Moroccan tea and then one of the girls in the family made Henna (Moroccan tattoo) on us. Don’t worry Mom and Dad, it’s not permanent! On my foot I got a floral design and my name in Arabic. Then on my arm I got the word “discover” written in Arabic which is symbolic for my summer on Semester at Sea. Afterwards we explored the Jammaa El Fna Square where there were snake charmers and people trying to get you to take pictures with monkeys and snakes. You had to be careful because they would put a snake on you for free but then make you pay to get the snake off. Then we walked into the souks which are pretty much the same thing as the Grand Bazaar.

Later on after the break fast we went to a nearby mosque to observe people praying. It was absolutely packed! We sat on top of a wall and just took it all in. While we watched them pray I talked extensively with Simo and asked him a million questions. I asked him more about Islamophobia and terrorists. He said that terrorists and suicide bombers are not Muslims. They are very radical people that claim that they believe in Islam but yet they go against the Qur’an’s teachings. The Qur’an teaches not to kill and Simo said it is such a shame that they claim to kill in the name of Allah. He said that every time he hears of a killing on the news he holds his breath and hopes that it is not a terrorist attack. He is so relieved whenever he finds out it is not and instead is just some random crazy person. Every time there is a terrorist killing it gives Islam a bad reputation and it really upsets them. Our conversation really opened up my eyes and I learned that Muslims are in fact such a peaceful people. When I told Simo that I am Jewish he had absolutely no problem with it. And this is the opinion of an extremely devout Muslim who prays 5 times a day. I have never learned so much about another culture as I did from this one experience. Finally, we headed back to our Riad and around 11:30 PM. Abdul gave us a cooking lesson to prepare our dinner in a tajine and we ended up eating at 1AM. Yay for another late night meal!

Thursday 11:           

After another breakfast prepared by Madam, we took a 3 hour bus ride to Essaouira, a coastal city of Morocco. Along the way we stopped at a carpet store where I bought a handmade rug made by the Berber women. When we finally arrived to Essaouira we had fresh fish next to the harbor. Then we hung out on the beach all day. We couldn’t really swim because we needed to remain clothed because it is disrespectful for women to be seen in a bikini, especially during Ramadan. It was fun though to hangout for a day and to see another city of Morocco. On the drive back, we pulled over into a gas station around 7:30 so our guides could break the fast before getting back into Marrakech. For dinner we had a Moroccan delicacy—McDonalds! It was so delicious, especially the Toblerone McFlurrys! We walked around the Jammaa El Fna Square at night which was cool to check out because it was all lit up and packed with people. The best part was I FINALLY got to ride a vespa! Simo took me out for a ride on his bike around the Old City and it was so fun. Later on, we went back to our Riad and sat up on the rooftop while we drank tea. Abdul read the palm of my hand but unfortunately, my future didn’t look so good. Yikes! He did tell me some things about my past that were very accurate so now I’m semi-freaked out! Tomorrow morning our driver will take us back to Casablanca so we can board the ship. At 8:00 PM we set sail for America. I’m so sad that this journey is coming to an end. I hope to have a Semester at Sea reflection post up soon though!

Friday 12:

Just wanted to add real quick that on our drive back to Casablanca we saw the king of Morocco!            

Pictures: 1. Camel riding 2. Berber village 3. Siti Fatma Waterfalls 4. Souks 5. Majorelle Gardens 6. Henna 7. Jammaa El Fna square at night 8. Group picture in our Riad with our three tour guides and our hostess

Turkey

Friday 29:           

This morning we woke up at 5:30 AM to see the sunrise as we sailed through the Bosporus Strait. It was quite beautiful and well worth the early morning wake up! Everywhere along the coast of Turkey we saw their country’s flag. Nationalism makes up a big part of their culture and it is even against the law to speak out against Turkey or to criticize Mustafa Kemal, also known as Ataturk or the “Father of Turkey.” After watching the sunrise, we went back to bed for a few more hours before getting up to explore the country. Before heading out, we looked out of our cabin window to see the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. What an amazing view to have right from our own room! We put on our conservative clothing and then headed out. We noticed that many of the women were dressed in the full head to toe burkah and several women only showed their eyes. Right when we got off the ship, we were immediately taken aback when we heard a loud noise. We soon realized, however, that it was the Islamic call to prayer that happens five times a day. As we continued to walk down the street we saw everyone kneel down and press their head to the ground in prayer.

We then entered the Grand Bazaar, which was huge! With over 4000 shops you can literally buy anything and everything there. From jewelry, scarves, rugs, knockoff purses, shoes and watches, the Grand Bazaar was endless. Bargaining was fun but then it just got kind of annoying. They always start off with ridiculously high prices and you have to waste so much time trying to get them to lower it. Plus everywhere you went, vendors would tell you how beautiful you are, that you are an angel from paradise. Hahaha It was quite an experience and we got some good purchases! Afterwards we stopped to eat some Turkish Delight, which is this gelatin like snack with pistachios, honey and powdered sugar.

We went back to the ship to catch our FDP to see the Sufi Whirling Dervish ceremony. These practices date back to the 13^th century and are indigenous to Turkey. In these ceremonies, the so called “Whirling Dervishes” use their mystical music and dance to spin in circles, representing a union with God and reaching a state of spiritual ecstasy.  It was very special to have a look into this spiritual ceremony. The ritual was hypnotizing and almost put several people to sleep. You could tell that the Dervishes were really feeling a connection and a few of them had their eyes roll to the back of their head as they spun. When the performance was over, we had the opportunity to ask questions to the wise man about the ritual. Afterwards we met up with the rest of our friends to go out to Taksim, which is the square that is filled with bars and clubs. Today our friend Genny turned 21 so we went out to celebrate!

