Nothin' like Sutton

Let me start off with saying that I question if last night was a dream, or if we were in a movie, because it was the best time of my life and I will never forget it. Ever.
“I look like a gnome.” -Shea. Don’t ask, I just have to put that in here to remember this great moment haha.
We started today off with a city tour with a small group. Our tour guide was an older man from England. His accent was so fun to listen to!  On the tour, we went up a huge hill, Passeig Maritim, (which was very steep) and passed the Olympic Stadium. Lady GaGa will be performing there sometime this week and so will Black Eyed Peas! The view from the top of this mountain was BEAUTIFUL. You could see the Montserrat, Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia, and you could see for miles in every direction. As we left, we went down Passeig de Gracia, where we viewed numerous examples of Antoni Gaudi-inspired architecture. The streets were so busy and there were many shops and restaurants, it was so fun! On every street there are elaborate stone buildings and intricate iron balconies. It is endless. I can’t wait to share the beautiful pictures! We went to the Placa de Catalunya, the city’s main square, and the Columbus Monument, which is located at the sight where Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas. It was HUGE and people are always around it, even at 5am. Next, we went to Gaudi’s unfinished masterpiece, La Sagrada Familia, one of the most visited sites in Spain. It was so crowded but definitely worth it! Gaudi designed this awe-inspiring building in 1882, and should be finished by 2026!! After that, we went to Barri Gotica (the city’s old gothic quarter). It was full of courtyards, plazas and cobblestone streets! There was a winery where we tasted delicious Sangria and many types of chocolates and snacks. There was a shop where you can watch a man hand-make a guitar, and then buy it… but he was closed while we were there. Maybe I’ll go back! Then went to the Cathedral of Barcelona, a 600-year old Gothic cathedral in the middle of Barri Gotica. It was incredible inside. I can’t wait to show pictures of that too! Before we went in, I took some pictures of a street man playing the fiddle. I didn’t realize that when you take their picture, they expect a tip, and if you don’t, the get mad. I found this out AFTER I took his pick, got a mean look, and walked away. I had no idea! Next time I took pictures/videos of musicians, I tried to hide the camera, because I had no change. To get into the Cathedral, you have to wear a knee-length skirt, and cover your back and shoulders. Thankfully, I chose to wear a skirt (they didn’t tell us what not to wear) but I had on a tank top. Since the World Cup is involving Spain, and we are in Spain to watch the game, everyone bought the soccer jerseys. One of the girls let me borrow it to cover my shoulders so I could get in! It didn’t match well with my cute black and white skirt, haha. And I got some funny looks too. Once we went into the Cathedral, it was basically silent. It looked like everything was made of gold and the stained glass windows were amazing. Again, I can’t wait to share those pictures; it explains the beauty.

After the city orientation, we met up with several girls and wondered around looking for a place to eat dinner (everyone eats dinner around 10!) While walking by the harbor full of beautiful sailboats, we saw these men from Jamaica selling designer purses, like things you would find on Harwin. He would lay out a bed sheet with strings on the corners. He would set up all of their products, and when he was done, he would pick up the strings and it would make a giant backpack, and he was on to the next street! At one point, a kid lit a firecracker next to us and it popped so loudly next to us! We all jumped/screamed! I found it humorous that this little kid wanted to pick on us American girls, and I’m glad we could provide him some entertainment, and a story to tell his friends.
After walking around for an hour, we found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Restaurant Nieve. It was very small, but nice. First, we looked at a menu and we had NO idea what it said. It’s the weirdest feeling not knowing what anything is. I thought maybe we’d be able to recognize some things, or that there would be pictures. After being really confused for about 20 minutes, we realized it was a French menu! So we picked up another, and it was in Spanish, we were still confused. Then, finally, the waiter brought English ones haha, we didn’t feel very smart! We ordered the mixed paella, containing the best seafood ever, and a delicious sauce on the rice. After dinner, we started trying to figure out how to get to a club. On the way, we had gelato. I got dulce de leche in a big cone :) I easily could have gotten seconds and I KNOW that I’ll be getting it everyday! I look forward to Italy because supposedly it is even better, which is hard to imagine!

