SPAIN

Where do I even begin? Spain was absolutely amazing. I loved every part of it and wish I could have stayed longer. I would have been content wandering the streets of Barcelona all day for another week. There is just so much to see and experience. The culture is just so different and it is so interesting to me to see how people live and function in these foreign places. I will definitely be taking another trip to Spain in the next few years though.

Although I absolutely did love the city, we definitely had some interesting things happen to us while we were there. Let me start at the beginning:

I planned to travel in Spain with three of my friends-Tiffany, Rene, and Cassidy. We had booked an apartment to stay in while in Barcelona a few months back. We all had field trips the first day, so once we all got back to the ship on Monday night we left to go explore and find our apartment. The taxi driver told us on the way that we needed to be very careful because we might get knocked out and stolen from. A little harsh right? So with that in mind, we got out of the taxi clinging to our purses and backpacks absolutely paranoid of getting mugged. We finally found the door to the place we were supposed to check in to our apartment, and when we get into the office, we all nearly had a breakdown. The apartment building was very creepy looking and old. The manager spoke no English, and since it was just us 4 girls, we were very nervous to be staying alone in the city. We finally got the keys to our apartment, and found out it was not even in the building with the office, but instead off of a side street from La Ramba. We found the street and after wandering around for 15 minutes, finally found the door to the building. It was covered in graffiti and we were all really anxious at this point. We walked up the stairs to the first door we saw, and tried to open it. Without luck, we decided to go to the next floor and try that door. Again, we could not open it. Finally, we went to the 4th floor (although it was supposedly the 2nd floor) and got the door open. We had one more door to get through, and then we walked into our apartment. To our surprise, the apartment was very large and nice. We were all so relieved to find that it was actually clean and felt safe. We all had our own bed, and plenty of space. Once we got settled in, we decided to go and explore La Ramba.

We had heard that there are a ton of pickpocketers in Barcelona so each of us had purchased money belts so we could hide our cash and credit cards. We walked down the street and just kind of absorbed everything around us. La Rambla is full of restaurants, vendors, clothing stores, and of course gypsies (pickpocketers) and is so interesting to just walk down and people watch. We ended up going to a restaurant that night and trying an authentic Spanish/Catalan dish, called Paella, along with a pitcher of Sangria. It was really, really good! After dinner, we met up with some friends and went out to a few bars, where there was tons of other Semester at Sea students. I had a really good time!

The next morning, after getting only about 3 hours of sleep, we did a bike tour through Fat Tire Bike Tours, of the city. It was a 4-hour tour and we biked about 7 miles. We got to see many beautiful sights, including La Sagrada Familia and the Cathedral. Our tour guide-an Australian man named Buddha- was really wonderful. After the tour, we wandered around in the Gothic Quarter and did some window-shopping. Next, we went to La Boqueria, the famous market on La Rambla. I absolutely loved the market, and enjoyed taking pictures of the delicious foods everywhere. (Pictures to come!). After the market, we went to the apartment and got ready, and then had a really wonderful dinner at a nice Italian restaurant.

The next morning, we had to get up very early to catch our flight to Ibiza. We checked into our hotel in Ibiza and then decided to go find some lunch. We found a small café near the beach, and decided to eat there. The menu was a little strange looking, with a hodgepodge of different foods, so 3 of us just decided to get the lunch special, a hamburger and French fries. You can’t go wrong with a burger right? Wrong. The waitress brought out our food and my first thought was that does not look like a real burger. The meat (we aren’t actually sure if it was in fact meat) had a purple tint to it and resembled rubber. I decided to try it, thinking it wouldn’t possibly be that bad, and boy was I wrong. Lets just say that I will never be ordering a hamburger in Europe again. It is still a mystery to all of us what was in that burger, but it was surely not beef or even turkey. Yuck!

