Saturday, September 19, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Casablanca, Morocco
Arriving to Morocco lacked the novelty and excitement that our arrival to Spain had. Little did I know that was just the smallest of the differences between my time in Morocco, and the wonderful experience I had in Spain.
Between Spain and Morocco we had Morocco Day on the boat. Both sections of Global Studies met together for a guest lecture on gender relations in the Islamic world, and also touched on veiling. We also had logistical and cultural pre-port meetings, which touch on everything from what to eat to current risk of infectious diseases, dangers off the boat to areas of particular interest in the port area.
September 10:
The morning of our arrival in Casablanca, I was lucky to get first access off the boat, as a participant in the Casablanca City Orientation tour, leaving immediately. As we walked down the gangway into the humid, smoggy, overcast, smelly and rainy port, it was clear foreshadowing of how different this visit would be from warm, dry and clean Spain. My roommate Casey and I, and approximately 80 other SAS participants, spent the day on two busses touring Casablanca. Our coach bus, drove the mile from the ship to the port gates and we were off. First we drove to Place Mohammed V, a large plaza that serves as the center of Casablanca, familiarly referred to as Caza. Neighboring the plaza were one of eight city halls within Caza, a post office, the Moroccan equivalent of the IRS, the French Embassy, and a fire station. As soon as our bus pulled up, a group of strangely, but colorfully, dressed men approached us, encouraging us to ring one of their bells. Our tour guide has warned us of potential activities where Moroccans would insist we then owed them money. Our next stop was the Cathedral de Sacre Coeur, the only church open for religious practice in Casablanca, and possibly in Morocco. The religious breakdown of Morocco was 98.7% Muslim and the rest Christian and Jewish. The cathedral had absolutely beautiful stained glass windows, and, like the rest of Casablanca, gorgeous hibiscus flowers. The next building we visited was an old government building called Mahakma du Pacha, near the royal palace, or Palais Royal. This building had absolutely beautiful tile work, called zellij, and carved cedarwood ceilings. From there we walked two blocks to the palace, where we were graciously allowed to take pictures of the grandiose main entryway and the special entrance for women. From the Palace we visited the great Hassan II Mosque. Finished in 1993, the mosque has a retractable roof and electrically heated floors. We were given the last tour of the day, before noon prayer. We saw the enormous main prayer room, and the hammam, or wash rooms visited before each of the five times, located beneath the prayer room. The Hassan II Mosque holds 25,000 people and an additional 80,000 on the paved area surrounding the mosque. There are two areas suspended above the regular floor for the women mosque-goers to pray, separated from the men. The minaret of the mosque is over 200 meters tall, by far the tallest structure in Morocco, and the tallest minaret in the world. At night a green laser points towards Mecca, so all Muslims know which direction to face for their prayers. My guidebook told me that St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome could fit inside the Hassan II Mosque! The mosque is reported to have cost $750,000,000 USD. After the Mosque we drove past the beaches of Casablanca, but decided as a bus not to get off into the drizzly & humid weather. Our last stop was at a set-price store and a market specializing in spices, seafood and produce. There I saw swordfish, an in-person slaughter of what I think was a cow, about 100 cats/kittens, and some turtles that were being sold “as pets”. Overall, I took a ridiculous amount of pictures that first day, which serves as a statement to how novel and different everything seemed. The store we visited gave us a good idea of what to look out for during the rest of our time in Morocco. After our tour was completed we returned to the boat, where I started the routine of washing the Caza off of me after every off-ship outing.
That evening I went out for drinks and dessert with a group of friends at Rick’s Café, famous from the movie Casablanca. This was perhaps a 20-minute walk from the port’s gates. A group of 12 or so of us went to enjoy what we assumed to be a restaurant likely to be open during Ramadan. The restaurant was very nice but the language barrier was evident, and the service was very different than in the US. Walking along the streets was fairly scary, even with a large group that included boys. At one point a small minivan-esque vehicle pulled up beside us on the busy street, opened the sliding door and slowed to a stop a little too close for comfort. The largest danger I experienced in Caza was crossing the streets, the rule of the road is the big car prevails and everyone else gets out of the way. I noticed that by staying in step with any Moroccans that were crossing the street I was nearly certain I would not be road kill.
September 11:
The second morning in port Casey and I tried to “crash” a trip we had not signed up for, and were successful. We drove in two large passenger vans/small busses to The George Washington Academy, and then to the SOS Children’s Village, both outside of Caza. The George Washington Academy, is a French-American-Arabic private school that seemed very Americanized, of the flags flying in the cafeteria, the US flag was one of them, and the number of Anglo-Saxon, sub-Saharan African, and Asian children was noticeable. We arrived during their lunch hour and Casey, Missy and I sat with three Arabic girls, two of which had dual citizenship (Switzerland and the United States). They all spoke flawless English and were very interested in what we are doing with Semester at Sea and what our lives are like at home. One of the girls, Malik, was even nice enough to write a few rudimentary phrases out in Arabic. After they returned to classes, we were given a tour of the school, which was very modern. The most unique part of the property was it’s location, overlooking the King’s summer palace (one of many I presume). In usual circumstances no one is allowed to build in the area immediately surrounding or overlooking the King’s property. To be clear, we could see the foliage of the palm trees a mile or so in the distance, which is hardly peeking over the hedge into the royal backyard. My favorite part of the tour was seeing the cute little kindergarteners playing on the play-structures outside and realizing the similarities you could draw to any American recess. Of the whole visit, my favorite part was meeting the girls at lunch and talking to them.