After dinner and some delicious gelato, we were going to take a train to Chupitos (bar) but then we decided a taxi would be faster and we could all split the price. I sat in the front so I could speak with the driver in bits and pieces of Spanish. He was very surprised that I new it! This was about 10:30, and when we got to Chupitos, it was about 5 girls that I was with, and several guys. It was really fun just chatting and meeting them, and trying to communicate through a language barrier! Shea and I met this one guy, Enrique, who helped us out so much! He told us phrases, good drinks to order, places/beaches to go on certain nights, and he was just a really fun guy to hang out with. He taught us how to do the 2 cheek kisses and when we go to Italy, we do 3 cheek kisses, thanks Enrique! He also said tomorrow he’d cook us the best paella we will ever try! We have his number so we will see what happens. A rush of Semester at Sea friends came in shortly after, along with many other people, and it got pretty crazy! The rumor was to go to Opium, a really cool club, so everyone started heading that way around midnight. Luckily, Enrique informed us that it wouldn’t be the best time to go there tonight and that we should go to another place that no tourists know of called Sutton. We took a taxi straight there and Enrique followed us on his Honda mo-ped! When we arrived, there were bouncers in suits at the door. It was very modern and stunning! We asked to take a picture with the bouncers because they looked nice in the outfits with earpieces and sunglasses. They said no at first because they aren’t allowed, but then when the main bouncer walked away, one jumped in a picture with us, he was funny. I’m pretty sure that this club was very expensive and nice, but I don’t know the cover price because Enrique paid for us!  Let me just say, Sutton was the BEST choice I’ve made so far.
Tip if you go to Chupitos: Best drink ever = “Harry Potter”. It lit on fire, and sparkled with cinnamon, and came with a caramelized orange. My mouth is watering.

When we walked in, the music was blaring, people were everywhere, dressed very nicely, and there were dancers on a stage. All of the guys would walk up to me and Shea and try to ask us questions about where we are from and they all wanted to dance. Haha an experience I will never forget! Everyone would guess where we are from and they never guessed America! That’s how local this place was, they don’t see American girls in there. They guessed Sweeden, Norway, Finland, and a few other places, but not America. It was very entertaining.

One of the coolest things about last night (and will continue this entire summer) is communicating with people even when you do not speak the same language. It is definitely possible to understand someone when they use nonverbal communication and facial expressions. It’s hard to explain, but it is one of the best experiences ever. I LOVE not being able to speak their language very well, and I love that they do not know much English. It makes it so fun and just amazing how you can still communicate and make friends!This was by far the craziest place I have ever been. This is like nothing in America, and nothing like college. We don’t have clubs with blaring music and only for dancing. I didn’t want to leave that scene! In the restroom (there was a security guard letting people in one at a time…) Shea and I were asking every girl for gum or a brush. I guess in Lubbock everyone asks everyone, and we all speak English. After about 10 minutes of no one answering us, we started laughing at what we were doing. Here we are in Spain asking questions to girls who don’t know any English, what were we thinking! Haha we still are laughing about it, even though it might not seem that funny to anyone else!I think I’m partially deaf from last night. My ears have never hurt this bad! I’m wearing earplugs next time and I really don’t care what it looks like, it hurts.

Coincidentally, we met these really handsome guys from Istanbul, visiting here! We hung out with them for a while and got to know them a little better. They are going back to Istanbul the same time we are, and when we get there, we are all meeting up! What are the odds! We aren’t even close to Turkey and we already have plans to hang out with people we met in Spain! It just blows my mind how things work out so strangely.One guy, in particular, was an incredible dancer/very charming! I’ve never seen anyone dance as well as these boys could. Sergio was from the Canary Islands, and is visiting his cousin who just bought a really nice flat down the street. He taught me how to dance certain ways, like tango, and a few other steps I already forgot! We took plenty of pictures so you’ll be able to see them when I get Internet or find time to upload them! When we left Sutton, Sergio and Shea’s friend from Turkey (Torro?) walked us to the cab with some other SAS folks to make sure we got there safely and helped us tell the driver how to get to the ship.