After lunch, we ran into three guys from Semester at Sea, and spent the day with them at the beach near the Bora Bora Beach Club. It is basically a bar on the beach that is a really fun hang out place for all the young people on the island. We didn’t see one other American there, and spent the day and early evening hanging out with people from England and Australia. Once we left the beach club, we headed back to our apartment to get ready for the evening. We then went to a nightclub called Space, which is supposedly one of the top clubs in the world. I had such a great time, and danced and talked to lots of people we met. We finally went back to our hotel around 4 am (which is apparently very early to be going to sleep in Ibiza!) and go at few hours of sleep before having to catch our flight back to Barcelona.

By the time we got back to the ship at 12 pm, I was so exhausted I could barely function. I came to my room and fell asleep for 6 hours! When I woke up, I took a shower, and apparently while I was in the shower, the Dean had come over the loudspeaker that goes throughout the boat and said, “If anyone knows where Alexandra Crowder is, please come to my desk right away.” I didn’t hear this though, so as I was getting dressed, I hear a knock at my door and open it, to find that there are at least 10 people crowded outside my door, looking very concerned. The dean, crewmembers, a steward, and several of my neighbors were all standing there looking at me. I was so confused! Apparently, when I had gotten on the boat, my card didn’t register so they didn’t know I was on the boat. Everyone thought I was still in Ibiza or Barcelona and was missing, when in fact I had been asleep in my room all day! They told me that they had been looking for me for hours! I was so embarrassed, but it was pretty funny. Everyone kept coming up to me on the ship tonight asking where I had been and if I was okay. I guess next time I need to double check that my card is swiped correctly, because I caused quite a scene!

That’s all for now, but I have so many other things to write about Spain. I’m going to try to get some sleep for now, since I need to be well rested for Italy on Saturday!

What a Beautiful World

Today, I have been truly amazed by God. Everywhere I look around me, I am surrounded by beauty. The sky tonight when the sun was setting was just absolutely amazing. There is just no way you can look at a sunset like that over the ocean, and not have faith there is a God out there who created it. I wish I could post pictures right now of what the sky looked like. They will be coming soon enough though.

Besides the beauty of the sky tonight, I have really just had a wonderful day and have felt so blessed. I spent the day going to class then laying at the pool, and then after dinner I met with about 35 girls who are all Christians and want to be apart of a Bible study this summer on the ship. We all just kind of told a little about ourselves and got to know one another. We are going to start having a women’s Bible study at least once a week for the rest of the trip, and I am so excited to meet other girls who share my faith. After the group meeting was over, about 8 of us girls went out on the deck and just talked and shared our stories. It was really great to hear everyone’s stories and know that everyone has struggles in life, but because of our loving Father, we can get through anything we are faced with, and our faith will only grow stronger.

I think this trip is going to just continue to make me more and more aware of what an amazing God we have. There are so many beautiful and surreal things I know that I am going to see on this journey. I will continue to be in awe of God and in wonder of all the things he has created and the beauty of this life because of Him.
We are now only a few hours away from arriving in Barcelona. I’m just packing up my things for the next few days, and I am so ecstatic to see the city! I will take tons of pictures, and I will update you all as soon as I get back on the ship on July 30th.

XOXO

We Made It to the Mediterranean!!

Just a few hours ago, the ship went from the Atlantic through the Straight of Gibralter into the Mediterranean Sea. I was taking a nap when we went through, but when I woke up, I was amazed to see the coast of Spain only a few hundred feet away! We are currently docked so that we can refuel, and will be at a standstill for 5 hours total. Its hard to believe we literally jsut sailed across the entire Atlantic Ocean.

I was so relieved when the ship stopped because I have been battlng sea sickness for the past 24 hours. Its so nice to walk down the halls without running into them! Yesterdday was a tough day at sea, with very rough conditions. The waves were huge and the boat was rocking back and forth all day and night. Almost everyone was sea sick. Even with the sea sick patch I have been wearing, I still felt terrible. I ended up going to the Health Clinic downstairs and receiving a shot to help with the nausea. It took awhile to kick in, but thank goodness it did!

Although it seems like we are so close to getting off the boat, we still have all day tonight and tomorrow to sail to Barcelona. We arrive in Barcelona at 8am on Monday morning (thats 11pm Sunday in California!) The first thing I am going to do is find some good food to eat! Ive heard that the Spanish eat up to 5 times a day, so I will definitely make up for the small amount of food I have been eating on the ship!

