1/28
Sitting outside in a cute public area with free wifi (why doesn't America do that..dumb) checking facebook and having a chance to say hello to everyone I love! Such a cute area- cold but cute! Ordered some coffee, SO YUMMY!! definitely better than the US. Everyone here is so so friendly and so helpful! We went on a tour of the city and it has so much history and is so beautiful! Can't wait for Barcelona tomorrow!! Ah I'm in LOVE with Spain!!!!
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Almost to Spain...
1/27
We just went on a tour of the bridge,, pretty cool to see how everything works. Not quite like Titanic- no big, fun wooden steering wheel- it’s like smaller than a cars steering wheel and I wonder if they really ever use it.
We saw whales today! Two of three of them- they were a little far away but could still see them come up every 30 seconds or so. Finally, we see some kind of animal life! And there were birds- we’re still about 300 miles off the coast, where the heck were they going??
We’ll be in Spain tomorrow yayyy! I am so so excited! We’ll be spending the day in Cadiz, where the ship docks, and doing a city orientation for our classes- it’s actually a Women of Cadiz tour and we go to a couple of museums and see the Roman ruins so I think it’ll be really cool. We’ll spend the night on the ship and then we leave for Barcelona the next morning!
We’ve spent today catching up on sleep – lost another hour last night (that’s 6 23-hour days now) because we know Spain will be tiring if we’re not ready for it.
The sunsets have been amazing! My art professor has made a big deal out of really noticing the things around us and he wants us to write about that kind of stuff in our journal, which we have to turn into him for our midterm. He is much more concentrated on the trip than he is on teaching us art and wants to make sure we don’t only focus on the ports we stop in, but the journey as well. So I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the sky and the clouds and the waves and the sunsets. The waves are especially beautiful- the first few days were like choppy waves where you can’t walk straight down the hall and the ship rocks back and forth more quickly. Then there were a couple days of perfect calmness, kind of a weird calm. Now the past few days have been big waves- the ones that rock the boat but more slowly and at a bigger angle. Like there have been things falling off of our desk and drawers sliding open and closed. I never knew there could be so many differences in just the ocean waves and the way it affects the ship.
Because we keep losing hours, the sun isn’t rising until after 9 now and it’s so weird- definitely makes it harder to wake up in the morning. But it’s always beautiful.
We just went on a tour of the bridge,, pretty cool to see how everything works. Not quite like Titanic- no big, fun wooden steering wheel- it’s like smaller than a cars steering wheel and I wonder if they really ever use it.
We saw whales today! Two of three of them- they were a little far away but could still see them come up every 30 seconds or so. Finally, we see some kind of animal life! And there were birds- we’re still about 300 miles off the coast, where the heck were they going??
We’ll be in Spain tomorrow yayyy! I am so so excited! We’ll be spending the day in Cadiz, where the ship docks, and doing a city orientation for our classes- it’s actually a Women of Cadiz tour and we go to a couple of museums and see the Roman ruins so I think it’ll be really cool. We’ll spend the night on the ship and then we leave for Barcelona the next morning!
We’ve spent today catching up on sleep – lost another hour last night (that’s 6 23-hour days now) because we know Spain will be tiring if we’re not ready for it.
The sunsets have been amazing! My art professor has made a big deal out of really noticing the things around us and he wants us to write about that kind of stuff in our journal, which we have to turn into him for our midterm. He is much more concentrated on the trip than he is on teaching us art and wants to make sure we don’t only focus on the ports we stop in, but the journey as well. So I’ve been paying a lot of attention to the sky and the clouds and the waves and the sunsets. The waves are especially beautiful- the first few days were like choppy waves where you can’t walk straight down the hall and the ship rocks back and forth more quickly. Then there were a couple days of perfect calmness, kind of a weird calm. Now the past few days have been big waves- the ones that rock the boat but more slowly and at a bigger angle. Like there have been things falling off of our desk and drawers sliding open and closed. I never knew there could be so many differences in just the ocean waves and the way it affects the ship.
Because we keep losing hours, the sun isn’t rising until after 9 now and it’s so weird- definitely makes it harder to wake up in the morning. But it’s always beautiful.
