Spain in a Nutshell...

As I sit in the casino turned computer lab on the 6^th deck of the MV Explorer, my head is dizzy with recent memories of my time in Barcelona and Madrid and the overwhelming excitement of visiting Rome in the morning.

I should be sleeping right now. Spain is not a country for relaxing. Its people and culture call for drama, passion, and above all, fun. I did not miss a second of it for sleep and am now paying the price. We only had one day between Spain and Italy, so today the ship was busy with students planning last minute trips and comparing hostel locations.Essentially, we were all trying to plan a week in Italy in one day on a ship without free internet. Fun. I made a lot of friends with my “MTV’s Guide to Italy” travel book.

Since I was too busy seeing the sights of Spain the past few days to write, I will attempt to summarize my time in this wonderful country. Please bear in mind my sleep deprivation in judging any factual or grammatical mistakes.

First let me say that any expectations I had for this country where either met or surpassed. The Woody Allen flick “Vicky, Christina, Barcelona” and the 1960’s Ann Margaret musical “The Pleasure Seekers” were about all I had to go on when it came to what to expect for this country, and neither prepared me for the vibrant spirit of this place. As our voyage pushes further and further away from my home and my comfort zone, my sensitivity to the acute similarities and differences in the human condition have heightened considerably. Spaniards have provided quality material for comparison to the people of America in almost every respect. Nothing brings out human nature in its rawest form like economic struggle, so it was quite easy to observe the social priorities of the Spanish people. After only a few nights in the country, it has become apparent that the common goal for all of Spain is to have fun.

Breakfast of Champions

Prepping for the "Boy scout" with Leah and Andrea

Cheers!!!

Americans dream of big cars, huge houses, golden retrievers, and summer beach getaways. Here, they just want to have a good time. How could you not preoccupied with partying in a place where dinner does not begin until 11:00 p.m. and clubs do not open until 1:30 a.m. at the earliest? Spaniards make having fun a priority. They plan ahead for late nights by taking siestas and often stay out until 8:00 a.m. when the clubs are finally closed. It isn’t only the young who engage in this nocturnal lifestyle. Three generations might go out together and savor dinner until far past most American’s bedtime. I found myself feeling pretty lame on the nights I got back to the ship at 4:30 a.m., as many of my peers made it much later than that.

Eating in Spain is another sacred priority. They eat light breakfast in the morning to recover from the night before, consume a substantial lunch around 2:00 p.m., save room for tapas and drinks in the evening around 7:00, and linger over dinner in the late evening at 10:00 or 11:00. And to think that at home mothers go crazy at the suggestion of dinner after 6:30! Food here is quite good. I’m ashamed to admit that I had previously assumed Spanish food would be an ancestor of Mexican food. I was expecting to find fajitas, tortillas, guacamole etc., but was pleasantly mistaken. It would be easy to describe the food here if there was something to compare it to, but there really isn’t. It’s just good. Delicious, really. Tapas, good. Croquetas, good. Café con leche, good. Churros, good. Cheap sangria, GOOOD. “Bueno” was the most frequently used adjective of the trip.

With so much attention given to eating and partying, one must beg the question of when Spaniards sleep. In short, they don’t. Spain as a whole gets less sleep then the rest of Europe averaging at 6 hours a night. In the entire time I spent in the country, four days and three nights, I think my grand total came to 10 hours. It was a wonderful time, but hardly a sustainable lifestyle.

In comparison to the United States, Spain as a whole puts much more effort into enjoying life. The region of Catalonia in particular has more holidays than any other region, and the diplomat briefing our ship assured us that the people take advantage of all of these opportunities to enjoy themselves. Spain’s economic woes become easier to understand after seeing the culture’s preoccupation with having a good time. After all, who has time to be an ambitious workaholic when they are planning out which tapas bar to frequent?

After two nights in Barcelona, Leah, Katie and I caught the Ave, a high speed train, to Madrid to visit two friends from TCU. If Barcelona was fun, then Madrid was amazing. Perhaps some of the charm of this city came from the fact that I was with a local, my friend Ardena, who spoke the language and knew the city, but I feel pretty confident that it was more than that. This city is full of the beauty one expects from a capital, but still retains a sense of charm. It seems silly to be gushing over a place I spent fewer than 24 hours in, but it was worth every penny of the excessively expensive train ticket (SORRY MOM!) and I would suggest this place to anyone.

In short, Spain was a smashing success. I’d go back in a heartbeat. Plus, I take great pride in saying that I was not arrested, drugged, robbed or pick pocketed. I was careful and safe and utilized the buddy system like nobody’s business. I saw the sights, soaked up the culture, basked in the sun, and took full advantage of the nightlife. I couldn’t ask for anything more.