Saturday 30:           

We started off our day by heading to the Topkapi Palace, home to Mehmed II’s court and the center of Ottoman government. The complex is made up of three courtyards and includes the Sultan’s harem. It was filled with beautifully designed buildings and courtyards. One room that we went into featured objects from the Sultan’s treasury. Everything in there was so elaborate and ornate. Even the Sultan’s water pitcher was covered in emeralds and rubies. What I was most blown away by, however, was the jewelry. There was a ring with an 86-carat diamond that was surrounded by 49 more diamonds. It was bigger than the palm of my hand! Then we toured the harem, which is the enclosed quarters where all of the Sultan’s women, children and other female relatives would live. The interior was beautifully decorated with tile walls. We spent much of our day there exploring the grounds before heading back to the ship to meet our professor at 2:30 for another FDP for my Modern History of the Middle East and North Africa class. We traveled to the Istanbul Bar Association to learn about women and the law in Turkey from practicing attorneys and judges. We visited the association’s headquarters and met with the president and other leaders of the Bar Association’s Women’s Rights Centre, along with a family court judge. They spoke to us about women’s roles in Turkish society and answered all of our questions on legal issues affecting women and their families. We learned that since 1923 women’s rights have become a major priority in Turkey and there have been many laws passed to improve their condition. Later on in the evening we went to the Hookah District to smoke some nargileh and have Turkish tea. The place where we went served you cherries, apples, apricots, watermelon and all kinds of nuts while you smoked hookah. While we were there, the call to prayer played once again and it was such a cool cultural experience.

Sunday 31:

Today we decided to knock out a bunch of sight seeing. One of my professors has been to Turkey three times and is very knowledgeable about its sites so let us tag along with him and his family.  It was great because he could fill us in on all of the history of what we were viewing. Our own private tour guide! First we went to the Basilica Cistern. Constructed in the 6^th century, this underground area was used originally as a water reserve for Istanbul. You may recognize it from the season of the Bachelorette that Ali and Roberto were on, where Ali had a date there. Afterwards we went to the Blue Mosque (more formally known as the Sultan Ahmed Mosque). When we entered we had to take off our shoes and completely cover our head and shoulders. Built to outdo the Hagia Sophia (the mosque we would go to next) it was beautiful with its blue tiled walls. Next we headed to the Hagia Sophia. For over 1000 years it was a church before being converted into a mosque in 1453 when Constantinople was taken over by the Ottoman Turks under Sultan Mehmed II. It has now been turned into a museum. Inside you could see uncovered Christian mosaics that had been covered over with Islamic writings and paint from when it was transformed into a mosque. After we finished touring the Hagia Sophia, we left our professor and went to lunch where we had hummus and chicken crepes. When we finished eating we went to the Galata Tower, one of the oldest towers in the world. It was built by Byzantine emperor Anastasius Oilozus in 528 as a lighthouse. We took an elevator up to the top where you could look out and see the whole city of Istanbul. It was a pretty spectacular view and we could even see our ship!

Monday 1:

First we went back to the Grand Bazaar. We needed to purchase more conservative clothing since we have to be covered everyday here and will have to dress the same when we go to Morocco next. I got some really cool Aladin pants. Something else cool was that Ben Afleck was in Turkey today preparing for his new movie. He was in the Grand Bazaar plotting his scenes and my friends Amy and Genny saw him! Supposedly no one was even bothering him though. None of the locals knew who he was so he was just walking around the Grand Bazaar like any other person.

Turkey is split between two continents, Europe and Asia so we decided when we finished shopping to take a ferry over to Asia. We had lunch there and walked around for a while. It pretty much looked just like the Turkey side in Europe but at least now we can say now that we’ve been to another continent!

Ramadan started today so many of the locals have been fasting all day long. At sunset, when they can eat again, they all rush to the Hippodrome (an old stadium used for horse and chariot racing) to grab food that vendors come out to sell. It is kind of like a little festival and there are a bunch of stalls selling all sorts of things, not just food. There is jewelry, artwork, candles, and spices among other things. The surrounding mosques were all lit up and there were flags and balloons everywhere. When we arrived to the Hippodrome, there were hundreds of people sitting at little tables, waiting with their food for the signal to eat. As soon as the call to prayer played they all devoured the food. What a cool thing to be a part of! Afterwards we walked around the Hippodrome a little while longer, eventually stopping to observe a street artist make paintings using a technique called ebru, or marbling. It basically entails using glue, wall paper and oil paint to make paintings. For 5 Liras you could make your own, so we all made our own Turkish street art painting. When we finished we walked to the Backpacker’s Area behind Topkapi Palace which is this cute little area with lots of restaurants. We found this awesome place to get drinks and we sat on the floor on pillows all night and had hookah once again.

