Barcelona Days 2 & 3

Barcelona has been super fun but exhausting! And I still have an evening and an entire day left.

Yesterday we set off around 10:30 am to the Ramblas. We went to la boqueria market and it was AMAZING! So much fresh fruit, veggies, meat, candy, gelato, just massive amounts of yummy food in general. Meredith and I sat down at a restaurant in the market and enjoyed tortilla espanola and pan con tomate. It was delicious and the perfect snack. We also had some fruit smoothies/juice. After the market we were determined to find the train to Girona so we headed to the metra station. Once in the metro station we looked at map after map with no luck. I was so overwhelmed. So we decided to take the metra to la parque Guell. Guell park is so beautiful with view of the entire city of barcelona. We had to hike to the top of the park because of where the metra station was located. It was a tough hike and I am sore for sure. It was so steep that they had to add traction marks onto the sidewalk. After spending a decent amount of time in the park we decided to trek to La Sagrada Familia. It didn't look too far away....But it was! We were so tired and hungry that we gave up and got a taxi back to port.

The taxis in Barcelona are AWESOME! They are nice new cars, that don't smell bad, don't drive crazy and are very efficient. The best taxis I have ever been in. The metra was also alot nicer than Chicago's.

For dinner I had a bocodilla which is a sandwich essentially. It had seranno ham and was yummy. I stayed in last night because I was exhausted and I am starting to get sick. Stupid sore throat and congestion :(

Anyway I am pretty sure that Meredith and I walked about 12 miles yesterday and I am feeling it today!

Today a group of us went to the beach. It was so nice. The sand was wonderful and the Mediterranean was the perfect temperature. We all ate lunch at a restaurant in the harbor full of sailboats. We had paella and tapas. It was delicious. Best shrimp I have ever had, but I was too scared to try the mussels.

Tonight we are going to a discoteca! Im resting currently so I will be prepared to dance all night long. In Spain people do not eat dinner till 10pm and usually go clubbing until 6 or 7 am. It is crazy! I won't be out that late though due to my class field lab tomorrow at 9am.

Sorry for the long post. I might not write tomorrow because I have lot of homework to due for sunday. But Italy will be here before I know it!.

Barcelona Day One

Well today was simply amazing. I woke up with a few friends at 5:50am to watch the sunrise and for the ship to come into port. The sunrise was Amazing! It was breathtaking. I hope to post pictures of it soon. After the sunrise we all got breakfast and went to the final preport diplomatic meeting. The diplomats were an hour late which was frustrating because we all wanted off the ship.

Anyway, I went to Montserrat this morning/afternoon. It was amazing! The spanish mountains were so beautiful and very interestingly shaped. It was also very busy and we had little time to explore. Montserrat is a benedictine monastery. After Montserrat, a nap was in order since a busy night was ahead.

Around 6, Meredith, Britt and I headed to the Ramblas, a main strip area of barcelona. There are lots of artists, shops and restaurants. We stopped at a restaurant and enjoyed a snack and some sangira. We chatted and had some time to relax. There was a huge soccer game tonight in the semifinals of the euro cup to we headed to a sports bar to watch Spain vs. Portugal. And Spain won in around of penalty kicks. It was intense and super fun.

We walked back to the ship in the wonderful evening weather. Im excited for tomorrow. I plan to explore Barcelona and possibly go to Girona. And eat yummy food!

Land!!!

Today I saw land for the first time in 8 days! It was very foggy so when going through the Gibraltar Strait we could only see Africa and not Spain. We were all super excited to see land. Im mad though because Meredith saw whales today and Britt saw dolphins, and what did I see... nothing but a few fishing boats. The waves were crazy today.

We had cultural preport today. So we learned good places to eat and good things to see and do. And how to avoid pit pocketing.

Anyway its late and I need sleep. Ill write more tomorrow! Only one day left! Wahoo!!!