Always,

Bonnie

p.s. Happy Birthday Mom! Wish I could be there…

Ready to Rambla!

I woke up this morning at 6:30 to watch the ship dock in the first port of my voyage—Barcelona!!!

It is 10:45 our time and I’ve already spent the day seeing the major sights of the city. Once we were docked, I was off the ship and shopping (what else?) the famous La Rambla Street that runs through the center of the city. After passing Christopher Columbus’ statue (He was a Spaniard you know) my friends and I reached a tree lined boulevard whose shopping, eating and general character rivaled that of any street in any city I’ve ever seen before. We had been warned extensively about the dangers of pick pocketing in this area, so we took it upon ourselves to be as theft resistant as possible with our belongings, keeping on hand on our across-the-shoulder purses at all times and developing code words for alerting others to potential criminals. I think we may have surpassed the secret service in our alertness to our surroundings, and the mere event of taking cash out of the ATM was more carefully orchestrated than most military maneuvers.

All that caution and the most questionable character I encountered all day turned out to be a lost Scottish man. La Rambla was probably a little quieter today than usual as yesterday was some or other saints day and apparently a HUGE holiday for Barcelona in which everyone stays up all night partying. Many businesses in the less touristy areas were closed for the day, and the diplomat who briefed the ship assured us that those who did have to work today would most likely be half asleep, hung over, or both. I suppose I haven’t gotten a true impression of the city yet, because the diplomat was correct on all counts. At the Tapas bar I stopped at for lunch, the waiter wouldn’t even let us order, and street performers all seemed to lack a certain zeal. Maybe even the pick pockets were too tired to give us any trouble, because in a country with 20 percent unemployment, pick pocketing is a truly competitive career path that is really more of an art form than a profession.

Having fewer people around was nice I think. It gave me a chance to see many of the city’s most famous landmarks in peace. So far I’ve seen the Sagrada Familia, driven past the Olympic pavilion, and seen lots of other cool places I can neither recall nor spell at this moment but were all truly magnificent. I promise. After a day of exploring (if you can call charter bus guided tours exploring, and I don’t think you can) I settled in for dinner and a not so authentic Flamenco show that was nonetheless very impressive.

Now I must go. I’m meeting friends to head out to the city once more—the Spaniards are finally waking up!

Buenas Noches!

Bonnie

Hola Spain!!!

We made it to Spain this morning!  Today I will by touring some of Gaudi's best work, watching Flamenco, and meeting Spaniards. (and carefully watching my purse, of course!)  I’ll keep you posted!

 

Love,

 

Bonnie

Out to Sea

Wow.

I've been on my trip for about a week now and I've discovered that it is truly impossible to put this overwhelming experience into words. Classes are in full swing and while I expected that to put a damper on things, I am instead excited to be studying subjects and events and are very pertinent to my upcoming travels in the Mediterranean.

To give you a taste of life on the ship, I will try to walk through a day on the MV Explorer.

900 hours: Wake up. Having missed the ridiculously early breakfast time of 730-830, I stumble towards the 24 hour coffee machine and rush into my Global Studies classroom.

920-1035 hours: Global Studies. Try to stay awake as I learn about Mediterranean history, culture, military conquests, religion, landscape, language, geography, and current events. Interesting stuff, truly.

1035-1130 hours: Nap, read for class, tan, or all of the above before I make my way to the dinning room for lunch.

1130-1230 hours: Take a leisurely lunch on the ship’s deck while trying to imagine the food I will soon be eating in the countries I am to visit. Ignore the fact that the food I am currently eating is well below par, because I am, in fact, floating on a glorious ship in the middle of the ocean and have little, if anything to complain about.

1230-1455 hours: Think about maybe getting ready for class. Complete readings and/or assignments. If there are none, hang out with friends, make tentative travel plans, meet new friends, and/or watch dolphins from the top deck.

1455-1610 hours: Literature of the Mediterranean World. This class has close to 8 books assigned as required reading, two of which we will have covered by the end of today. My professor is actually a highly esteemed dean at UVA, so the pressure is on to make a good impression. Too bad the last time I thought about literature was in high school.

1615-1730 hours: Creativity in Entrepreneurship. I got this one approved by Neeley on an oversight. Thank goodness, because I really love this class!!! The fact that it goes towards my major is icing.

1730-2130 hours: Dinner, social time, watch the sunset, possible attendance at a seminar, relax.

2130 hours: Bar on top deck opens. By bar, I mean American beer and red or white wine served in plastic cups that are usually used as kiddie juice cups in 24 hour dinners. You know the kind. They also serve ramen noodle at this bar. I think they know their audience.

2330 hours: Bar closes.

Since we lose an hour each night on the way across the ocean, a night might typically stop here. It may also continue into the wee hours with conversation and board games. Or homework—we do actually have that here.