Tuesday 2:

Today was quite an experience to say the least. We had heard so much about Turkish baths so we decided to go to a Hamami called Cemberlitas. Basically what happens is you walk into a huge steam room and lay down on this marble slab wearing nothing but some underwear that they give you. You just lay there on the slab sweating with all of these other women while you wait to be scrubbed down. Then a big, fat burly Turkish woman comes over to wash you. They are literally some of the ugliest women with huge saggy boobs that are falling out of their bras and they are essentially naked too except for their bra and underwear. So basically what happens is they throw water on you, literally chunk a bucket of it at you. And then they have a rough loofah and scrub your whole body, and I mean they scrub everywhere. When they want you to flip they slap your arm and you kind of feel like a piece of meat. Then they rub you down again before splashing more water all over you. Next they take you over to a sink to wash your hair and then you could sit in the jacuzzi for a while. Afterwards I was led into another room where I received an oil massage that was pretty rough. I left feel very relaxed but at the same time a little violated. It was a great experience though and for sure one that I will never forget! We hit up the spice bazaar for a little bit before heading back to the ship. It was very similar to the Grand Bazaar but no where near as big and instead sold lots of different types of teas, coffees, spices and candies. Vendors would call out to us as we passed their store that they had poison for our mother in laws and aphrodisiac for our boyfriends. Haha

I was really bummed when the ship finally pulled out of Turkey. I absolutely loved it here and am so fascinated by the country’s culture and people. I also realized that from the day we arrived to Spain (June 27) to the day we left Turkey (August 2) we have only had 6 full days of class. Not bad!

Pictures: 1. Grand Bazaar 2. Topkapi Palace 3. Hookah bar 4. Basilica Cistern 5. Blue Mosque 6. Hagia Sophia 7. Grand Bazaar 8. Turkish street art 9. Ramadan sign in front of Hagia Sophia 

Bulgaria

Sunday 24:           

Before we could disembark, a US ambassador came on the ship to speak to us about Bulgaria. He talked to us about Bulgaria’s government, economy, briefed us a little bit about its history and discussed its relations with the United States. When we finally got off the ship we quickly learned how little there is to do in Bulgaria. Unlike the other countries we have visited that have so many famous sites to go see, there really isn’t anything historical to view here. It might end up being nice though to have a break from all the touristy things and just chill a bit. Ever since we left the Bahamas, we have been going non-stop. Between finding time to do homework and exploring all of the countries, there has been little down time to rest and we are all pretty tired. Bulgaria might be the country where we can finally just relax!

First thing we did was hit the beach. It was yet another topless one, so we decided what the heck, why not finally try it out too? Even within the small group of girls I was with, it was just awkward to lay out topless and we quickly put out bathing suits back on. Europeans are just way more comfortable with their bodies and I realized how guarded Americans truly are. There was a volleyball tournament happening on the beach so we checked that out for a little before heading into town to eat lunch. We found a restaurant called Happy Grill, which was a chain originating in Varna. It was pretty much their equivalent of a Chilli’s. I had great chicken kebabs though that were called the Happy Lady. When we finished eating we walked around the town a bit. There was a triathlon race occurring and we watched by the finish line for a little while eating some gelato. We then continued walking around and found a really nice park where outdoor vendors were selling books. I found the Bulgarian versions of the Harry Potter and Justin Bieber books. Two of my favorite things! Haha Then we went to this outdoor naval museum which only consisted of like 4 marine vessels and an old anchor. It really wasn’t much of a museum, more like decorative objects in the park. Since that turned out to be a bust we went back to the beach…a good ole standby. There are loads of bars near the water so after some time we went to a nearby one for drinks before going back to the ship to eat dinner in an effort to save some money. At night we went back out and spent the rest of our evening at a bar along the beach.

Monday 25:

As if we didn’t get enough sun yesterday, we hit the beach once again today.  This time though we went to Golden Sands, which was a resort area 25 minutes away. It kind of felt like you were at the board walk with lots of little stalls to buy things at, hair braiders and even a Ferris wheel. We spent all day there just hanging out, tanning and swimming in the Black Sea before coming back around 5:00 PM to make dinner on the ship. We all checked our bank balances the other day and since seeing the amount are trying really hard to save money now. Europe is unbelievably expensive, especially when you have to purchase things like water at every meal.

After taking naps we went back to the bars along the beach until a bunch of our professors showed up and it just got awkward. One of my professors proposed to his girlfriend in Greece so he is just basically here to have a good time. I guess he went out celebrating tonight with some of the other professors. Anyways, it was just weird to see them so we relocated and ended up going to a club called Copacabana. It was really cool and kind of looked like you were inside a treehouse. We danced for a while on the stage before being kicked off to make room for the performer. A Bulgarian rapper got on stage and all of the locals got so excited. I guess he is famous here? We had no idea what he was rapping but it was cool nonetheless and it made for a great night.

Tuesday 26:

Today I went on an FDP that took us to the towns of Balchik and Kaliakra. Balchik is a charming little town that was originally founded as a Greek colony in the 6^th century BCE and is located along the Black Sea coast. It became a Romanian territory in 1913 and then the land was returned to Bulgaria later in 1940 with the Craiova Agreement. When we arrived, we first toured the botanical gardens, which are the 2^nd largest in Europe. The grounds include numerous plant species, a small mosque and chapel, shallow canals, earthen jars from Morocco and the Silver Well. It was a really picturesque site and our tour guide shared with us several Bulgarian legends as we walked through the garden. Then we toured the small palace of Queen Maria of Romania, which had served as her summer residence. It is only a three-story building and there isn’t much to it but it was still pretty cool to check it out. Afterwards, we hopped back onto our bus to continue north to Cape Kaliakra, the longest cape along the Bulgarian coast. Kaliakra was an important fortress between the 14^th-19^th centuries. Here we saw the remains of the fortress and our tour guide shared with us even more Bulgarian legends associated with this area. It was really gorgeous and we had great views of the surrounding cliffs.