On the cab ride home, we thought the streetlights were super bright, but then we noticed, it was SUNRISE. We laughed some more. When we got to the room (6am), we sat on the bed, accidentally fell asleep, and woke up at 9. Our plan was to shower, eat, drink coffee, then back to the city! Yep didn’t happen. We slept for 3 hours and missed the bus for a tour :( So today we have about 6 more hours of free time! (Which I’m totally down for). We are headed out to get some breakfast and have another great day in Barcelona!!

Bien Comida MAÑANA!

We have had class for 7 days straight and today was the last day of classes for a while! In the morning we will be in Barcelona, Spain! After class, we were by the pool again, just the typical occurrence. :)

After basking in the sun for 4 hours, while eating Starbursts/drinking Mountain Dew, we went to dinner (everyday= breakfast, class, lunch, pool, dinner, hang out, sleep). Then, we had a pre-port orientation where a few people speak about when to get off, what to have with you, safety issues, health and food warnings (which get more serious towards Egypt and Morocco, not Spain) and everything you can think of in between.  This will happen the night before each port.

Shea and I have a city orientation trip planned for tomorrow from 13:00-17:00. This is through Semester at Sea (you can take trips through SAS, or you can do everything on your own; we are doing a mix of both).  After the tour, we will probably walk the famous Las Ramblas and just do some great shopping! On that note… Shea and I have Amy Bippus for intercultural communications… and on the first day, she announced she was gay. It was a little straight forward and awkward! She said, “If you guys would like, you can come have lunch or dinner with me and my ‘partner’, Debbie.” Yeah… it was weird. Sometimes in class, she preaches about her beliefs pretty intensely, but oh well, it’s a learning experience, right? We recently found out that of all the SAS trips planned in Barcelona (about 30) AMY will be joining us as we get a tour. Maybe we will get to meet her 'partner', Debbie. Interesting memory.

I CAN’T WAIT TO WAKE UP! Everyone is getting SO EXCITED to get there in the morning! I want to hang out with everyone tonight, but I think we are all just getting our stuff ready to go in the morning. I’m going to sleep so I can wake up in SPAIN! I can’t wait to eat tapas y paellas y mucho, mucho mas.

Mucho amore, adios!

To the right: Africa! To the left: Spain!

Yep, you read the title of this post correctly! Once in a lifetime sight :)

6/22
Today was the best. We saw land!! On our map test, one of the things we learned was the Straight of Gibraltar (Gates of Hercules) and it is 8 miles from Spain to Africa across this body of water. After class I was laying out on the deck with everyone and we have been patiently awaiting this sight! At about 14:30 you could see Africa, and then about 30 minutes later, you could see Spain on the other side at the same time! You could see trees and buildings, with no binoculars! When do you get to hear someone say they were on a ship and to the right was AFRICA and to the left was SPAIN?! So cool, I took a video!

Then I went to the workout place and ran a few miles/ took a yoga-mat outside and worked out a little more, while looking at Spain and Africa :) It still blows my mind that it is only 8 miles apart!
**If you are bored, or just curious, go Google “straight of Gibraltar" and you’ll see where I am! (Do it...)

Movies tonight: Pan's Labyrinth, Blood Diamond, Black Hawk Down, Nanny McPhee! If you were wondering :) I usually fall asleep to the TV or music because the ship can make some strange noises at night! Also, Shea and I think that there is a storage closet or something above us because every night at about the same time, we hear rambling and metal rolling around or something. We can't figure it out but it gets a little annoying!