As you can see, I’m living the life. I don’t think I will ever want to leave.

Today is also Father’s day, so if there is anything I am sad about, it is that I cannot be with my dad today. I love you dad, Happy Father’s Day!!!

Sincerely,

Bonnie

Spain--Here I Come!!!

Today was eventful.

Not only did we finally pass through the infamous Straits of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean Sea, but I also learned all about the artistic genius of Salvador Dali, the architectural brilliance of Gaudi, and the varying prices of food and drinks on and off of the world famous Las Ramblas in Barcelona.   After losing yet another hour of sleep last night I slept in a bit this morning.  When I went to lunch I was invited to sit with the captain in the main dining room and learned all about the life of a sailor.  As it turns out, being a captain of a cruise ship requires up to and over ten years of education.  Our captain, and friendly and handsome British fellow who has literally been all over the world, completed the extensive schooling at a young age and claims that SAS is his favorite gig yet. 

He also discussed the growing risk of pirates in certain areas of the globe.  When SAS crossed through the Suez Canal a few years ago, he took the ship up to full speed so that any boat attempting to board would have a difficult time even pulling alongside the ship.  He assured us that even if pirates were to board our vessel, they would most likely let us go as holding 700 college kids hostage is a very daunting task—even for a pirate.

Barcelona is almost here!  Tomorrow night we will dock and Thursday I will be exploring the city!!!  There is so much to do there that I hardly know where to begin. Tonight I went to a seminar on the many activities of Barcelona given by a 20 year old college student who is a native of the city.  He warned about pick pockets, gave tips on the best tourist activities and assured us that since the subway closes at 2 a.m. on Fridays, we would have to take a taxi home because at that point in Barcelona the party is only getting started.  Most clubs in this city stay open past 7:00 a.m.!  I cannot even imagine…

Passing the Straits of Gibraltar this afternoon was a nice reminder that there is in fact land waiting for me.  It was a pretty amazing experience to see Spain on one side of the ship and Africa on the other. 

Have to go.

Best wishes,

Bonnie

Question of the Day 6/21

Every day during announcements, one of the deans repeats a stupid question heard on board the ship that day.  Some of them have been pretty funny, including inquiries as to the extinction of Lobsters, and how one asks for Italian food in Italy.  Today the question was “What is the current altitude of the ship?” 

Ocean Swells and Faint Spells

Today began with an ocean as placid as a lake and ended with a hopelessly depleted supply of Dramamine.  It is funny how quickly conditions can change while you are in the middle of the Atlantic, and I was taken aback at how much of a difference a few hours made in the stability of the ship. 

I’ve been nursing a pretty serious sunburn since two days ago, but it has not stopped me from spending every free minute outside on the top deck.  Reading and relaxing while watching the sunrise, sunset or any other time of the day from the top of the ship is still one of my favorite things about being here.  Beyond that, I have found myself increasingly fond of the friends I have met, and never before have I felt so close to people I have known for little over a week.  The people I met on the airplane to Halifax still remain some of my closest acquaintances.  There is that certain camaraderie that always exists between passengers who survive a hellish, delayed layover together, but rarely do these passengers get the chance to share that fast friendship beyond the duration of the flight.  We did, and so far I’ve really enjoyed the company of everyone I’ve met, whether on that flight or not.

I have also found that my interest in class is heightened on the ship, and I am in that rare state of mind that involves being overly excited about class readings, eager to complete assignments, and enthusiastic about my professors.  This academic high may not last long, but I am going to ride it for all its worth and hopefully get ahead in my classes while I can.

Tonight I took a travel sketching seminar with Leah and was reminded of my art lessons with Mrs. Tonya from grade school.  I was pretty impressed with my abilities, especially since the ship seemed intent on thrusting me across the room.  That was until I looked at the other students’ drawings, all of whom were art/graphic design majors, and realized that I have quite a ways to go before I can call myself a sketch artist.  For now I am going to file that skill into the ladylike-skills-I-need-to-improve category along with cooking and mending clothes.  We will see how it turns out.

I wasn’t very social tonight because for the first time yet this voyage I got legitimately sea sick.  All better now, but for a while it was not pretty.  Tomorrow we pass the Rock of Gibraltar at noon, and I am thrilled at the idea of passing a significant piece of land.  We are almost to Barcelona—Can’t wait!!!

Yours truly,

Bonnie

p.s. If you would like to reach me, I can receive free email on the ship at bkreay@semesteratsea.net.

Out to Sea

Wow.

I'm been on my trip for about a week now and I've discovered that it is truly impossible to put this overwhelming experience into words. Classes are in full swing and while I expected that to put a damper on things, I am instead excited to be studying subjects and events and are very pertinent to my upcoming travels in the Mediterranean.