Synchronized Swimming

Today was day two of the Sea Olympics, which meant it was my time to shine in synchronized swimming. There were 4 of us and we swam to September by Earth, Wind and Fire. We did a disco style and we got the bronze (3rd place out of 10 teams!!!). I was very happy about how we did because we didn't get time to practice. It has been gloomy all day and very windy....meaning the pool water was FREEZING! It was so cold and actually difficult to swim in because of the rocking. A few of my friends got the video and I will try to post it at some point.

After synchronized swimming it was the lip syncing contest. That was hilarious! So many groups but in a vast amount of effort. After that we had closing ceremony and my sea got 2nd place in the olympics!!! WAHOO! I was shocked that we did so well. I think that mean we get off the ship second in Boston and have shorter lines in customs. But I don't wanna think that far ahead yet.

I found out my extended family assignment tonight. An extended family is made up of passengers of all ages and back grounds and make a ship family. We will eat dinner about once a week if possible. Our first dinner is tomorrow! I also sat outside and watched HUGE waves crash against the ship. I took some awesome pictures right after each other so you can see the progression of the wave.

I might not write tomorrow as it will be a crazy day! I will be preparing for 2 exams and finishing a paper. Classes are nuts! We are almost a third of the way done with our semester of class days.

2 Days till Barcelona!

Oh and I forgot to mention: we lose another hour tonight :( 23 hour days suck!

Sea Olympics

Yesterday: we had and an ice cream social with our "sea" and we discussed plans for the Sea Olympics. I volunteered for synchronized swimming, which will be interesting for sure.

Today: Had classes which are a ton of work. Having class on weekends is kind of a bummer. And I feel like I don't have much free time. Sea Olympics started today, my sea is doing well. Swimming is tomorrow...I better rock it! Haha. Planning on going to bed early so I an watch the sun rise. Just witnessed a beautiful sunset!

The Middle of the Atlantic Ocean

Yesterday was and uneventful day. I got some spare time and went to the observation deck last night and was able to see so many stars. I found the big dipper. But it was strange, there was no moon in sight. We asked around and no one else had seen the moon in a couple days either. We kept searching but never found it. My friend asked her professor about it this morning and he told her that we couldn't find it because it was a new moon, we all felt a little dumb after that because that thought never crossed our minds.

Today has been an interesting day! Had classes today, like usual but it was exceptionally rocky this morning. When I walked into my global studies lecture, which is a HUGE class in an auditorium, people were talking about the tiny sail boat that they saw. I had to take a look, it was a very small boat for a very large ocean. It only had one mast with 2 small sails so my guess is that is couldn't be more than 50 feet long.

This afternoon there was a lone bird flying behind the ship, first life I've seen since I left the bahamas a few days ago. I wonder where it came from because we are a long way from land. On an even more exciting note, I saw a whale today!!! I am thrilled! Other people had seen some but today was my first glimpse at a whale in the wild. It was far away but it was a whale no doubt. It had a massive tail! Another interesting thing i saw today was a storm in the distance. You could tell it was raining from the dark cloud and it looked really cool.

In a few minutes I have my first quiz for global studies. We will be taking all our quizzes and test for global studies in the evening because all 500 students are in this class so we have to be divided up among the ship. I hope it goes well. We lose another hour tonight so I will hopefully be in bed early tonight.

Only 6 days till Barcelona! Yay!

Class Day One

Today was the first day of classes. I have an 8 am class, a 9:25 lecture and a 1355 class. Each class is an hour an 15 minutes long but they seemed to go by quickly today. But getting up at 8am is not fun...especially since we are loosing an hour almost every night. It strange that I have a quiz on Thursday and a paper due soon too because the "semester" just started. I will have to adjust quickly to the fast pace classes and to having classes on Saturdays and Sundays. I finished my homework for the night, but I might read a little more so I can get ahead.

Tonight they had fudge brownies for dessert at dinner and it hit the spot! It needed a little ice cream but I can wait for gelato. I also attended a lecture about the do's and don'ts of Spanish food tonight. It was very informative and I know now what foods to avoid including Bull Testicles, eel and barnacles (which look like fingers). But I plan on branching out and trying more seafood, for example tonight at dinner I ate a small piece of fish. Mom be proud!

