España

I suppose I should update this, especially now that I’m actually doing things.


First of all, Spain was a really great country to start off this voyage. I absolutely loved it. Dinner doesn’t start there until 9-10pm, and people typically stay out until 4am or later. It was totally normal for restaurants to be completely packed with families (kids too) at 2 in the morning. And it’s not a big deal because every day there is siesta time from 2-5 in the afternoon where all businesses close for a nation-wide nap. Why can’t we have something like that in America? Seriously. Anyways, I spent all of my time in Cadiz and Seville, both really fun cities in the southernmost province, Andalucía. Cadiz is right on the water and everything is walking distance from the port. I spent a lot of time exploring the old town and hanging out at the beach (I am going to be so tan when I get back, you guys won’t believe it). Seville is a two-hour train ride north, and I spent a few days there with some other girls. We ended up getting lost trying to find a hostel, so we went into a random flamenco dance museum / studio (?) and this old man named Joaquim who spoke really good English was nice enough to actually walk us to our destination. Later we went back to see a show and he got us in for only 10 euro + we got front row seats. Then he recommended a restaurant in the Jewish district which had amazing tapas. Tapas can be any kind of food and are basically just Spanish snacks. I didn’t eat a real meal once in Spain, just 3 or 4 tapas wherever I went. They’re perfect for people who are indecisive when ordering food at restaurants (Mitch). Joaquim ended up meeting us at the restaurant later with his Italian student workers who were studying abroad in Spain and working at the flamenco studio to gain experience. After dinner (so, like 11pm), he gave us a personal tour of Seville by night. We ended up seeing so much of the city, a guidebook would never compare. He took us to this hotel built around Roman ruins where you could still see the columns from ancient Rome. There were so many atriums filled with plants and fountains and Roman art. It was the most beautiful hotel I have ever been to. I really wish I could remember the name but I had had a few glasses of sangria by that point and my memory is a little fuzzy. The next day we went to the Cathedral, which is the largest in Spain and the largest Gothic Cathedral in the world. We also went to the alcázar, where the Castiles and a bunch of other famous Spaniards lived. It was so gigantic and elaborately decorated; I can’t imagine how long it took to build. All of the architecture was Islamic from when the Moors ruled Spain, so the walls were covered in detailed and colorful Mosaics. I love Islamic art. But the gardens were the best part. I tried uploading pictures from the Cathedral my last day in Spain (yes, there is free wifi at the CATHEDRAL in Cadiz) but it was taking too long, so those will have to wait. In the meantime, I’m just going to ask all of you to google “Alcázar de Sevilla”.

I’ve been in Morocco for four days now. I just got back to the ship from Marrakech today and I was planning on writing about it, but I’m exhausted and it will have to wait. Bon soir, mes amis.

4th day at sea:

the food here is starting to get really monotonous. everyday is the same. even when it's not the same, it tastes same. these 23 hour days are really starting to bug me, especially since the time changes always happen in the middle of the night, so i'm constantly being robbed of precious sleep. there's actually another time change tonight - this means i'll be 7 hours ahead of all of you on pacific time.




on a brighter note, the weather has been really beautiful. it's sunny almost every day, and even when it's cloudy it's still really warm. i had no idea it was this nice in the middle of nowhere (this is the first time i have used the phrase "middle of nowhere" and really, truly meant it) in the atlantic ocean. a few days ago there was a pod of dolphins jumping behind the ship. still no whale sightings.



tomorrow we'll be passing the azores islands at 7 in the morning. i am actually considering waking up early just to see them. it feels like it's been forever since i've seen land.









P.S. my e-mail address is actually krivers@semesteratsea.net

e-mail me! i miss all of you.

i thought hurricane season was over!

i'm on a boat and
it's going fast and
i got a nautical themed pashmina afghan.
i'm the king of the world on a boat like Leo
if you're on the shore, then you're sure not me, this boat is real.


but really. i'm on a boat. that's about all i have to say. we're attempting to dodge two hurricanes right now so it's pretty rocky. and when i say pretty rocky i mean everyone slams into walls when they walk and people have to run out in the middle of class to vomit and it's extremely difficult to sleep because the drawers in my room are constantly opening and closing themselves. but i'm feeling gooood.


yesterday i saw archbishop desmond tutu give a speech and then he sat next to me. i was as giddy as a schoolgirl. he smells nice and laughs a lot. it's going to be amazing having him here when we're in south africa.


six days 'til spain six days til spain six days 'til spain...

halifax is humid and happy, but i have a bladder infection and i miss mitch.  i don't know how to write blogs, i'm sorry.

I JUST LOVE INTRODUCTIONS!

and geography!

(for some reason singapore isn't titled here - it's the dot under ho chi minh city)

so here's what's up:

i fly to halifax august 25th, and i sail out of halifax august 27th.  the first port we enter is in cadiz, spain, and the boat pretty much sails east-ish from there. constantly changing time zones means i'm regularly going to lose hours but when i cross the international dateline between japan and hawaii, i'm going to gain an entire day (i'm pretty sure this means two thanksgivings). i get back to the states (san diego) december 13th.  i'm not sure when i'll be back in washington, because i'll most definitely have to pay six flags and possibly disneyland a visit while i'm in so-cal.

i'm going to be in school the entire time, since the boat also functions as a small college (604 students). i'm taking four classes...

+family, community, and utopia

+globalization and local cultures

+world religions

+global studies

most of these are anthropology classes and all of them relate to the countries i'll be visiting.  since my time will be spent 55% on land and 45% on water, i have class every day when the boat is at sea, even if it's the weekend or a holiday. when the boat is in port there are no classes and i'm pretty much free to do whatever i want.

it's very likely that the next four months are going to be the best of my entire life and everyone should feel free to live vicariously though this blog.  

i think i'm done with this introduction now.  more to come in 10 days.