We then continued our tour to participate in a program known as “Fiesta Bulgaria.” Here we ate a buffet dinner that included a variety of salads, appetizers and typical Bulgarian entrees. Afterwards we watched a folkloric show, which started out pretty cool but then quickly turned very odd when they switched to doing more American routines. The show became more like a variety show and the performers did a can-can dance, a cowboy routine and then one number had the dancers wearing Las Vegas-esque costumes. Another routine was a girl who danced while hoola hooping and then there was a slinky performance which I will just have to explain in person but it was very very strange. At this point, all we could do was laugh. It was very obvious that Bulgaria’s tourism isn’t quite up to par yet and that this program was making an attempt to appeal to American interests by doing what they perceived to be Western performances. During one of the dances they grabbed members from the audience and picked Dakota and the grandfather of another SAS kid named Owen. Ahh it was too funny watching them try and keep up with the Bulgarian dancers! Then the show stopped and there was time to dance. The DJ alternated between playing American and European music. When the macarana played, however, both Americans and Europeans were familiar with the song and everyone danced together. Later the YMCA came on but none of the Bulgarians knew that song. They watched as we motioned with our arms the letters and after about 3 times, finally caught on and joined in to dance. It was really awesome to see the two cultures come together. Although we couldn’t understand each other’s languages, we connected through the music. A little bit later on, the dancing ended to clear the performance area for the fire dance. We listened to traditional music while watching a man and woman dance with their bare feet on hot coals. It is a dance typical of Bulgarian culture so it was cool that we got to experience it. On the bus ride back to the ship, our tour guide decided to sing to us the Bulgarian national anthem. We he finished singing our professor, who is from the Czech Republic, then decided to sing her anthem which was then followed by our Executive Dean singing his national anthem of Italy. This ended up becoming a karaoke session, mainly led by Tommy (of course!) and we got back to the ship around midnight singing songs from Disney, Backstreet Boys, Britney and others all along the way.

Wednesday 27:

This morning we woke up early to take a service trip to a disabled center for children. The center is open for the children from 7AM to 7PM and can hold up to 40 kids. We learned when we got there that half of the children are orphans and those with families are put in this center because their parents can’t provide for them daily. The center is state owned, understaffed and the building is very small. The workers only receive 200 American dollars a month so it is essentially volunteer work and therefore is difficult to find people to care for the children. The kids aged from 5-35 years and had several disabilities including different forms of mental retardation, cerebral palsy and autism. We spent the day just playing with all of the children and spending time with them. I did arts and crafts, colored, played volleyball and ran around the backyard with them. Then the director of the center put on music and all of the kids sang and danced for us and eventually we joined in the dancing with them. I was really sad to leave them and wanted to adopt them all. How would you have liked some Bulgarian children as souvenirs Mom and Dad? Haha As we walked out, I asked our guide how long the children are allowed to stay at the center. She said that after the age of 35, if they do not have relatives to live with, they are transferred to an adult facility but essentially this means “the end of their life” because they are not provided any support or assistance and are expected to live on their own, even the ones with disabilities. It was so heartbreaking and now I want to start a foundation or something to provide care for these orphans.

When we got back to the ship, we found out that Semester at Sea had made the front page of their newspaper. Bulgaria hardly ever gets American tourists so to receive 800 of us all at once was quite an event for them! Overall Bulgaria was cool but I think the majority of the SAS kids were still bitter that we were here instead of Egypt. The original itinerary had us traveling there, but because of recent events, it was too dangerous for us to go to Egypt and thus the ship decided to come to Bulgaria instead. I probably will never travel back here again but I still am thankful that I got to experience the country.

Pictures: 1. Beach along the Black Sea 2. Bar along the beach 3. Botanical Gardens at Balchik 4. Botanical Gardens at Balchik 5. Cape Kaliakra 6. Cape Kaliakra 7. Cape Kaliakra 8. Fiesta Bulgaria 9. Fiesta Bulgaria 10. Disabled Center for Children

Greece

Sunday 17:

Our first day in Greece was pretty uneventful for the most part. We walked around for a bit in Piraeus, the port city where our ship is docked but there really isn’t much to see there. It was very hot and we were told the wrong directions so ended up walking around aimlessly for a while, not so fun. We eventually made it back to the ship, grabbed our bags and caught a taxi to take us to the ferry. We had a very interesting conversation with our driver. He explained to us his opinion on Greek’s economic situation and also informed us that starting tomorrow all taxi drivers will be on a 48-hour strike. When we got dropped off, we got on a 5:45 PM ferry to Mykonos, supposedly the second biggest party island in the Mediterranean after Ibiza. The ferry was enormous and even our economy seats were really nice. On board there was a café and a shop. It was a 3.5-hour trip to Mykonos and we were so excited when we finally arrived! Our hotel was called the Acrogaili and was right on the beach. Later on in the evening we explored downtown and had our first gyros in Greece. The place we bought them from stuffed French fries inside so it was pretty much like a heart attack in a meal. Too bad the saying “When in Rome” no longer applies…haha It was absolutely delicious though and I will just make sure I do Insanity back on the ship!