Shea and I are in the room right now watching a presentation on the tv that is going on in the Union right now. It's so cold in the Union, so we do homework (and blog…) while we watch it! Pretty neat. They guy doing the presentation is our age and is from Spain. He works for a program where he helps travelers when they come to the port in Barcelona. We are just lucky to have him with us to share valuable information! We personally met him the other night and he’s fun to talk to. His name is Francesco and is super nice and helpful! He is telling us where to go, what to eat, how to get around, where not to go, and right now he’s telling us about the beach! I CAN’T WAIT! Wow he just said don’t go out until 1 because that’s when everything starts up (closes at 8am). People don’t get out of dinner until 12! I can’t begin to tell you how exited I am to start this traveling.
I have a group presentation tomorrow over a really long article I read with my group. It was about Moroccans immigrating to Italy and conforming to the new culture through language socialization. We made a PowerPoint and we have to lead the class into a discussion. It should be pretty simple! (I don’t know if I already wrote about this because I can’t see my blog!)

It’s about 1am I just got back from the party deck outside. It’s so much warmer than usual! Maybe because we aren’t in the middle of nowhere anymore and we are next to Spain and Africa! It was really fun and different, and I met about 10 new people, who I’ll definitely be chatting with by the pool with tomorrow! I have yet to meet a rude or mean person, and I truly don’t think I will! Everyone on this ship is so nice and welcoming to meeting new people and I’ve had great conversations/acquaintances. It’s just awesome. I can’t explain it better than that! I think tonight everyone was so excited and energetic because we finally saw land. We were all talking about Spain and who’s going where, and making plans to all hang out. YAY!

(Hi family!)
Oh, surprise- we are losing another hour tonight…
Goodnight!

"Sauna Sunday"

Ok, I was wrong, we didn’t lose an hour last night, BUT we are again tonight!....

HAPPY FATHER’S DAY, DAD! Thank you for the wonderful opportunity for letting me do this amazing trip!

Today is the prettiest day outside that we have had so far! Lots of dolphins too. This guy Eric called today "sauna Sunday", because it was the warmest day so far and everyone was out there, haha.
I’ll give you one fact I learned in Global Studies today. When statues were beginning, the Romans made statues of horses on 3 legs, with one raised in the air, with a rider on the back. Other countries tried to repeat this challenging task by balancing all of the statue’s weight on 3 skinny horse legs. No other country to do this! One picture we were shown was a statue of a horse with a leg in the air, but it was resting on a ball underneath. They couldn’t be like the Romans!

After breakfast, class, lunch, snacks, and more eating, a few girls and I went to the 7th deck to lay out. EVERYONE was out there and it was so crowded, but so fun! Everyone had their laptops and homework etc. The weather is PERFECT!

Ok, this may be long... but it gives you a little idea of what we do when we are in the middle of (nowhere) the Atlantic:

Today Sunday June 20:
B Step Aerobics
Time: 1700
Location: 7th Deck Outside

Career Interest Groups
Time: 1730
Location: Union
If you're engineering, pre-business, international studies, or fine arts student, come check it out!

Insanity Work Out Class
Time: 1900
Location: Classroom 3

Global Studies Map Quiz!!
Time: 2000

Foreign Language Groups/Tables
Time: 2100
Location: Classroom 9

Interport Liaisons
Time: 2100
Location: Classroom 4

Bible Study
Time: 2100
Location: Classroom 9

Interfaith Discussion Group Organizational Meeting
Time: 2100
Location: Classroom 8

Student Activities Planning Meeting
Time: 2130-2230
Location: Classroom 2

Tomorrow Monday June 21:
Field Office Alternate Day!

Zumba
Time: 0700
Location: Union

International Students Meeting
Time: 1800
Location: Classroom 5

Insanity Work Out Class
Time: 1900
Location: Classroom 3

Hip Hop Dance Class
Time: 1900

Adjusting to Life on the Ship
Time: 1900
Location: Classroom 1 (in the Garden Lounge)

Explorer Seminar: Barcelona: A Planning and Architectural Appreciation with Dr. Warren Boeschenstein
Time: 1900
Location: Union

Explorer Seminar: Modern Spain a Clash of Titans with Dr. David Geis
Time: 2000
Location: Union

Explorer Seminar: Travel Sketching
Time: 2000
Location: Classroom 1

Travel on a Budget
Time: 2100
Location: Union
Come learn about making your dollar go farther during your time in port!

