Crossing the Atlanic

Its hard to believe that its already Thursday and I have only 2 days left on the ship. I will arrive in Boston early Saturday morning and then get off the ship sometime in the early afternoon. (I'll have cell phone reception as soon as I get into the harbor, so text/call me that morning!) I'm staying overnight in a hotel and then flying early the next morning back to Texas, where my mom is meeting me to help me get moved into my new house. Its going to be a crazy week from here out!

I finished finals today, and I think they went well. I'll find out my grades by Friday I believe, so keep your fingers crossed that I got straight A's! These last few days on the ship are basically fun days...tonight there was a crew talent show that was really fun to see. Tomorrow is the Alumni Ball which I am so excited for. Its a formal event so everyone will get dressed up, and then have a formal five course dinner at 8:30 pm. From what I have heard, the food we are served is amazing, so I am excited to have a good meal! After dinner there is music and dancing on the deck. It should be a really fun night! The next morning I will be packing away, trying to squeeze everything into my suitcases. Its going to be a challenge considering how much stuff I bought in Morocco!

This whole experience has been amazing, but I am glad to be going home. Its a little bittersweet though; I have met some amazing people who I am going to miss spending time with, but I also am anxious to get back to my friends and family at school and home. Hopefully I will be able to stay in touch with everyone I am close with on the ship and have a reunion in a few years!

I just wanted to fill you all in about where I am, but don't worry I am still working on my Morocco blog and it will be up shortly! I can't wait to see you all! And thanks for follwing my blog, I hope you all enjoyed reading about my travels this summer :)

Istanbul, Turkey

I will start off by saying that I really did not know what to expect from Turkey. I had heard there were some beautiful historical places, but that it would be a bit scary for girls, especially blonde blue-eyed girls like me, to walk around the city of Istanbul. I was actually pleasantly surprised by my experience in Turkey, and it is a place I would love to go again!

We spent our first day in Istanbul at the Spice Markets and the Grand Bazaar. The Spice Market is full of vendors selling all different spices, tea, and Turkish delight candy. It was really fun to just wander around looking at everything. The shop owners are constantly trying to get you to come in their stores and try their Turkish delight or their apple tea (which Turkey is famous for). It’s a little hectic but it’s a very fun experience to shop in the markets. After a few hours there, we headed to the Grand Bazaar to do some more shopping. The Grand Bazaar is a huge area that is full of all different types of vendors selling everything you could possibly imagine: leather, pottery, jewelry, purses, scarves, shoes, and so much more. As you walk around and start looking at things, you start figuring out what kind of prices you should be paying and there is lots of bartering involved when you buy something. For example, I wanted to buy two scarves and the vendor told me that they were 30 Lira each. That is way too much to pay for a scarf, so I told him I would pay 10 Lira for each scarf. He laughed and told me they were “good quality” so that was too little to pay, so I told him I didn’t want them anymore. Of course he wanted my business so he followed me as I walked away and told me I could have them for the price I wanted. (Each time I bartered I got better at it, and by the time we got to Morocco I was getting things for ridiculously low prices!) So the Grand Bazaar was really fun and just awesome to see. After shopping, we headed back to the ship to get ready for the night. I had a field trip for my history class to see a Sufi Dervish show (also called Whirling dervishes). It was so interesting to see…basically these dervishes spin in circles very elegantly for about 30 minutes while music is being played. It is a religious act and a way for Muslims to communicate with Allah. The show was like nothing I have seen before, and it was really cool to get an inside look to the Muslim culture. After the show, we found a Hookah bar that was along a big bridge that connected two sides of Istanbul and had drinks and Hookah with about 20 other Semester at Sea people.

The next day, we decided to take a ferry across the bay to the other side of Istanbul, which is considered to be in Asia. (We all thought it would be fun to say we went to Asia also!) It was really nothing very exciting but we did find a great place to have lunch. After our little trip to Asia, we went to the Turkish Baths. I had heard from many people that I absolutely had to go to the Turkish bath, so my friends and I decided to try it out. We found one that came highly recommended, but had no idea what to expect. After we paid for the bath, they instructed us to go upstairs, where we were given a locker to put our clothes in and a pair of new underwear to put on. At first we were all a little self-conscience walking around in our underwear, but there were at least 50 other women there doing the same thing so we just got used to it. Once we were undressed, they sent us into the “bath room” where Turkish women who worked there instructed us to lay down on our towels on this huge stone slab in the middle of the room. The room was steaming, much like a sauna. There were women lying all over the stone getting scrubbed by the women who worked there. When my turn came, the woman came up to me and dumped a huge bucket of water over my head. I had no idea what to expect, so I just relaxed and went with it. She then started scrubbing me from head to toe with soap and some sort of scrub brush. After that, she brought me into a side room where she dumped more water over my head and then washed my hair. Next, she sent me to the pools, where we could sit in the hot water or the cold water for as long as we pleased. I spent a good amount of time just relaxing there, and then went back inside to get a massage. The massage was amazing- definitely the highlight of my Turkish bath experience. Once we were all finished, we showered and got dressed. It was definitely like nothing I have ever done before, but I would love to go again! The Turkish baths were quite an experience! After the baths, we went back to the ship and then went to an area called Taxim Square that is known to have a fun nightlife.