Monday 18:

After eating breakfast at our hotel, we laid out on the beach all day long. The water was so clear and the sand really white. Along the coast you would see lots of white houses with a blue door and shutters. Tanning was interrupted by a late lunch at the restaurant in our hotel where we had bruschetta, grilled salmon and loukoumades, which were very similar to donut holes. At night we went out to Paradise Club, which was this really cool club with a pool in the middle. Martin Solveig was performing that night which could not have been any more perfect since his song “Hello” has kind of become the anthem of our summer so far. My friends and I sing it all the time when we are walking around. We were able to get into the VIP section and had our own table with bottle service. It was a lot of fun and I made it back to our hotel at 6:00 am just in time to see the sunrise.

Tuesday 19:

Because I only got two hours of sleep, waking up this morning was so difficult! But I needed to catch an early morning ferry on my own back to Piraeus so I could see Patra (a friend from home and my freshman college roommate). When I got to the ship, her uncle picked me up and drove me into Athens so I could meet up with Patra and her family at the Acropolis Museum. While we were driving, her uncle informed me that the taxi strike had been extended another 24 hours…great.

The taxi strike has already proved to be extremely inconvenient. Not only will they not drive you anymore, many drivers are now parking their taxis in the middle of the streets blocking off roads. It is just becoming a big nuisance and one SAS trip almost didn’t make it to their destination due to taxis blocking the bus that was taking all of the students. The taxi drivers yelled at the bus driver for not following the strike and eventually all of the SAS students had to get off of the bus and walk with all their luggage to the ferry where the bus was supposed to be taking them. SAS ended up making the Greek news because of this incident!

When I got to the Acropolis Museum, I finally got to be reunited with Patra and it was so awesome seeing her again! We walked around the whole museum and it was pretty cool to see all of the statues, vases, etc. that they had excavated and preserved. Afterwards we went back to her hotel to shower and got ready for dinner where we were joined by her aunt, uncle and two cousins. We ended up eating on the rooftop of a restaurant that had a direct view of the Acropolis. It was a phenomenal meal with so many courses. We had bread, wine, Greek salad, shrimp, tuna salad, swordfish, grouper, yalaktobouriko (a pastry filled with cream), after dinner liquor and Greek coffee. Wow! As we ate the sun began to go down and the Acropolis became lit up at night. After dinner, her aunt drove me back to ship and I was finally able to get some much needed sleep!

           

Wednesday 20:

We started off our day by taking the metro into Athens. At each stop there was a security guard and as soon as we got there we saw loads of protestors and tents where people had been camping out. I met back up briefly with Patra and sadly had to say goodbye to her! Then we headed into the Plaka, which is like the market area of Greece and I bought a cool evil eye bracelet. Then we had a late lunch in a taverna where we ate Greek salad, dolmades (vine leaves stuff with meat and rice with an egg/lemon sauce on top) and moussaka (layered eggplant and meat with a melted cheese on top) all of which was delicious! When we finished eating, we walked up to the Acropolis. There we saw the Temple of Athena Nike, Parthenon and Erechtheum all of which were very impressive. The view from the top was pretty remarkable too as you could look out and see the whole city of Athens. Before leaving, we went by the Temple Agora, Theatre of Dionysus and saw the Temple of Zeus. Afterwards we stopped to get some Greek coffee (I’ve become obsessed!) and baklava.  We had dinner at an outdoor restaurant and then caught a 9:00 PM showing of Harry Potter. Yes, I traveled all the way to Greece and still went to go see it! True fan right there! Besides being a great movie, it was actually a pretty cool experience. The movie was all in English but had Greek subtitles and we watched it in an outdoor, roofless theatre in the National Gardens.  When heading back to the ship, we all realized that in exactly one month we will be back in the U.S. I can’t believe it. Time has really flown by!

Thursday 21:

We found out this morning that the taxis are STILL on strike. This means we have the pleasure once again to make the 30-minute walk from our ship to the metro. Lucky us…Our last day was mainly spent just walking around Athens. We noticed that there were even more police patrolling the streets today, especially near Parliament. We got Greek coffee one last time and I finally found a froyo place! First one I’ve seen so far since arriving in Europe. So of course, we just had to stop and get some! Overall I have really enjoyed Greece. Despite the riots, never once did I not feel safe—so don’t worry Mom and Dad! What bothered me more than the protestors was the fact that there were loads of stray dogs walking around the streets and we all know how I feel about that! Haha We have two days of class while we are at sea and then we arrive in Bulgaria!

Pictures: 1. Paradise Club 2. Mykonos 3. Rooftop dinner with Patra 4. Parthenon 5. Temple of Athena Nike 6. Harry Potter movie!

Clearing up Rumors

Despite riots in Greece, we are still traveling there and will arrive tomorrow morning! We will actually be there during a very historic time in Greece’s history. Their government will be deciding what course of action they will be taking by the end of this week. If they do not reach a decision, they will default on all of their loans in September. Here is an excerpt from our daily Dean’s Memo:

ANNOUNCEMENTS

STRAIGHT SCOOP: DE-BUNK THE RUMORS!

The Executive Dean says, “Yes, the mvExplorer IS GOING TO GREECE on Sunday.”