Academic Workshop Committee & Faculty/Student Social Committee Meeting
Time: 2100-2200
Location: Classroom #4
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So I just got back from taking the Map test, it was pretty simple and I was the first to finish in my room. That usually happens a lot and makes me nervous because no one else is done before me!

Before Shea and I went wandering around and hanging out with people, we talked about boys and relationships. She gives great advice and support! We are definitely are becoming closer, and I can’t wait for it to continue to grow!

Tonight we had ‘movie night’ with our amazing CARIBBEAN SEA yaa mon. It’s a great group and I love hanging with them! The ship has really, really good popcorn, and tonight for our movie (Forgetting Sarah Marshall), we had FREE unlimited popcorn :) This makes up for the fact that I brought popcorn but there are no microwaves. Great success. And I even took some back to the room for a snack tomorrow. Tonight’s movie choices on our microscopic-TV: Ulysses, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Moulin Rouge!

I’m definitely starting to miss certain foods, restaurants, my pillow, my guitar, my family and pets, friends, and Jared! It still hasn’t clicked to me that this is going to be one longgg trip. We aren’t even to our first destination yet and I’m already feeling like I’ve been here forever, and the days are all mixing together! Spread the words to everyone about Semester at Sea and tell everyone to do it if they can. There is such great chemistry with everyone, on this ship. You just know it, and I don’t know how else to explain it! Before, I read people’s stories and blogs about their trips with Semester at Sea and I wondered what they were saying or meaning; now I totally understand! And to think it’s only going to get better. :)

20:20:20

6/19
Tonight we are losing ANOTHER HOUR. This is the fourth time in a row that this has happened, and we still have 2 more to loose! :( The good news is that when we sail back, we will gain an hour every night for 6 nights, which will be much needed after traveling the Mediterranean :)

In my intercultural communications class this morning, we were assigned in to small groups of 4 people and got to choose a topic from a list. The topics are things we will individually discuss with at least 4 natives in each port we go to. The topic my group got was “games people play”. This is the one I put down for my top choice! Some of the other choices were house designs, holiday, heroes, nonverbal communication, and some other categories I don’t remember. I’m excited for this topic! We came up with basic questions on what to ask and how to compare answers from across the Mediterranean. At the end of all the ports, we do a 30-minute presentation showing the similarities and differences within each country. We were recommended to take pictures of the games if possible and get a picture with the people we talk to! This is going to be fun and I think it’s so cool how we get to actually apply ourselves in the real world, and get out there talking to real locals! What an amazing assignment for this amazing opportunity :) Another group assignment is to read an assigned article (about 30 pages) and lead a 15-minute class discussion, which we are graded on how well every one participates. I started the article this afternoon and it’s about a study done in 1990 about Moroccan adolescents moving to Italy with their family and how they socially integrate and adapt. In the 1980’s a few Moroccan men moved to a small town in Italy to look for a stable job and cheap homes. They found it and in the 1990’s, the rest of their families joined them! I still have about 15 more pages to read, then I have to write discussion questions for the class.
In global studies, we focused on Alexander the Great and conquerors of Egypt; pretty fascinating stuff! I don’t have a hard time paying attention to any of the classes because I’ll be seeing it all! I still can’t get over how cool this program is, learning about where you are going, which is fun, and getting graded for it, which should be easy because it’s very enjoyable!

In global music, we went to a storage room and were each handed a strange musical instrument from around the world. Not to my surprise, I recognized all of them and knew most of the names. There is one or two other musical people in there so we were naming them all and describing them to everyone, pretty cool! We passed them all around, determined what materials they were made from, then determined what country they originated in. About 30 minutes into class, the ship took a turn! Since this class is in the very back of the ship, the room was shaking so loudly that Dr. K. stopped talking because he was yelling. This loud rumbling and shaking went on for about 10 minutes then we got back to playing around with cool instruments. Tonight we have to read an article about a term that has no real definition, “duente”. I don’t know what it means yet but our assignment is to describe it to him tomorrow!
After music I made a PB&J and hid it in a napkin, and snuck it to my room. You aren’t supposed to take unpackaged items out, but I wanted to eat it while I studied my map for the quiz tomorrow!