Our third day, we spent hours and hours walking around two beautiful sights in Istanbul: the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque. The Hagia Sophia was absolutely beautiful. It was built in 537 and started out as a Byzantine Church. The church was later converted to a Mosque when the Muslims came to power, but amazingly enough, many features of the church are still there. They had beautiful mosaics of Christ and Mary in the upstairs area that has been there for hundreds of years. I loved seeing that! After the Hagia Sophia, we went to visit the Blue Mosque. It was really amazing to be able to actually step inside and see what it is like to be Muslim and to see how they worship. We had to take our shoes off, cover our arms and legs, and wear a scarf to cover our hair. Once we were inside, we just spent a lot of time watching the people pray. It was very intriguing because of how different a mosque works than a church.

On the fourth day, I went to the Topkapi Palace with two friends. The Topkapi palace was the home to the Sultans during the reign of the Ottoman Empire. It was absolutely beautiful. I really can’t describe it, so I will put pictures up when I get a chance. I think it was my favorite site in Istanbul though!

The last day in Istanbul, I went back to the Spice Markets to do some last minute shopping. I bought lots of apple tea and a type of tea called love tea. I also bought Turkish delight (lots to share too!) and a really neat tea set. I was sad to leave Istanbul after having such an amazing time. It was just so different than every other place I had seen on this trip. I will definitely go back again someday!

Also, I forgot to mention earlier that Ramadan began while we were in Turkey. Because Turkey is a primarily Muslim country, there would be broadcasts at certain times throughout the day that could be heard all over the city. These broadcasts were calls to prayer, and Muslims were to go to a mosque or even stay where they were sometimes, and pray. During Ramadan, Muslims fast all day and cannot eat until the sun sets at night. This goes on for an entire month. Being in a Muslim country during such an important religious holiday was a great experience that I really learned a lot from.

Bulgaria

So I have been very busy these last few weeks and terrible about updating my blog! So sorry to everyone that follows it and has been looking for updates on my whereabouts. We are currently sailing back across the Atlantic Ocean on our way back to the United States. But before I talk about that, I want to go back and tell you about the last few ports I visited, starting with Bulgaria.

When I first found out we were going to Bulgaria, I wasn’t too excited. I knew nothing about it except that it was in Eastern Europe, and that honestly scared me a little bit. Nobody really knew what to do in Bulgaria, so we just decided to not make any plans and see what happened. When we arrived in Varna, I wasn’t too surprised to see that we were the only large ship in the port. Apparently Varna, Bulgaria is not a place of interest to most cruise liners (not the most desirable coastal city). But we all decided to just embrace where we were and make the best of it. Our ship was actually docked in a great location, and the beach was about a 5-minute walk from the gangway to our ship.

The first day, I spent my time laying on the beach and enjoying some free time to just relax. The beaches weren’t the best, but they were still very nice. (There were some beaches that we heard about a little further up the coast that were supposed to be amazing and have golden sand, but we never made it up there.) After relaxing on the beach all day, we headed back to the ship for dinner (we had been told to be careful eating the food in Bulgaria so we wouldn’t get sick). So after dinner, we ventured out to see what kind of nightlife Varna had. We first went to the beach where there were beach bars that lined the sand. After that, we headed down to an area that had a couple nightclubs. We went to a club called Extravaganza and I had a great time dancing! I stayed up until the sun rose the next morning and it was amazing! (Except I was completely exhausted the next day!) The great thing about this trip is being able to do things like that and not have to worry about anything else. I know I won’t ever be able to do things like stay up all night walking along the beaches on the Black Sea again, so I’m glad I embraced it while I had the chance.

The next day, I decided to go to the beach and then wander the city a little bit. We found a frozen yogurt place in the city center and I was so excited to have something that reminded me of home. That evening we went to the beach bars again and just hung out and sat on the beach with lots of other people socializing.