Croatia

Monday 11:           

Today we arrived in Croatia! Dubrovnik is a gorgeous port and it was so nice to be here and to finally escape the crowdedness of Barcelona and Rome. On a SAS trip, I traveled to Osojnik, a Croatian mountain village. We learned that they just received running water two years ago. Along the way we stopped to view the local church of St. George before going to the home of one of the villagers. There we were greeted with a shot of brandy (which was unbelievably strong and really gross), figs, and sugared oranges. Then we were given sticks to use to cook pieces of bacon over an open fire and eat with bread and wine. It was kind of like roasting marshmallows when making smores. Afterwards the villagers performed rural Croatian music on traditional instruments such as the lijera (a bowed fiddle) and taught us regional folkloric dances. We even got a chance to join in the dance and participate! Later we sat down for dinner, which consisted of salad, bread, wine, pork and potatoes. When we finished eating we headed back to the bus, stopping to pet the donkeys alongside the road. Back on the bus, our driver turned on the radio. The radio announcer spoke Croatian but then songs by Cher, Lady Antebellum and Maroon 5 came on! It was a very random variety of American songs, but we loved to finally hear something from back home. Everybody sang the whole hour drive back to the ship. Later in the evening we went to a Latino dance club called Fuego that ended up just being completely taken over by SAS kids. There was absolutely nothing Latino about this place and they played only American songs, but it was a fun night nonetheless!

Tuesday 12:           

Today we woke up and walked around the Old City, stopping for lunch along the way. I had the best salmon sandwich! Croatia is known for its fresh seafood and it was so nice to finally eat some meat after all of that pasta we had in Italy. Next stop was to get gelato before meeting our guide at 1:15 to go kayaking and snorkeling. We kayaked all around Lokrum island which proved to be a lot longer than we originally thought! I don’t think the map we were shown was drawn to scale because we had no idea we would be kayaking for 3 hours. Man were our arms tired and sore! It was really awesome though and our guide stopped to let us take breaks every once in a while during which he would tell us some Croatian history. While we were kayaking we were in for a surprise though when we paddled alongside a completely nude beach. I have now become accustomed to seeing topless women at beaches but seeing a bunch of people fully naked was a first! Thankfully the beach was small so we kayaked past it pretty fast. A little later on we stopped in a cove for sandwiches, swimming and snorkeling. The beaches are made with rocks, not sand, so we were hobbling around the whole time. While we were there, one of the guides caught a few sea urchins and cut them open to let everyone try the meat. When we finally got back to land we stopped at a grocery store to stock up on some more snacks since the ship food is not the best. The rest of the evening we stayed on board. We were so tired and drained from being in the sun all day so just decided to relax, watch a movie, and catch up on some homework (yes, we still have school!). Around 8:00 PM we went up to the observation deck and watched the sunset. One of our friends, Max, played the ukulele and we just chilled up there for a while taking it all in. Life’s rough eh? Even though it was a low-key night, it was probably one of my favorites. The view was remarkable and it was great to just take some time to reflect on how lucky I am. I’m so grateful to be here. Thanks again Mom and Dad!

Wednesday 13:           

Today was a day for trying new things! Croatia is known for its cliff jumping so we headed to this bar called Café Buza, which offers drinks and several spots to jump (great combo right? Haha). First I tried the “baby” cliff before finally mustering up some courage to jump from the higher ones. I ended up jumping from the medium cliff, which was about 25-30 ft high. It took me a good few minutes before I finally jumped and my legs were still shaking after I got out of the water from being so nervous. For someone who even hates roller coasters, I was pretty brave! We ended up getting a really late lunch around 2:00 PM where I ordered seafood risotto full of lobster, muscles and clams. Next we walked around an outdoor market and I purchased some souvenirs before heading back into the Old City. We came across this one place where you could walk up to the window and gets crepes to go. They were delicious! Afterwards we headed to our hotel for the night. Tine’s dad had a lot of Hilton points so we were able to get a room for free night’s stay. We had dinner and drinks for free in the executive lounge of the hotel before going out for the night. We went to the coolest club called Revelin. It was inside of an old fort and was such an awesome place.

Thursday 14:

This morning we ate at the HUGE breakfast buffet in our hotel that was amazing. (Thanks again Dr. Heilman!) It was a pretty leisurely day just walking around Dubrovnik. We went back to the markets to spend the rest of our Kunas (Croatian currency) since the exchange rate is in our favor and everything is so cheap. 1 American dollar equals 5 Croatian Kunas! Too bad we go back to the Euro at our next port in Greece! We returned to the ship a little early to do some must needed homework! We have two days of class before Greece and I have a lot of reading and a few papers to write. I can’t wait to get there and see Patra (and hopefully Hannah too!).

Pictures: 1. Old City 2. Old City 3. Listening and dancing to folk music 4. On our way to Fuego 5. Kayaking 6. Our ship! 7. Cliff Jumping 8. Watching the sunset on deck

Italy

Saturday 2:

Today we arrived in Naples, Italy! I have to admit though that I wasn’t too impressed. The city was very dirty and there really wasn’t much to see there. Because of this, we decided to take a train to Pompeii and spend the day there instead. Before going though, we had to get the classic Italian meal—pizza! In the movie, Eat Pray Love, Julie Robert’s character goes to eat pizza one day in Naples. So of course we just had to eat at the same place! Unfortunately we had absolutely no idea how to get there. Language barriers proved to be particularly challenging. We would stop and ask locals for directions but they would all circle different things on our map and only speak to us in Italian. While searching for the restaurant, we took a break for some gelato. Afterwards we started back on our hunt and finally found the Pizzeria da Michele! It had won multiple awards and inside was an autographed picture by Julia Roberts. We split a Margerhita and Marinara pizza and they were delicioso! It was pretty cool to eat where the movie had been filmed.