We have one more day of classes tomorrow, and then we have a 2 week break before our next class. I am really going to enjoy this break and take advantage of all that time to relax and just enjoy Spain and Italy. I had two tests this morning so I have had a busy week of studying and writing papers for my psychology class. I am just relieved that it is over temporarily!

I will hopefully be able to post pictures very soon. I have some great ones that I took today of the coast from the boat.

I miss everyone at home! Thanks for following my blog, and don't forget to email me!

I just uploaded 2 pictures to my facebook (practically used all of my internet time) so go and look at them! I can't put any on my blog until I get to port, but there are plenty to come. I wrote a VERY long blog post yesterday and the internet shut down and I lost everything I wrote, so I will give more of an update tomorrow after my 2 tests.

Short update:
We are 3 days away from Spain.
We saw land yesterday morning; it was just an island owned by Portugal. First land I have seen in a week!
I have gotten a very nice tan so far.
The food hasn't gotten any better, so I am beyond excited to get off the boat and eat in Spain.
I am loving this trip so far!

xoxo

Day 3

I can already tell that this trip is going to fly by. Its already been three days and I feel like I just got here. I keep thinking about the idea that I am on a ship in the middle of the ocean, literally, the middle. So crazy to really think about. After class yesterday, I went and laid out on the deck and was just amazed at how beautiful the ocean is. The closest land is hundreds of miles away, and it feels like you could look forever and only see the ocean. Pretty amazing! Its going to be hard coming home to Waco, Texas after living on a boat sailing on the ocean for 2 months. Sorry to say Texas, but I don't miss you one bit right now!

Here is what my days are looking like while I am on the boat:

7:00 am-wake up and get ready for class
7:30 am-breakfast
8:00 am-Meditteranean Civilzation course
9:20 am-Global Studies course
10:45 am-Controversial Issues in Psychology course
12:00 pm-lunch
1:00 pm-work out
1:45 pm-lay out/swim/socialize on the deck (homework?)
5:30 pm-dinner
Nightime-homework/meet people/hang out/games/etc.

So as you can see, my mornings are pretty busy, but the rest of my day is free to relax and enjoy having nothing to worry about except my three classes. I really odn't think too many things could beat this experience...and I haven't even made it to Europe yet and I'm already saying that!

One negative though...the food! Its not that it tastes awful, its just that we eat basically the same exact thing at every single meal! You will ALWAYS find some sort of potatos, whether its breakfast, lunch or dinner. Then there is always rice and salad. Usually decent tasting bread. And lastly, some strange looking meat. So far, I have basically been a vegetarian because the meat is just not too appealing! By the time we get to port I'm probably going to be starving. I can't wait to try all ot the food in each country, its going to be wonderful!

I must say, I am pleasantly suprised at how well these sea sick patches work. I have felt a little dizzy a few times, but haven't gotten motion sickness at all! And let me tell you, this boat is VERY rocky. Walking down the halls can often be a challenge and everyoen is always grabbing only the rails. If you don't, you look like you can't walk straight much like someone who has had to much to drink! Its actually pretty funny watching everyone walk around that way. I've been told when I get off the boat I am going to feel really weird and walk funny since I have been on the ship for so long!

Whoever is following this blog, please email me! I'd love to hear from my friends and family at home. I posted my email a few days ago but I'll tell you again, its: ancrowder@semesteratsea.net

I hope to hear from some of you soon and I will keep this blog updated as best I can. Pictures will be coming in a few weeks, probably when I am in Croatia!

Sending Mail!

If you want to send me anything by mail whle I am gone, follow this link and all the directions are on the website.

http://www.semesteratsea.org/current-voyage/overview/staying-in-touch.php

Day 2

Good morning from somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean! I just finished eating breakfast and am now just waiting for orientation to begin. We have an all day orientation to learn everything about the boat, the program, rules, and all that fun stuff. Hopefully its more fun than it sounds.