Our third day, we had a trip planned through Semester at Sea. We took a bus up to the city of Balchik, where we got a guided tour of the Botanical Gardens. It was beautiful and I got many amazing pictures that I will post as soon as I get the opportunity. After visiting Balchik, we went to a little town called Kaliakra, where we walked out on a peninsula and got some amazing pictures. After that, our whole group went to a traditional Bulgarian dinner and show. It was…interesting to say the least. The food was definitely different and nothing I was too fond of, but I’m glad I tried it. But the real highlight of the night was the show…it started with a more traditional dance show, but then things got strange when a giant slinky crept out onto the stage. Yes, really, a giant slinky, probably about 8 feet tall. The slinky proceeded to dance and change shapes for about 5 minutes. It was definitely like nothing I have seen before…not really sure if that is a normal thing in Bulgaria? Somehow I don’t think so! The show ended with a fire dance where a girl walked across burning coals and danced, which was pretty crazy to see!

The last day, we spent our time wandering around Varna. We saw the Cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful and then went to the Grand Mall to do some shopping. Overall, Bulgaria was a fun port, but not really somewhere I would care to return to. I am glad I went though, because it was just so different than everywhere else, and honestly, when would I ever get the chance to go somewhere like Bulgaria again?

GREECE

I can’t believe we have already been to 4 ports and have only 3 left! Time is just flying by now. We are now in Varna, Bulgaria, but we can’t get off the ship until tomorrow morning because we have classes today. We left Athens, Greece two days ago, and sailed past Istanbul, Turkey last night and onto Bulgaria. Istanbul was absolutely beautiful and I cannot wait until we get to go there in a few days. Its so hard to pick a favorite place, because each one is just so different and amazing.

Before I keep talking about how excited I am for these last 3 ports, I will tell you about Greece! We were there for 4 nights and 5 days, and it was so much fun. The first day, we went into the center of Athens to see all of the historical places. I spent the morning at the Acropolis and got some great pictures at the Parthenon. It was so interesting to see all of these sites that have been around for thousands of years. Hard to believe they are still standing, but, I saw it with my own eyes so I know its true! After the Acropolis, we went down the hill to the Theatre of Dionysus. That’s the theatre where “theatre was born.” It was pretty cool to think that the ancient Greeks would sit in the very stands we sat in, and watch performances by famous Greek tragedy writers. After that, we went on to find some lunch, hoping to have a traditional Greek meal. We found a great restaurant where I tried Soulvaki for the first time, and fell in love with it! In case you aren’t familiar with Greek food, Soulvaki is mean (either chicken, pork, or lamb) on skewers, served on a pita with taztiki and vegetables. Since I am a little bit picky when it comes to trying new foods, I was a little worried about ordering this, but I was so glad I did! We ended up eating Soulvaki for almost every single meal we had in Greece. After lunch, we walked to the Acropolis Museum, which was really amazing. They had all of the statues that had been taken off of the Parthenon over the years, as well as many other Ancient artifacts. The museum is really cool because when your standing inside, the floor is clear glass and you can see excavations going on below you.

Oh and how could I forget, while we were at the museum, we noticed that there were a ton of security guards. At first we thought maybe it was normal, but there were just so many that I began to wonder why they were all there. Well, sure enough, a very important person was coming to the museum that day: America’s own Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton. Not that I am her biggest fan, but it was still very cool that she was going to be in the very same museum as I was. We ended up leaving about 20 minutes before she arrived because we had to catch a bus back to the ship, but many other Semester at Sea students decided to stay, and got to shake her hand.

The night, we found a nice restaurant right on the water, where we had dinner. After we met up with a few other friends and went to this fun bar/lounge place where I had a delicious coffee drink. It was funny to see, but there were just as many people in the bar drinking frozen frappaccino type drinks as people drinking alcohol! Very interesting! We decided to call it an early night and headed back to the ship after having coffee.

We had to wake up very early the next morning to catch our ferry to the island Mykonos. It was a 3 ½ hour ferry ride, and let me tell you, the ferries were not what I expected! In my mind, a ferry is a small boat where you sit outside on benches. I was very wrong, and I am grateful for that, because 3 ½ hours is a long time to sit outside in the middle of the ocean. Instead, the ferry was almost the size of the MV Explorer! We had really comfortable seats indoors with air-conditioning and TV. It was actually a very pleasant ride! Once we arrived in Mykonos, we wandered around until we found out where our hotel was. We were pleasantly surprised to find our hotel was very nice, and overlooked the ocean and had a beautiful infinity pool we could relax in. We spent the day swimming and enjoying the amazing view, and then headed into town to find a place to eat dinner. As we were just arriving in Mykonos town, all of the lights on the entire island went out! We were literally in complete darkness! It was so scary for a minute, but then a few places got light back, so we were not in complete darkness anymore. But most of the island was still dark! We found a restaurant that had electricity still, and decided to eat there. As we were eating, the rest of the lights finally came back on, and we were amazed to see how lovely the town was. Everything was just as you would imagine Greece to be: little white buildings with bright blue roofs and doors. So adorable! We had a great dinner and I got to try Greek yogurt (which I didn’t think I liked) for the first tiem in actual Greece, and I found out that I loved it! They put honey on it, and it was like eating dessert; so delicious. After dinner, we walked around town and found the area where all of the nightlife was. We ran into several other Semester at Sea people before heading back to our own hotel to get some sleep.