Next stop was to head to Pompeii. Again, language proved to stand in our way when we got to the train station and had no idea how to purchase tickets. Thankfully, we found another American family traveling and they instructed us on what to do. We were then able to hop on a train and head to Pompeii, a city that was buried under tons of pumice stone and volcanic ash by Mount Vesuvius in 79. We decided to save money and just purchase one audio tour. A boy traveling with us, named Tommy, had the headset and just repeated out loud what it said. Tommy did not prove to be a very good tour guide, however, and started fabricating his own version of the story of Pompeii. While I didn’t end up learning much about its history, we did get in quite a few laughs!

After walking around Pompeii we decided to climb to the top of Mt. Vesuvius, the volcano that destroyed Pompeii. It is an active, yet currently dormant volcano. We got on a bus that took us up about half-way up the volcano, from which we then had to climb the rest by foot. The bus ride up made me so nervous. Everyone had seat belts and there were handle bars to hold on to as the bus hopped up and down, turning sharp corners up the winding road. The roadway was very narrow and if you looked straight down out your window you felt like you were going to fall. I was so happy to finally get off! From there we hiked all the way up to the summit which is 1200 meters high in altitude. Even though it was exhausting, it was well worth it! We got to go right to the edge of the hole that spews out lava during an eruption. The view from the top was stunning and you could look out and see the whole city. There was even a little hut at the top where we each stopped to buy a mini personal sized bottle of wine. Now how many people can say they have drunk wine on top of an active volcano before? We eventually made our way back down and back on the scary bus to catch a returning train to Naples. After quickly showering, we went back into the city for dinner.

Sunday 3:

Amazing. That pretty much sums up how I feel about today. Early this morning I took a 50 minute hydroplane from Naples to the island of Capri on a SAS trip. The hydroplane was pretty bumpy and a lot of other passengers did not feel good. Rookies! All of us SASers got a joke out of it since we are “experienced sailors” at this point.


When we arrived in Capri I was absolutely in awe at how gorgeous this place is. I signed out of the SAS program immediately and met up with Tine, Lizzy, Clara and Molly who had traveled there independently. Once I dropped my bags in their room we made our way down to the main harbor and rented our own private boat to go on a tour. We bought some wine to take with us and joined some other SAS friends forming a group of 9 to go out on the water with. The boat took us around the whole island detouring every once in a while to go through little coves. When we reached the Green Grotto we were able to get out and swim. This was by far the coolest part. The boat let us off on one side and drove around to the other side of the grotto so we could swim through it. It was truly stunning and the pictures don’t do it justice. It was an amazing day out on the water and probably one of my favorite experiences yet!

Afterwards I went back to Tine, Lizzy, Clara and Molly’s room to grab my bags and meet back up with the SAS program to check into our hotel. Apparently a cat had managed to find its way into their room and when we got back to their place saw that it had peed and pooped all over Molly’s bed. Poor Molly! This kind of stuff always seems to be happening to her! It was so funny but in the end they not only got a room change, but a free night stay as well! I came back to our hotel, La Residenza, to check back in with the program and eat with the SAS group. When dinner was over I met back up with my other friends for some of the best gelato around. The line for this place was really long, but well worth the wait. They hand made the cones right in front of you so they were warm when you were served. In line we met another family, and the mom was a KD! Yay AOT! Haha Giuliana Rancic from E News was apparently vacationing with her husband in Capri. She was tweeting that she was going to the one club on the island called Bye Bye Birdie. We were going to go and try and find her there until we learned that it was 40 Euros just to get in….uh no thanks! I ended up just coming back to the hotel and sat out by the pool for a while with other SAS kids before calling it a night.

Monday 4:

HAPPY 4^TH OF JULY! J

I woke up this morning to the most amazing breakfast—scrambled eggs, sausage, pastries, muffins, bacon, slices of ham, cereal and croissants with nutella! Yum! My last day in Capri mainly consisted of laying out poolside and finally getting on the internet, and Facebook! (I was able to upload some pictures so be sure to check them out!) We had a noon checkout so I couldn’t really do too much without having to take all of my luggage around with me. At 4:00 PM we took the hydroplane back to Naples and afterwards I hopped on a 6:30 train for Florence with another SAS friend named Amy. We were so lucky to run into an Italian girl our age once we got off the train. She knew English and was able to help us find our apartment. She even called her mom to ask for directions! We would have been so lost without her! We finally got to our room, dropped our bags and ran to the nearest drug store to get some food. When we got back to our place Amy and I snacked on our makeshift “dinner” and watched what we gathered to be the Italian version of Super Nanny. We were really tired from a full day of traveling so afterwards hit the sack early!

Tuesday 5:

After getting croissants for breakfast at a nearby coffee shop we set out early to explore Florence! We first went inside the San Lorenzo church, which is shaped in the form of a cross. Afterwards we walked through the leather market. The whole street was filled with vendors selling all sorts of items made from Italian leather. I was able to put all of the skills I have learned in my Negotiation for Value class to use when I bought a really cute brown leather jacket and purse. I bargained down the price a lot and feel like I got a pretty good deal.

