Dear Long Lost Friend (=air conditioning)

Ah so glad to be back in the air-conditioned, clean room. I’m watching Slumdog Millionaire and Monster Inc. Lovin’ it.

This is why I love Semester at Sea: Shea and I went to breakfast on the upper deck and we sat with a random guy and girl that we have never met! Now we are all going out around Naples today! I love making new friends and getting to know everyone! Along with us, our neighbors are coming, Trevor and Ryan, from Boulder. It will be a fun group! I decide my outfit based on whom we are going with. If there are guys in the group, I can dress cuter because I won’t be afraid of being approached by creeps on the street. If guys are with us, we get left alone. If it’s just me and Shea, I try to blend in and wear stuff that is neutral-colored, because I don’t want anyone following Shea and me without guys protecting us! In Rome, two guys followed us for quite a while, so we stayed on the main street and just walked back and forth. They finally left us alone.

So this afternoon we just wandered around Naples, and checked everything out! It was a free day so we made no plans, just adventured. First, it started off with about 7 people. We walked around and found our way to town (away from the cruise ships’ port). While we were randomly walking around, probably looking lost, an old man, with really nice clothes on, walked up to us and started speaking bits of English. He was telling us to go to the top of Naples to a castle where you can see everything including Pompeii and Capri etc. He was so nice and friendly! We were thinking that he might ask for a tip once he showed us where to go, because that seems to be the expectation from everyone for us. He walked with us for about 15 minutes, all the way up to the lift that takes us to the top! He showed us where to get the tickets and explained where to get off and where to go. Right before we got onto the lift (he walked us up directly to it), we handed him a tip we gathered. He refused it and said, “No my friends, I help you!” He was so nice and we would have never found out about this or have known what to do without him! It cost 1.10 Euros, so cheap for what we saw today! We rode the lift in a little tunnel all the way to the top of the mountain, but we couldn’t see anything yet. Once we got to the top, we hoped off, and saw tons of people, cafes, and shops! It was much more of what we were looking for, unlike the base by the port. We followed some signs that led us to the entrance of Castle Elmo. Once we went through a little art museum, we went up a lot of stairs and walked the entire edge of this huge castle! We were the only ones there and we could see for miles! I could see all of Naples, the beaches, the ocean, and Mount Vesuvius! It was breathtaking, and pretty hot. We hung out on the top for an hour or so, and then headed back to the lift to take us down (the ticket was valid for 90 minutes). That was definitely the highlight of the day. The pictures we took look like the view on postcards showing the view of Naples! I wonder if any of our friends knew how to get up there or even knew it was there! If it weren’t for the kind Italian man, we would’ve missed the best view of Italy that I’ve ever seen! At one point, Shea asked him to draw his house structure (it was for a class) and I don’t think he understood. He took the paper she handed him, folded it, put it in his pocket, and said, “Niiiiice,” while smiling. We laughed so hard but we let him keep it. I wonder what he was thinking we were trying to tell him or show him… Haha.

After we came back down to the hustle and bustle (and dirtiness) of Naples, we went to a café that was outdoors, in the center of everything. It probably wasn’t the ideal place for me to eat, because no one was in it, and it was in the middle of everything (usually meaning it’s expensive, and it was). The pizzas were little round pieces of bread with tomato sauce smeared on top with a 1’ by 1’ square of mozzarella… Not my kind of pizza. The service wasn’t that great either. You can easily tell if you are unwanted, regardless of the language barrier. After that, Shea and I decided to venture on our own because the group we were with was interested in touristy things, and we just don’t like doing the normal activities. We started walking down random alleys (full of people and stores, don’t worry Mom), and walked passed fruit stands, fish markets, and cafes. There was no room for cars, just mopeds and people. We stopped at one and read the menu outside. It looked pretty good! Then, we saw a big family of locals walk in, and then some more locals. That was the deciding factor to go in; locals were flowing! Even though we were stared at by everyone, and talked about in mean tones, we sat down and tried to act like we didn’t notice. It can get so frustrating when you are absolutely sure that the people next to you are talking about you and staring at you from 5 feet away, laughing and giving mean looks, it’s still really hard to get used to, and I don’t think I’ll get used to it anyways. We just smile and try to be as nice as possible, and the nice people respond back and treat you well. We ordered the Caprese pizza (same as margarita) and it was the same price as the tiny one we had for lunch (this was our second lunch because the first one was merely a snack).  When he brought it out to us, it was HUGE!! But, I ate all of mine again, to my surprise… again. It was the best pizza I’ve had so far, and I wish I could tell others how to get there, or give them samples of what a delicious pizza this was! Shea and I sat and chatted for a while and then asked for the check. I think we are getting used to this hang out-and-chill-then-get-the-bill thing! Usually, we rush and ask for the check as we finish, but today we really took it on differently, and not intentionally! It made me feel like I was living in their lifestyle a little bit, and it was a nice change of pace! After that, we went to a lot of shops and just wandered around some more, and got yummy gelato. We started walking back to the ship and we thought we were going the right way, but we weren’t positively sure. Luckily, there were these 2 dogs sleeping on the side of a building that were in the exact same spot from when we walked away from the ship! Basically, the dogs lead us home, haha. As soon as I got back, I had to shower. Naples is very muggy, humid, hot, and your feet get covered with dirt! It’s just a gross feeling. Today was really fun and I’m sure we will go out tonight!

Premonition Dream

I had another premonition dream! It's starting to happen so frequently, I don't understand what it all means, and I have no control over it!!
Last night I had a dream that my friend was giving away puppy golden retrievers. I got one, and it was big for it's age and fluffy, but still a puppy. I played with it, showed all my friends, and it loved to play with other dogs! It was a fun dream.
When I woke up, I thought about getting a golden retriever one day. I told Shea about it (because she has like 3 golden retrievers) and she said that Susan emailed her yesterday with a picture of a new foster dog that was a half-grown golden retriever puppy!! How strange! I have no explanation, and I'm a little freaked out! This is random but I just felt like sharing.