 

Classes begin tomorrow so I am excited to meet my professors and see what the classes are going to be like. It looks like all of the classrooms are very small so its going to be a very different experience than taking classes at Baylor! I'm taking three courses: Global Studies, Controversial Issues in Psychology, and History of the Meditteranean. They all should be really interesting classes!

 

I am a little sea sick right now. The boat rocks A LOT and I feel like I am going to fall over a lot of the time when I am walking. I have sea sick patches that I'm using that are definitely helping but I can't help but feel a little queasy when the boat hits rough patches. My room is at the very very front of the boat so its especially rocky in there. Fortunately, I don't spend much time in there and I have friends in nicer rooms where I can hang out!

 

Time for me to go to orientation, I will update you all soon!

 

 

 

Day 1

I have finally boarded the MV Explorer, my home for the next two months! The ship is amazing and full of really wonderful staff. My room is...small to say the least, but thats okay, I don't intend on spending much time in it anyway. (I'll post a picture of it later, its definitely not whats in the pictures on the SAS website!) Besides the tiny room though, I am loving being on the boat. We set sail at about 5 pm and will be at sea until June 27th when we arrive in Barcelona, Spain. It was beautiful leaving the port in the Bahamas and everyone was out on the decks taking picutres. Right now we are sailing along at a speed of 21.1 knots (no idea what the means, but I know its pretty fast).

I just got my shipboard email account, so if you would like to email me/me to send you more personal updates, just shoot me an email so I have your address. I'm not really able to access my old account so I have no email addresses except my moms!

My email is: ancrowder@semesteratsea.net

Unfortunately I can't post any pictures until I get into port, but I am taking lots so they will be up soon enough!

And it begins

We are in the Bahamas right now! I am sharing a room with 5 girls and so far we are having a blast. We spent today relaxing on the beach and in the pool at our hotel. The beaches are beautiful here and I'm getting a nice tan (much needed!). The girls in my room and I are all getting ready to go to dinner in a little while at Senor Frogs. There are a ton of SAS students going tonight so I am excited to go and hang out and meet everyone!

Were hoping to have a better dinner experience than we did last night...let me explain. We were flipping through a travel guide book that suggested to go to a restaurant called Twin Brothers. We asked the conceirge about it and they told us we should go and how to get there. After taking a bus to the restaurant, we went inside and asked to sit on the deck. The host led us upstairs to a deck that overlooked the lovely street (actually creepy street) and sat us on the "deck" where we were the only people up there. We started looking at the menu and were excited to try their "famous" daquris, but no one ever came to take our order. About 30 minutes (maybe more) later, we still hadn't been helped, or even seen a single sole who worked at the restaurant. We decided we were tired of waiting so we all went downstairs and asked to be sat at a table down there, where other people were. And once again...nobody ever came to our table! Frusterated, we decided to try the restaurant next door...bad idea. A man at the front of the restaurant led us upstairs to a table on  a deck with 2 other tables with people. We sat down relieved to see servers around. Hoping for a yummy frozen drink, we all wanted to order a daquari. The waitress came to take our order though, and told us they didn't even have them! At this point, we were all frusterated with the Bahamian hospitality and service and decided to leave and go to Atlantis Resort where we would PAY for good service. Finally, we ended up going to a great restaurant and having good food and great drinks AND good service!

Lets hope for a better experience tonight!!

I get on the boat at 8:20 am tomorrow morning and I can't wait to meet my roommate and get settled on the boat. This is definitely going to be an experience of a lifetime.

Miss and love all my family and friends in the U.S.! I'll post my email address on here as soon as I get it tomorrow.

And the packing begins...

Its finally here... I leave for Semester at Sea in 4 days!! Hard to believe its already time to begin this amazing experience. I will be flying out of LAX on the evening of June 14th and arriving in Nassau, The Bahamas the next morning around 9:00 a.m. I will spend two days there staying at the Sheraton with friends, and then board the MV Explorer on June 17th at 8a.m.!  From there, we will set sail for Barcelona, Spain, and be at sea until our arrival in Spain on June 27th. I'll be updating this during that time hopefully, so check back and see whats giong on onboard the boat!