To give you a taste of life on the ship, I will try to walk through a day on the MV Explorer.

900 hours: Wake up. Having missed the ridiculously early breakfast time of 730-830, I stumble towards the 24 hour coffee machine and rush into my Global Studies classroom.

920-1035 hours: Global Studies. Try to stay awake as I learn about Mediterranean history, culture, military conquests, religion, landscape, language, geography, and current events. Interesting stuff, truly.

1035-1130 hours: Nap, read for class, tan, or all of the above before I make my way to the dinning room for lunch.

1130-1230 hours: Take a leisurely lunch on the ship’s deck while trying to imagine the food I will soon be eating in the countries I am to visit. Ignore the fact that the food I am currently eating is well below par, because I am, in fact, floating on a glorious ship in the middle of the ocean and have little, if anything to complain about.

1230-1455 hours: Think about maybe getting ready for class. Complete readings and/or assignments. If there are none, hang out with friends, make tentative travel plans, meet new friends, and/or watch dolphins from the top deck.

1455-1610 hours: Literature of the Mediterranean World. This class has close to 8 books assigned as required reading, two of which we will have covered by the end of today. My professor is actually a highly esteemed dean at UVA, so the pressure is on to make a good impression. Too bad the last time I thought about literature was in high school.

1615-1730 hours: Creativity in Entrepreneurship. I got this one approved by Neeley on an oversight. Thank goodness, because I really love this class!!! The fact that it goes towards my major is icing.

1730-2130 hours: Dinner, social time, watch the sunset, possible attendance at a seminar, relax.

2130 hours: Bar on top deck opens. By bar, I mean American beer and red or white wine served in plastic cups that are usually used as kiddie juice cups in 24 hour dinners. You know the kind. They also serve ramen noodle at this bar. I think they know their audience.

2330 hours: Bar closes.

Since we lose an hour each night on the way across the ocean, a night might typically stop here. It may also continue into the wee hours with conversation and board games. Or homework—we do actually have that here.

As you can see, I’m living the life. I don’t think I will ever want to leave.

Today is also Father’s day, so if there is anything I am sad about, it is that I cannot be with my dad today. I love you dad, Happy Father’s Day!!!

Sincerely,

Bonnie

I'm on a Boat, Err, Ship

Well, I made it.  I am settled into my outside, deck four cabin on the MV Explorer and I am ready to go.  Yesterday was quite possibly the longest day of my life.  It was Leah’s birthday, so we rang in her twentieth year at midnight in a karaoke bar in Halifax.  SAS students had taken over the town, and we had a great night meeting people, dancing, talking with Halifax locals, and performing a less than perfect rendition of “Don’t Stop Believing” that brought down the house.  After some terrible Canadian pizza and a few hours of sleep, it was time to board the ship.

I lugged my luggage down to the port and was faced with one of my most dreaded things in the world: a line that stretched for what had to be half a mile.  After four hours (more than I had slept the night before) of standing in the ridiculously cold Canada summer weather, we were on the ship and ready to go!!!

Our room is a closet.  Seriously.  I thought my dorm room was bad—try three girls in closet for 66 days.  At least it is a closet with a view.  We have a window room and I find myself inexplicably captivated by the gently rolling ocean.   There was a bit of seasickness going around, but at the first sign of queasiness I took a Dramamine and went to bed.  Now I am good as new and eager, or maybe not so eager, to start classes tomorrow.  So far, so good!

Bon Voyage,

Bonnie

Canada, Oh Canada

We arrived yesterday after a long day of travel in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia. This charming city is home to 290,000 people, making it by far the most sparsely populated local on my itinerary. I was not quite sure what to expect from the country, but so far I have been extremely impressed with the people's friendly demeanor, the extreme cleanliness, and the number of fun restaurants and pubs.

I was really worried about meeting other Semester at Sea students upon arrival, but luckily, that was not a problem. Everyone I have met so far has been exceedingly friendly and eager to discuss the trip. Last night we put together a big group of kids to check out the Halifax nightlife. Seeing as how it was late at night on a Sunday, and Halifax is not the most hoppin' place around, we walked for blocks without seeing a soul. Finally we stumbled upon what can only be described as the most overpriced, American restaurant I've ever been to. But it was open and we were starving, so Boston's it was. As soon as we left, we immediately stumbled upon a street packed with restaurants and bars, all still open and with a much more student friendly budget and aesthetic appeal. One of these proudly claimed to be the "Hottest bar east of Montreal." Yep, I was in Canada all right.

I look forward to taking it easy today and exploring at a slow pace. Hopefully I will meet even more lovely SAS travelers and learn a thing or two about this ridiculously cute city. For now I'm going to spend a few more moments in my comfy bed and dream about the trip I am about to take. One day to departure!!!

Much love and good times,

Bonnie