At dinner, everyone ran to one side of the boat, and someone shouted “whale!”, but it wasn’t. It was a pod of about 50 dolphins! They weren’t very far away and a few were right next to the ship. Finallllly we saw some after all this dolphin talk!

I just looked at my watch and it said 20:20:20! Weird.

I’m sitting in the piano lounge in the middle of the ship with Shea. We are doing some reading and studying our map some more. I bought some gummy bears :) My favorite!
Time to go to the 7th deck!

Ok, back, We just had another party on the 7th floor deck, which has happened every single night and will continue! It’s like bar night at college, everyone stands around and talks! I’m still meeting new people each night with random connections! So fun.

Caribbean Sea- YA MON!

Blogging is how I entertain myself when it's late and I can't sleep or a strange/boring movie is on. I just had class then a burger and fruit smoothie while a few of us sat outside on a deck. The weather is so perfect! For the past 2 nights we have lost an hour each night and we're losing another one tonight... It's catching up and making me a little off on meals! I packed popcorn (those little yummy kettle corn mini-bags) but there are no microwaves :( I left some shirts on my bed this morning and our steward, Dante, a little Polynesian guy, folded them perfectly and color stacked them- how precious. He comes in and makes our bed every day, which is so cool! During the afternoons they don't play movies, I guess to get people not to sit in their rooms, which I'm doing right now! I'm listening to Thinking of You, while watching the TV map showing where we are in the ocean; I'll fill you in on what it says:
Latitude: 38 degrees 17.2N
Longitute 042 degrees 52.1W
Course: 82 degrees
Speed 21.3 knots
Time: 13:44:40
Date: Fri 18 Jun

Rumor has it that there are awesome stories on the backs of pictures in rooms. Shea and I just took a big, decorative picture on our wall off to look at the back. Everyone has been sharing stories of what is written on the back of their pictures in their rooms. Ours had a lot of tips and advice for ports and stuff, as well as hilarious stories/situations, we may add to it after the trip when we have something to write about!
I think I'll go to the lounge area now to hang and study my map for the quiz!

Today, while sitting outside, I saw a guy wearing a Cottages of Norman shirt. It looks the exact same as the Cottages of Lubbock one so he stood out! We started talking and he said that he goes to OU and works at the Cottages. I thought that was a funny connection, and his name was Marcus! Then Shea and I sat on a deck for a few hours reading and stuff right before dinner (which was delicious tonight except for the bread pudding dessert)

Each hallway is divided in half and everyone is in different seas. My hallway’s half is the Caribbean Sea and it is THE BEST! We are the most spirited and loud! Tonight, during our mixer, we walked around the entire ship with a stereo, dancing and clapping/being obnoxious, it was funny to see people’s reactions; they all want to be in the Caribbean Sea! Tomorrow we are doing a surprise stomp routine before the Global Studies class (which EVERYONE will attend and see us…) We went out on a front deck to practice so no one would see, it was hilarious trying to organize it (in the powerful, crazy wind) and make it serious and funny at the same time! Tomorrow, right before class, we are going to walk down to the front stage and surprise everyone with our awesome stomp routine. We also have chants/songs we sing randomly at dinner. For one, our leader Chela, shouts in a Jamaican accent "WE BE JAMMIN" and we all respond, "YA MON", it's great. Should be pretty interesting tomorrow!
After those few hours of fun, we went to another optional information seminar, for about 45 minutes. It was about the food in Spain; what to expect, when to eat, where to go, what words mean, etc. It was really helpful and there are seminars each night about the country we are headed to! Such a cool concept! After that we went to the room and got all cute and clean. We headed up to the top deck where everyone hangs out. Tonight I met a girl from UT that knows a ton of my friends at Tech and knows girls from my high school, cool connections! Then, for the most of the night, we hung out with 2 guys from Whitehouse, 2 of the nicest guys on this ship! We started planning out what we were going to do as a group in Spain and talked about making trips in other countries.
Tomorrow night is a “dance” party, nautical themed! Should be fun because now everyone pretty much knows everyone!
PS there are so many engineering guys on this ship! and so many people from Cali and Pitt! and lots of sorority/fraternity folks.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding is on, so I’m going to watch it while I study my intricate map again!
Days are SO LONG but when I go to sleep at night, the day seemed so short! The days all mush together and it’s the best feeling because there’s no need to worry what day it is, the “voice” informs us at noon :)