73% Girls
1/27
Yes, it is true. 73% girls. Awesome huh? And of those 27% male, mmm not so many that are absolute quality guys. And none that are very attractive. I think my moms wish of me meeting some Spanish man and falling in love will maybe come true after all.
Perez and I are getting along great, we live really well together. And by live I mean spend just about every minute together. It’s sad when I’m in class all day and never see her. She’s amazing, has such a wonderful heart AND makes me laugh all the time. The only time I could say she’s been difficult is in the morning when she yells at me because she doesn’t wanna get out of bed and blames me for her tiredness haha which then just makes me laugh. Or the times she yells at me in her sleep- she can be quite snarky when she’s asleep. But I am so thankful to have her here with me; she is enhancing this experience that much more.
Our cabin already feels like home. We have pictures and quotes and sticky notes ALL over our walls, plus a large map of the world with our voyage traced out with string. Since the ship is all metal we can put magnets just about everywhere (and no tape is allowed) so we stick everything on our walls to make it feel more homey-and it’s definitely working. Plus, we get to see our lovely friends from homes faces every single day, which makes us really happy.
Our cabin is the first one right off of the main stairwell and we’re right on the corner- which is nice for a lot of reasons. Our room is bigger for one. And we put a dry erase board out on our door with a picture of us on it and anyone we meet is like oh yeah I walk by your room all the time -It’s in a good spot for people to come by.
Oh and we’ve already been termed “The Ashleys”- basically since the first people we met. But our good friends are starting to learn to use Ferg and Perez, although it’s taking a little time for it to catch on. Whenever I use it, because I’m so used to saying Perez, people just don’t understand it. But it makes it a lot easier for people to remember us.
Yes, it is true. 73% girls. Awesome huh? And of those 27% male, mmm not so many that are absolute quality guys. And none that are very attractive. I think my moms wish of me meeting some Spanish man and falling in love will maybe come true after all.
Perez and I are getting along great, we live really well together. And by live I mean spend just about every minute together. It’s sad when I’m in class all day and never see her. She’s amazing, has such a wonderful heart AND makes me laugh all the time. The only time I could say she’s been difficult is in the morning when she yells at me because she doesn’t wanna get out of bed and blames me for her tiredness haha which then just makes me laugh. Or the times she yells at me in her sleep- she can be quite snarky when she’s asleep. But I am so thankful to have her here with me; she is enhancing this experience that much more.
Our cabin already feels like home. We have pictures and quotes and sticky notes ALL over our walls, plus a large map of the world with our voyage traced out with string. Since the ship is all metal we can put magnets just about everywhere (and no tape is allowed) so we stick everything on our walls to make it feel more homey-and it’s definitely working. Plus, we get to see our lovely friends from homes faces every single day, which makes us really happy.
Our cabin is the first one right off of the main stairwell and we’re right on the corner- which is nice for a lot of reasons. Our room is bigger for one. And we put a dry erase board out on our door with a picture of us on it and anyone we meet is like oh yeah I walk by your room all the time -It’s in a good spot for people to come by.
Oh and we’ve already been termed “The Ashleys”- basically since the first people we met. But our good friends are starting to learn to use Ferg and Perez, although it’s taking a little time for it to catch on. Whenever I use it, because I’m so used to saying Perez, people just don’t understand it. But it makes it a lot easier for people to remember us.
Just another day
1/26
I’m sick of being on the ocean, I’m not gonna lie. We woke up this morning to pretty big waves, which means annoying rocking, like the kind where you can’t do simple things without falling over or dropping something. We even woke up with things on the ground today- it must have been bad last night. We’re feeling a little nauseous today too which is never fun- I haven’t really felt seasick this whole time but today is not the most settling feeling. I’m ready for land- I hate to say that, because I know I should be appreciate every little detail of it, but I need a little break from the open ocean. Or should I say my body needs a little break, particularly my stomach.
