Greece what else can I say!

Hello all, unfortunately the first thing that I said when I woke up in port was "OH MY GOSH I'M SICK! And I was.. That sucked. I had to really catch my breath in this port. So I spent it trying to recover, however I still managed to go to the acropolis and shop at Plaka. It was pretty cool until my body said um its time to go, so I caught a taxi back to port by myself so I didn't ruin anyone else's fun. It sucked, so I spent that night watching A Bug's Life and I called Valerie. I was exhausted and needed to rest, because the next day I was heading to Delphi. So on to Delphi I went, and yes I climbed to the top of that mountain!! I was done for after it too! All of this was while I was deathly sick lol. I have no idea how I climbed any of that stuff, I had to do it because I had no idea if or when I would be back to Greece. The next day I was feeling slightly better so me and my friend Tim took the metro into Athens and went back to Plaka to go shopping. Plaka is the infamous shopping district in Athens and it goes on forever.... lol. They had two H&M's go figure on the same street. Anyways, I had alot of fun. On the way back to Piraes (our port)we got lost, everything is in Greek so.... yeah. But we managed to get on the right train and make it home. I then spent the next few hours at this karokee bar/internet cafe uploading all the wonderful pics you can find on facebook. I didn't really have an appetite this entire trip but I still managed to eat a gyro and it was AMAZING!! No other word can be used to describe it, and while in Plaka me and Tim had a wonderful dinner as well. I had chicken Kabobs its a different word in Greek but I don't know how to spell that. Anyways despite being sick and loner at times, I still really enjoyed Greece.

Croatia Just Might Be the Most Beautiful Place on Earth

So I have no expectations for Croatia, before this trip I couldn't even locate this country on a map. However upon arrival I was absolutely stunned by its beauty! The water was incredible and the sunsets leave me with no words. It truly was a magical place! I walked the city walls and got some amazing views. I didn't really eat a truly Croatia meal, I had pizza, which was better than the one in Italy! I'm under the impression that Croatian is very similar to Italian, by the numerous pasta and pizza restaurants. However I my fare share of ice-cream. I wasn't really feeling the strawberry though, it was bitter. Then I traveled to Locrum, an island not that far at all. They had wild peacocks and a nudist beach, however I kept it classy and clothed. Unfortunately many of my fellow voyagers felt the need to go nude at the club/beach/restaurant called East West. It was a good time, but everyone went wild! Needless to say semester at sea was banned for the duration. lol Most of the furniture was white and people climbed all over and acted a fool. They took over the beach although it was closed, because on this beach you could rent canopies and and beds....need I say more.. lol The next night I went to club fuego and despite the name, they didn't really play that much spanish music. However I still had a BLAST! There I forgot all of my problems like loosing my ATM card and my grandmother and got lost in the music. I had a chance to recharge my batteries there, and if you ever have the chance to visit, you must go!

SAS slideshows to give you a tatse!

Check out our slideshows on the SAS website, I am not in the pics yet..my goal is to be. Alot of my friends are.
http://www.semesteratsea.org/what-s-new-at-sas-/press-releases/-you-can-t-learn-this-in-a-textbook-students-reflect-on-italy.php

So when life gives you lemons, In Italy you make LEMONCELLO and then rent a boat!

So, Italy was AMAZING, besides all of the history I've learned two things...I love LEMONCELLO and BOATS!!!! Lemoncello is a lemon liquor made from the football sized lemons they grow in Italy, Its sooo good! When I went to Capri and Sorento, I fell in love in Italy. Rome was pretty cool but it was SOOOOOO busy and I feared I would get hit by a car because they do not believe in crosswalks, stoplights, or signs!! No lie! Naples was dirty and thats all I can say, I didn't really spend to much time in Naples because I was in Capri driving a BOAT! OMG! lol It was too cool. Pics will be posted on facebook, in interest of time. Italy is pretty alright, although my first experience with pizza left MUCH to be desired. So I can say that there are better Italian restaurants in the States, I hope the Italians won't shoot me. lol Overall I have decided to go back. I wasn't crave enough to clif dive like some of my friends and I I think I should definitely go back and do it. My friend Mercedes jumped from a 40 ft cliff and got bruised pretty bad from the impact of the water. It was mainly because he body was not in an ideal posistion. I'm about to leave Croatia right now, and I did not get a chance to cliff dive hear. Its ironic how in pre-port they warn you about cliff diving yet the first thing people did when we arrived was cliff dive its like the stories from Italy weren't enough. Well I will be keeping you guys updated so keep reading, I wish more of you would create blogger accounts to actually post comments!

Now How is the Boat Really??