Here is Semester at Sea’s blog, which has more detail about what goes on overall!
http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyage-blog/summer-2010/the-past-isn-t-dead.-it-isn-t-even-past.php

Rockin' and Readin'

This morning (June 17) we woke up at about 7:00am to the ship rocking. It has been the most extreme rocking that we have experienced so far! All of my stuff on the night table flew onto the floor, the room was creaking, and the drawers were opening and slamming shut every few seconds! It was crazy, and not the best wake up call. We lost an hour of sleep last night so my alarm didn’t wake me up, the rocking did.
Today was the first day of classes. After waking up late, I ate a cliff bar and Shea and I headed to out Intercultural Communications class. It is a pretty small class, about 50 of us, and it doesn’t seem like it will be rough, thankfully.  Since we were close to being late to class, the only seats empty were in the very front row, where we had to look up at the teacher. Hopefully that won’t happen tomorrow ☺ Next, we went to Global Studies, the class everyone is in together. Our teacher is so funny and has a dry sense of humor and great stories. He sings in random languages and it’s just hilarious. To start off, we have a quiz over the Mediterranean map (which is a great idea because that’s where we will be going!) and he lectured a little bit. We learned about the Greeks and gods. A lot of stuff that was mentioned today I learned in my Intro to Poetry class last semester, so I felt pretty comfortable. We learned about “The Mediterranean Memory” and Mnemosyne, the goddess of memory. He told us the story about Minotaur and how and why he was trapped in the labyrinth. We talked about certain battles and events that occurred in the places we are going. I think that it ‘s way more interesting learning about something that you are going to get to see. In regular college and high school, you learn about history from other countries that you may never go to, so it can be a bit boring. But since we are going to the place of birth of many things we learned about today, it keeps me interested and excited. For example, in Istanbul, there is a metal column called The Serpent Column. It was made by victorious Greeks who took it and placed it in their city for decoration and dedications to the gods at Delphi. It is metal and looks like two roped twisted together, standing up tall. . Lastly, I went to Global Music. It is about 30 students and I’m most excited about this class. Our teacher majored in ethnomusicology (Dr. Kaloyandies) and specializes in Greek music. Ethnomusicology is defined as the study of music in a culture. World music is defined as musical fusion from many cultures. He said that the objective of this class is to become open-minded about musical types and to overcome the judgments of certain music. In each port, we have to take notes on how we saw music and even how we engaged ourselves into musical performances. During class (which is going to be really fun and entertaining) he played a type of Greek music called “Rebetika”. It is said to be the music of the criminals and is referred to as “blues from Greece”.  We will get to see people performing everywhere! As he played this really odd sounding, but pretty, music, he danced a certain dance and it was fun to watch. He seems very into this class and he seems like a great teacher. I’m most excited for this class!
Now that my classes are over (8-12pm), I just had lunch with a girl from TCU and one from Carnegie Melon. They live in my hall! I’m about to start studying my little map for the quiz and then read an article for Global Music. The article is about the first musical instrument ever found, a flute, 35,000 years ago!! After that, Shea and I will probably wonder around and just hang out with everyone. It is so fun here, like a vacation with 700 new friends. Maybe I’ll go get some chocolate ice cream or a fruit smoothie, YUM!