We’ll reach Spain in just two more days! I am so excited- we’ve been learning about Spain, the culture, the history and the sights in Global Studies the past couple of mornings and it just makes it that much more appealing. This trip has felt like we’re just staying on the ocean (and thank God we’re not, right?)- we’ve gotten into a routine of classes and hanging out on the ship and it feels like it should just continue this way. But I think once we reach Spain it’ll change the whole experience of it all. Even with a giant map in our room and our journey mapped with a piece of string, it still doesn’t feel like we’re actually stopping anywhere. The ship is real now, but the traveling isn’t yet. It’ll change everything.
The time change is killing us. We have now had 5 23-hour days- last night being one of them- and it makes it so hard to get some good sleep in. Plus, when the water is TOO rocky, it makes it hard to sleep. Last night I couldn’t sleep and I just assumed that it was because my mind was racing too much or because I had taken a power nap at like 4 but then I overhear people at breakfast talking about how they couldn’t either- it seems that whenever I sleep well, so does everyone else, and when I sleep poorly, so does everyone else. There is something so soothing about the rocking sometimes, but at other times it’s just disturbing.
I’m sick of being on the ocean, I’m not gonna lie. We woke up this morning to pretty big waves, which means annoying rocking, like the kind where you can’t do simple things without falling over or dropping something. We even woke up with things on the ground today- it must have been bad last night. We’re feeling a little nauseous today too which is never fun- I haven’t really felt seasick this whole time but today is not the most settling feeling. I’m ready for land- I hate to say that, because I know I should be appreciate every little detail of it, but I need a little break from the open ocean. Or should I say my body needs a little break, particularly my stomach.
We’ll reach Spain in just two more days! I am so excited- we’ve been learning about Spain, the culture, the history and the sights in Global Studies the past couple of mornings and it just makes it that much more appealing. This trip has felt like we’re just staying on the ocean (and thank God we’re not, right?)- we’ve gotten into a routine of classes and hanging out on the ship and it feels like it should just continue this way. But I think once we reach Spain it’ll change the whole experience of it all. Even with a giant map in our room and our journey mapped with a piece of string, it still doesn’t feel like we’re actually stopping anywhere. The ship is real now, but the traveling isn’t yet. It’ll change everything.
The time change is killing us. We have now had 5 23-hour days- last night being one of them- and it makes it so hard to get some good sleep in. Plus, when the water is TOO rocky, it makes it hard to sleep. Last night I couldn’t sleep and I just assumed that it was because my mind was racing too much or because I had taken a power nap at like 4 but then I overhear people at breakfast talking about how they couldn’t either- it seems that whenever I sleep well, so does everyone else, and when I sleep poorly, so does everyone else. There is something so soothing about the rocking sometimes, but at other times it’s just disturbing.
Schedule on the Ship
1/26
Here’s a little tid bit of my day so you can get an idea of our daily routine on the boat:
Our schedule goes by A and B days- The only way I know today is date-wise, and day of the week wise- is because of a calendar we put up in our cabin. Other than that I only know that it is B3. You rarely ever see any date posted somewhere on the ship.
0740 our alarm goes off
0742 my phone alarm goes off because Perez usually doesn’t wake up to the first one- and when I say usually I mean never.
0750 another snooze alarm goes off and we finally make it out of bed- especially necessary if we had lost an hour that night because of a time change
0800 crawl to breakfast, barely awake, where Alan (our buddy on the crew) has our normal table by the window waiting with coffee and orange juice
0830 we’re back in our room, usually sending emails and relaxing
0920-1035 Global Studies, which everyone has to be at each morning- the big auditorium (The Union) is at the front of the ship and rocks much more than the rest so it’s easy to get sick- so we sit in a classroom instead and watch it on the TV
My A days are free of class after this so I usually head up to the deck and read for class (that’s all our homework is, lots of reading) or hang out around the ship, get stuff done, random things usually. A list of group work outs just came out- pilates, yoga, aerobics (oh yes there is Jerns, but it won’t be the same as Suz)- so I’ll have to check those out.