Excited about all of our new purchases, we all went to lunch at the Oil Shoppe. Several friends who have been to Florence before had told us about how good the restaurant was so we decided to give it a shot. Inside there was a guest book where customers could sign and leave notes. I flipped through the book while waiting for my sandwich and saw written on one page “Vanderbilt loves the Oil Shoppe” signed by Sloane, Erica and Michelle. They are three friends from Vandy that I did birthright with and Sloane and Erica are KD’s. I couldn’t believe that I had come across their message and I added my name to their note.

Next stop was the Palazzo Pitti, home of the Medici family. We walked through the Boboli Garden and the Costume Gallery. Afterwards we walked to the bridge and met Tine and Lizzy’s friend from college, Jake, and his brother Rob. Together we went to the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore (el duomo) but the line to get in was outrageously long so unfortunately we didn’t get to go inside. The building was beautiful though so I can only imagine what the interior was like. We were so exhausted from a full day of walking so we stopped at a nearby bar called the Old Stove for a cold beer. For dinner I finally had the chance to eat spaghetti! We ate at the Ristorante Sasso di Dante, which was an outdoor restaurant right by the duomo. It was such a picturesque place to eat and unwind after a tiring day. Amy, Jess and I caught a 10:00 PM train to Rome where we then had to get on another train to return to Cvitavecchia (the port where the ship was docked). On the route from Florence to Rome we looked out the window to see fireworks! They were the delayed fireworks we were supposed to see for the 4^th of July! We finally got to the ship at 2:00 AM and I had to pack for Rome before going to bed. It was a late night but well worth it. I’m excited for Rome tomorrow!

Wednesday 6:

For today, I had signed up for a SAS excursion to explore important sites of Rome and the Vatican City. At 8:00 AM we took a 1.5 hour bus ride from port into Rome. Once we arrived, we headed to see the Colosseum. Its enormous amphitheater was large enough to seat 80,000 spectators at events such as gladiatorial combats and the martyrdom of Christians. Afterwards we stopped for lunch at a local restaurant before heading into the Vatican City. We visited the Vatican Museum and then the Sistine Chapel where we saw Michelangelo’s frescoed ceiling, including The Last Judgment on the wall above the alter. Next we went to St. Peter’s Basilica, the largest Christian church in the world. It was absolutely stunning and once again, my pictures just don’t do it justice. The lettering on the walls is 6 feet tall and supposedly if you want to get married inside the chapel there is a 3 year wait list. Inside I saw Michelangelo’s Pietà and the grave of Pope John Paul. Walking outside of the church, I saw the balcony where the Pope speaks to the people every Wednesday. Unfortunately he comes out only in the morning so we missed him.

When the SAS trip was over, I checked into the hostel where I would be staying the night. We were lucky because we got a private room and our own bathroom, pretty good for a hostel! We took some time to relax before heading to dinner. While we ate, a man played the accordion and it made for a really nice evening after an extremely hot day full of lots of walking. When dinner was over we decided to go visit the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish steps. We heard that it was the coolest when seen at night. I’m so glad we went because the Trevi fountain was beautiful all light up. There is a legend that if you throw a coin with your left hand over your right shoulder into the fountain that means you are coming back to Rome. Another version we heard was that it meant you would marry someone in Rome. Whatever the case, I threw in a Euro anyway! From there we walked a short ways to the Spanish steps and climbed all the way to the top! Who needs the stairmaster when you can just do that! We met 3 German boys our age who bought us roses. It was interesting to hear from them what Europeans think of Americans—basically that we are stupid, lazy and only eat burgers! I made sure to let them know that those stereotype do not hold true for all Americans and to go back to Germany and tell everyone that! haha We hung out with them for the rest of the night before heading back to the hostel and getting some much needed sleep!

Thursday 7:

Today a small group of us explored Rome on our own and went to all of the places we didn’t see on our SAS tour yesterday. First we saw the Pantheon, a great domed temple built (and rebuilt) by Roman Emperors. Next we diverged away from the touristy section to eat lunch. The whole entire menu was in Italian and it was full of locals. We had no idea what we were ordering but it turned out to be good anyway! When we finished eating we went to the Roman Forum to see the remains of ancient ceremonial buildings. At the Victor Emmanuel monument there were two men guarding the “unknown soldier,” which commemorates all unidentified soldiers who died at war. We continued walking around Rome, seeing Mussolini’s balcony and shopping around a bit. We caught a train back to Civitavecchia and slept on the ship. Rome was amazing but very exhausting so I was so happy to be back home!

Friday 8:

This morning I went on a SAS trip, traveling through the countryside to reach Valle del Marta Farm, a quaint farmhouse that produces from their cultivations, pastures and animals a variety of products including vegetables, wine, fruit, meat, spices, pure virgin olive oil, honey and even medicinal oils. Here I took a cooking class where we learned how to prepare traditional ragout sauce, pasta and tiramisu. Afterwards we got to eat what we cooked. I have to say, I’m a pretty good chef! Haha I returned to the ship around 2:00 PM and then went on a hunt to find an internet café. Right now I’m uploading pictures before setting sail at 6:00 PM. We have two days at sea with classes before we arrive in Croatia. I’m leaving Italy with lots of memories, laughs, a full stomach and several blisters on my feet. What a country!

Pictures: 1. Eat, Pray, Love movie poster inside the restaurant 2. Pompeii 3. Mt. Vesuvius 4. Capri 5. Capri 5. Duomo in Florence 6. Florence 7. Florence 8. Colosseum 9. Pietà 10. Trevi Fountain 11. Pantheon 12. The pasta I made in the cooking class