The Rain in Spain is mainly on the Plain!

So it is the night before we arrive in Cadiz, Spain and things are pretty crazy on the ship right now. I basically want to sum up what has happened over the past week on the ship. It seems like forever ago when I got on the ship! I actually really enjoy all of my classes. Global Studies is kind of boring and we have it every morning at 9:20 AM while we are at sea which can be a drag, but sometimes it is alright. I only have a couple tests for that class. A History of US Immigration Law is actually one of my favorites because my professor is hilarious. She has so many anecdotes and silly things that she talks about to relate to what we are going in class. She is possibly one of my favorite professor EVER! Sacred Sites is also very interesting but a big change for me considering I have never taken a class in art history or religion. World Dance is a lot of fun and is pretty easy in general, as far as school work and the actual dancing we do. At first it was really difficult trying to dance in the Union with the ship rocking as much as it was, but we have gotten better about it. Overall I am very happy with my classes. Unfortunately on A days I don't get lunch because my classes go straight through it, but I've been eating a granola bar instead.

 

The food on board has actually not been too shabby, it is just very repetitive. There's always salad, pasta and potatoes. It would be nice to change thigns up a bit but I don't want to pay extra for the some of the other food on board. The meals are major social time here on the ship. It barely even seems that we are taking classes, just doing a lot of reading and hanging out. I have met a few girls that are pretty cool. I met Liz on my flight to the Bahamas which was cool to know someone before I even saw the ship. I also met a girl named Claudia from South Carolina that I am traveling with in port. There are a bunch of other girls as well, but they are the ones that I spend a lot of time with.

 

Everyday life is very different from regular school for me. I actually have time to work out and stuff, although now I have switched from going to the gym to taking aerobic and yoga classes. They had a group of us tour the Bridge of the ship and I got to sit in the Captain's chair, along with a whole bunch of other actitivities. Every night there is something going on, from swing or salsa lessons, to an Explorer's seminar on Spanish food or using digital cameras. In between every port we have an interport lecturer that has a great deal of experience with our next port and the one for Spain was a professor of Spanish at UVA. He was really funny and once when I was having a conversation with him a man came up and videotaped us, which was kind of strange lol. One thing that I discovered is pretty nice is that when it is warm outside you can sit by the pool to do your homework, which is mainly reading. Definitely most relaxing!

 

I am doing several different programs on the ship. Extended family is where students get assigned to a member of the faculty or a Life Long Learner and they get dinner with them every now and then to be a family away from home. A lot of the adults on board have their own families and children on board as well. I am doing Vicarious Voyage which is a program where an Living Learning Coordinator and I share a classroom and they send us letters at different ports. We write back in a pen pal format and sometimes send neat little thigns from the ports to them as well. I have a 6th grade class in Edinburgh, NY which is cool because I might actually be able to visit it once I am back in the states. I am also part of the Ambassador's Ball planning committee which doesn't happen for a while but it a fun thing to just plan the party that happens at the end of our journey. Overall I have enjoyed the different acticvities they have had on board. They had an open mic night with lots of students performing and everyone was ridiculously talented!

 

We have had several meetings to prep us for Spain and I'm getting really anxious and nervous. For one I don't speak a word of Spanish so I'm worried I'll be lost, but I will have other people with me so that should be fine. I am going to explore Cadiz the first day then go to a Semester at Sea, SAS, trip to see some flamenco and a bullfight. the next day I leave early for Seville with one of the Professor's to see the Alcazar among others. I plan on sdtaying there and meeting up with some girls. The next day we will either spend in Seville or possibly traveling to Granada to see the Alhambra. Saturday we have to be back on the ship by 6 so we can leave for Morocco. I'll update my blog Saturday night so that I can detail everything that happened in Spain. During the meeting they made me incredibly nervous about possibly getting pick pocketed or loosing things, but hopefully it'll be fine. Wish me luck!