My B days are quite different-
1045-1200 Intro to Art (Art History)
Grab a sandwich in the dining hall and eat on the way to my next class
1215-1330 International Service-Learning
1335-1450 Dumb English Lit (you can tell how much I love this one)
Usually a nap is thrown in there somewhere before dinner when we get a chance
1800 Dinner
and then various night activities – they have things like swing dance/salsa lessons or movies or seminars (like we had one on Obama’s race speech and how he relates to MLK- awesome) or just hang out in the lounge and play catch phrase, random things like that
Also, we’ve signed up for lots of clubs so we’ll have meetings for those- that yet to come
2130ish Pub Night is each night, held on the top deck- the only time people actually get dressed up a little bit and a prime time for meeting everyone- you’re only allowed 4 drinks, I guess for safety reasons (they’ve had a kid fall overboard because he was so drunk) – or we’ll just hang out around the ship, there’s always lots to do and lots of people to meet so we’re never really bored or sitting around without much to do
Also-there’s a court that is basketball on B days and volleyball on A days- adds loads of fun to our evenings. And there’s a work-out room, which surprisingly we’ve been using haha try running on a rocking ship, super fun!
Here’s a little tid bit of my day so you can get an idea of our daily routine on the boat:
Our schedule goes by A and B days- The only way I know today is date-wise, and day of the week wise- is because of a calendar we put up in our cabin. Other than that I only know that it is B3. You rarely ever see any date posted somewhere on the ship.
0740 our alarm goes off
0742 my phone alarm goes off because Perez usually doesn’t wake up to the first one- and when I say usually I mean never.
0750 another snooze alarm goes off and we finally make it out of bed- especially necessary if we had lost an hour that night because of a time change
0800 crawl to breakfast, barely awake, where Alan (our buddy on the crew) has our normal table by the window waiting with coffee and orange juice
0830 we’re back in our room, usually sending emails and relaxing
0920-1035 Global Studies, which everyone has to be at each morning- the big auditorium (The Union) is at the front of the ship and rocks much more than the rest so it’s easy to get sick- so we sit in a classroom instead and watch it on the TV
My A days are free of class after this so I usually head up to the deck and read for class (that’s all our homework is, lots of reading) or hang out around the ship, get stuff done, random things usually. A list of group work outs just came out- pilates, yoga, aerobics (oh yes there is Jerns, but it won’t be the same as Suz)- so I’ll have to check those out.
My B days are quite different-
1045-1200 Intro to Art (Art History)
Grab a sandwich in the dining hall and eat on the way to my next class
1215-1330 International Service-Learning
1335-1450 Dumb English Lit (you can tell how much I love this one)
Usually a nap is thrown in there somewhere before dinner when we get a chance
1800 Dinner
and then various night activities – they have things like swing dance/salsa lessons or movies or seminars (like we had one on Obama’s race speech and how he relates to MLK- awesome) or just hang out in the lounge and play catch phrase, random things like that
Also, we’ve signed up for lots of clubs so we’ll have meetings for those- that yet to come
2130ish Pub Night is each night, held on the top deck- the only time people actually get dressed up a little bit and a prime time for meeting everyone- you’re only allowed 4 drinks, I guess for safety reasons (they’ve had a kid fall overboard because he was so drunk) – or we’ll just hang out around the ship, there’s always lots to do and lots of people to meet so we’re never really bored or sitting around without much to do
Also-there’s a court that is basketball on B days and volleyball on A days- adds loads of fun to our evenings. And there’s a work-out room, which surprisingly we’ve been using haha try running on a rocking ship, super fun!
Welcome!
Welcome to my blog! Now you can follow me as I travel around the world on Semester at Sea. Unfortunately, Perez and I’s other website that we created before the trip isn’t going to work out so this is gonna substitute that. We only get an allotted number of minutes of internet (and it’s not much at all) until we have to start paying way too much for more and that website was taking of too much of that.
We are able to get email at all times while on the ship though so please please email us! We absolutely love hearing from everyone at home and are thinking about you tons so it makes our day so much better when we get some emails, just to hear from you and to hear what is going on back home! Thanks for visiting!
Ferg- anferguson@semesteratsea.net
Perez- alperez@semesteratsea.net
We are able to get email at all times while on the ship though so please please email us! We absolutely love hearing from everyone at home and are thinking about you tons so it makes our day so much better when we get some emails, just to hear from you and to hear what is going on back home! Thanks for visiting!
Ferg- anferguson@semesteratsea.net
Perez- alperez@semesteratsea.net
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