The boat…ahhemmm…ship excuse me, is AMAZING. My room isn’t too bad, and although I’m lowest deck at least we don’t rock as much. Seasickness wasn’t a huge problem for me, but my fear of vomit is gone because I saw enough of it. We had rough seas crossing the Atlantic and even some of the crew weren’t doing too well. The food is not bad, although a lot of people complain because they serve a ridiculous amount of pork and beef. I agree its getting a little crazy. Not to mention carb oveloads!!! The gym does leave something to be desired, however I brought my Jillan Michael’s DVD so I have been working out despite the long waits and sign up sheets for the gym. Alcohol is served on the ship but its only beer and wine, and I don’t like beer and the wine sucks. So…. For me it’s just to hang out. Besides I have to “work” pub night every other night soo..yeah. That actually sucked until we had a talk with out boss, because we sitting at the exits making sure no one took alcohol beyond the 7th deck and at times it was frigid! Not to mention anti-social, nothing like a R.A. Oh well, now we are allowed to “float” around instead of sitting like rent- a-cops. My job as an R.A. is nothing like my traditional R.A., there are no on calls, no alcohol busts because everyone is legal, no counseling as most people fail to realize we exist, because this is the first time the ship has had R.A’s. So I do have chance to really enjoy my trip. Only downfall is I have to come back an hour earlier to on ship time to help with embarkation for 3 ports. I’m free in Civitavecchia and Naples. Classes are not that bad, I didn’t get to take a 4th class, which is just was well, because there is WAAAAYYYY to much to do on the ship. I’m actually glad it didn’t work out. I had two papers due and a test in the last 3 days. So far I have gotten an A- on a paper for my female characters in literature class. My professor is AMAZING. Greek Ethics leaves MUCH to be desired as our professor is dry and the same 3 people dominate discussion. He means well though, I feel a little bad. Global studies is pretty cool considering it’s a requirement for all. This past week we had Congresswoman Sanchez from California as out guest speaker between ports, she was pretty cool, however I did not get a chance to ask her my question about healthcare in the U.S., as everyone hogged the mic! Well I’m getting ready for Italy so I will have to write again once I have seen Civitavecchia, Rome, Sorrento, Capri and Naples!

Because Last Time Was Soooo Rushed

Hey guys, I felt really bad for my computer dying in the plaza de Catedral en España. So I decided to write a better blog entry. I arrived in Spain and got to go on a city tour as one of my field requirements. Field requirements are assignments that we have to complete off the ship, so this one was called Women in Cádiz. I went to the anthropology museum along with the Museo de Cádiz, el Torre Tavira with the Camera Obscura. It was this tower where they had this huge lens that showed you panoramic views of the city. Then I was able to take some pretty sweet pictures which you see here! I then traveled to Sevilla and Córdoba with my new friend Mercedes. She’s pretty amazing and since she is fluent is Spanish she was able to get us around when my Spanish wasn’t enough. I walked so much in one weekend, it was ridiculous! However I did get to see some really cool sights, despite the fact my feet were crying. I saw the La Singoga, however the are no practicing Jews in Sevilla due to the inquisition. I also saw the Cathedral de Sevilla, I believe it’s the third largest in the world, and the Catedral Córdoba which is both a mosque and a cathedral with the cathedral being built inside later. However today its only used as a Cathedral.
Now for the nightlife! I had a great time, although I didn’t stay out until 4 like Spaniards do because of our early mornings. My first night after dinner which was pretty good, including the weird variety of things I tried. Me and Mercedes went out with some other SAS kids. It was pretty chill, pics are posted. The next day while walking along the streets of Córdoba we found a liquor store, needless to say some of our group wanted to go and buy beer and cigarettes. All of sudden this lady comes out of nowhere, and is like Policica! Policia! Lol We are like wtf…mind you drinking in the street is legal in Spain. Thanks to Mercedes we found out that we were not in trouble but the store was because they didn’t have the permit needed to sell alcohol past 10pm. Crazy…I know. Needl
\\ess to say half of group decided to split because they wanted beer and bars, and we wanted dancing. So we met up with Deborah, who is pretty cool as well, and we went dancing and stuck out like Americans because we were too excited I suppose.  After returning to Cádiz, I had to help out with embarkation and we set sail….4 hours late because the kids from Barcelona had their flight delayed. It was a sad to leave Spain, however I am convinced I’ll be back!

Dios Mio Estoy en Espana!

Hey everyone! Spain is AMAZING!! I wish I had more time to post all the wonderful things I've done. SO I guess I will hit the highlights. I had some great Spanish food including...octopus....yeah that right for those who know me, I did eat octopus and squid and fried sardines. All of which was pretty good. I love the architecture, the nightlife, and the culture. I got to speak some spanish which was pretty cool. I hung out with lots of great people I met on the ship. Oh yeah about the ship, no seasickness for me, but for most people..... lol. I truly feel that my fear of vomit is gone, most people kept barfing around me soo... yeah. Like right next to me,no lie. Anyways I am sad to leave spain, and if you have a chance pics will posted on facebook so check them out.

For all of the confusion about my camera, I meant I left it on the ship so i couldn't post where I had internet because I had no camera with me to hook up to my computer.

Oh my gosh, I have to rush so.... ask me questions and I will answer. I hope everyone is having a good time!