The next morning, we woke up and had a delicious breakfast that the hotel provided. Then, we decided to head into town to ship around a little and find the famous Paradise Beach. It took us quite some time to get to the beach because we kept getting lost, but we had a great time regardless. We ran into a few friends from the ship, Erik and Sirkan, and went to Paradise Beach with them. There was a really fun beach club there that is world famous, so we spent the rest of the afternoon and evening on the beach!

We were so sad to leave Mykonos the following morning. The island was beautiful and I could have easily spent a few more nights there. We hopped back on the ferry around 12 pm, and sailed back to the mainland. We were all worn out from Mykonos, so naps were not an option, but a need! After sleeping for a few hours, we headed into town to go to a Karaoke bar. Pretty much every Semester at Sea student was there, and we spent the night singing songs and dancing. It was so much fun!

The last morning in Greece, we were too tired to do much of anything since we had stayed out until nearly sunrise! We all slept in, and then went to buy a few souvenirs and stock up on snacks for the ship. We left the port at 8 pm that evening, and set sail for Bulgaria.

Overall, Greece was wonderful! I really just didn’t know what to expect from it. My only preconceptions about Greece were what I have seen in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants! Greece definitely met all of my expectations though! Lets hope Bulgaria will do the same, although I really don’t have any expectations for Varna because I just don’t know much about it! I’ll be sure to update you all soon on Varna!

Croatia Pictures...More to come!!

Favorite Italy Pictures

Making a wish at the Trevi Fountain in Rome!

Love these girls so much!

Florence, Italy

Amazing dinner our last night in Rome

Florence

Theta Love at the Collisium

Blessed

It is hard to believe that this amazing journey I am on is already half way over. It seems like just a week ago we were boarding the MV Explorer to begin our trip around the world. Time has flown by! At the beginning of all this, I really didn’t know what to expect. I knew that I would see many amazing places and have a great time, but I had no idea all of the other things I would feel and experience.

This trip is so much more than just getting to go to a handful of fun foreign places. It has become a life lesson that I have already learned so much from. I have learned that traveling is not just about sightseeing, but about learning and experiencing the culture of the people in each country we visit. I have learned that when in doubt, try something new, whether it be eating something I never thought I would like or jumping off the balcony of a boat 20 feet above the water.

I have also been made very aware of how truly blessed I am to live in the United States. We really take our freedom and rights for granted in the U.S. and this trip has made me very aware of how lucky I truly am. There are people all over the world who are deprived of their basic freedoms, don’t have money to put food on their table, or have no roof over their heads when they sleep at night. In Greece, as well as several other places we have been, I saw children, very young children, standing on streets alone trying to sell seashells they collected along the beach, toys, or other small trinkets. Imagine people in the U.S. sending their 6-year-old out to a busy street corner in Los Angeles, and expecting them to sell things to tourists. People would be appalled at this. These are children who are expected to act like adults, and help bring in an income for the family. What kind of childhood is that? Surely, it is not one I would ever want for my own children, and thankfully, I will never have to put my children through that. I have spoken with a young woman from Pakistan, who described the fear she feels every single time she walks outside her front door in her country: fear of being raped, fear of being shot, fear of being mocked, fear of being killed, fear of never having the right to her own decisions regarding her marriage. Its hard to even imagine what it would be like to have to worry about such things. Her basic fears are things we take for granted in the United States, but things I will now have a new appreciation for because I met her.

Where I am really going with all this, is just to say that I have become blatantly aware of what a wonderful life I have been blessed with. This journey has already made me grow in my faith, as I have realized the beauty of this world God created, as well as the hope that he can give people all over this world who are suffering and living in fear. When I was in Croatia, all I could think every time I stepped outside was how in awe of God I truly was, and am. I couldn’t help but wonder how a person could not believe in a God, when such beauty is everywhere around us. Just starting at the ocean from the cliffs in Dubrovnik, it is so obvious to me that nobody other than our amazing Father could have created such a thing. I know that I came on this trip not only to experience the world, but to grow in my faith. I have been blessed beyond measure, and I will always be grateful for this opportunity.