I have been able to eat meals on the aft of the ship or the deck. It is BEAUTIFUL. Nothing but deep blue ocean in sight. Meredith and I found a nice quiet deck on the port side of the ship. I don't think anyone else goes out there because its not sunny but its perfect for reading and had a beautiful sunset yesterday.

But its late night snack time and then bed for me. We lose another hour tonight :(

On the MV Explorer

Well I hope this works. I will now be updating my blog via email and this is the first time I have tried it. I guess I should have tested this... Oh well!

 

Yesterday (6/17/12)

It took about an hour to board the ship and then once we boarded we had 6 other check points to go through inside the ship. I ate lunch, which was pretty decent. I had a salad and fruit and steamed veggies and a roll. 

I lucked out! I went economy which you basically get a random room but I ended up on the third deck with an inside cabin and I have one roommate, her name is Shanon. There are lots of nice people on my floor. Floors are broken up into sections called "Seas", my sea is the Caribbean Sea and our team color is orange. We will be having ship Olympics sometime soon. 

Today (6/18/12)

I woke up late because since I don't have a window in my room it is pitch black...all the time and my alarm also failed me. So I will be finding some other form of clock to depend on waking me up tomorrow morning for class. Today was a full day filled with orientation, which was informative but also boring and repetitive. There seem to be alot of disrespectful people on the ship, not a good impression. I felt sorry for the speakers. 

After orientation, I met 2 of my professors and both of them seem nice. My anthropology professor has a ver thick New England accent which I think is comical. My Psychology professor seems very interesting and she reminds me of one of my favorite AU professors. Tonight there is an involvement fair and Im sure I will eat dinner with some friends. But I will be in bed early tonight so I will be prepared for tomorrows classes. 

Time to go hang out with some friends. Till next time!

Bahamas

Yesterday I arrived in the Bahamas, and it is beautiful! But I did not receive a warm welcome from the hotel staff...apparently I look like a boy. That was the first time that I have been called a boy with short hair and it was embarrassing but I didn't know how to correct him. 

Anyway we relaxed a bit and then walked on the beach. The sand felt so nice and the water is a perfect temperature. And we enjoyed dinner at a chinese restaurant, where a lot of other students were eating with their parents. 

Today we are going to relax on the beach and maybe rent a kayak. As this is my last day before I board the MV explorer. Tonight there is a meet and greet for students at a restaurant and a parent reception on the ship. So mom and dad get to see the ship and board the ship before I do. I think they are excited. 

The next time I write I will most likely be in the middle of the ocean. 

ONE MORE WEEK!

In one week I will be on board the MV Explorer! My parents are coming with me to the Bahamas to see me off. The ship will set sail around 5pm next Sunday, but my boarding time is 10:40am. I do not know what the first day will entail but hopefully it will include some time to unpack and get to know my roommates and neighbors. I also hope to explore the ship a little so I wont get lost. I know that we will have an orientation at some point. They sent us out first homework assignment, 24 page magazine story that every student must read for orientation. It was interesting and included some funny parts.

Anyway this is going to be my home from June 17 till August 18!

After we leave the Bahamas we will be at sea for over a week crossing the Atlantic Ocean. During this time we will have class everyday (even weekends). I am taking three classes, Global Studies, which is required and two electives; Cultural Psychology and Anthropology of Aging. I am actually excited about the classes because they seem interesting and will be different from AU for sure! I am also excited for classes because we have mandatory field labs which are trips where we will learn by being involved instead of sitting in a classroom. 

I have also signed up for other trips in each country including a cooking class in Tuscany and snorkeling in Croatia. I will also be volunteering at a children's hospital and at an orphanage while I am overseas. 

If you want to contact me email will be the best way. My new address is julie.gregg.a12@semesteratsea.org. I also downloaded an app called viber for calls and text messages but I can only use it in port where wifi is available.