From the Academy we drove back into the rural and sometimes slum-like surroundings and drove to the SOS Children’s Village, an orphanage. When we arrived at the orphanage all of the children were at school so we were first given an introduction and tour of the property. The children are grouped into family-structure dwellings where a single woman serves as the parental figure. The household we visited was led by a “mother” that looked around 25. The house was very nice, and we were told that nine children lived there, split between four bedrooms each of which looked just like any typical child’s room would in the US. The living room and kitchen were very nice and looked over a large common area. We also saw the computer room (compliments of Dell), music room (compliments of McDonald’s) and arts & crafts room (compliments of Coca Cola). The grounds were beautiful and it’s clear that these sponsorships help make that possible.
After not too long the students started arriving from their day at school. The first to arrive was a group of little girls, maybe 6 or 7. As soon as they greeted the director of the Village, who I observed serving as a father-type figure to many of them, they came over to a group of the SAS students and greeted us with the sweetest kisses on the cheek I have ever had. Soon they ran off to their houses, and we unfortunately didn’t see them again. More and more children arrived home and soon their were simultaneous play-doh sessions, soccer games and hackey-sack circles including the SAS students and the residents of the Children’s Village. They were all very sweet and what I presumed to be very fortunate children. Earlier in our voyage, a film was shown focusing on the homeless child population in Morocco, and the terrible things they endure (glue-sniffing, selling single cigarettes to eat, sleeping in very unfavorable locations). It is clear to me that these children are very lucky; with a safe place to call home, education, a family (albeit non-biological) and means available for higher education to be paid for, the children I met each has a future much brighter than the film portrayed for orphans. Unfortunately our visit came to an end, and we had to head back to Caza and the stinky port.
After showers and dinner onboard, a group of us ventured off the boat to a nearby hookah bar. There we enjoyed the most delicious mint tea, a specialty of Morocco (green tea brewed with fresh mint leaves and LOTS of sugar, poured emphatically from high above the glass to increase oxygenation and served in the most beautiful silver teapots). Shisha, as hookah is called in Morocco, not to be confused with hashish, as one student did, seemed like a culturally appropriate thing to do. Because we were there during Ramadan it was much more difficult to get a feel for the culture, as people are hungry and cranky during the day, and eating and celebrating with their families at night. The walk back to the boat was fun, as always, passing by dozens of semi-trucks in queue or resting for the night, a handful of German Shephards restrained to some extent by their owners and the no-longer-novel fish head
September 12:
Before our trip to Rabat, Casey and I ventured off the boat to find an internet café for some good ‘ol facebook time! We were told by other kids from the boat that there were lots of internet cafes in the medina (market). However, we neglected to think about our timing, due to mid-morning prayer most of the souks were closed and thus the internet cafés were too. While walking into the medina, a shop owner came up and asked us what we were looking for. He then led us all around the market, past plenty of dark allies and into parts of the medina I surely could not have navigated out of. Surprisingly enough (and thankfully) did not ask for money, claimed that we owed him money or threaten what he would do if we did not give him money. I’ve heard some pretty ridiculous stories post-Morocco about kids getting monkeys or snakes thrown on them and then hounded for money, or having henna gypsies grab a passing arm and start sketching a design with the henna paste and then demanding payment! We were not able to find an open internet café in the medina, but decided to walk around a little bit, before long we found another internet café. Although seemingly open the owner told us to come back at 11:00, presumably because of Ramadan/prayer-time. While we waited for 11:00 to roll around we crossed the street and discovered Restaurant des Fleurs, where we stopped for a famed Moroccan pastry and more mint tea. We went back to the internet café and spent 45 minutes or so there. On our way back to the boat we grabbed some post cards to send home!
When we got back to the boat we immediately had to turn around and get on the busses going to Rabat. Rabat is the capital of Morocco, and the political capital from what I gathered. The bus ride there was around an hour and a half, and the same on the way back. We spent close to three hours in Rabat, touring the city and visiting some notable sights.
Our first stop in Rabat was the Palace and the Andalusian Gardens. We were to approach the palace to about 50 feet to take pictures. The palace, built in the 17th century, was very pretty, but King Mohammed VI wasn’t there. We learned later that he was traveling that very day from Marrakesh to Rabat!
After leaving the palace we drove past Chellah, a really spectacular Moroccan ruins. The citadel was built in 1154, and was one of the last port cities to sever links with the Roman Empire. The ruins are still in seemingly good condition, but time didn’t allow us to stop.
Next we visited the Mohamed V Mausoleum and Hassan Mosque, also known as the Unfinished Mosque. When we got off the bus we were immediately approached by gypsies wanting to henna our arms but I stopped only to take pictures with the mounted guards and their horses. The saddest thing about this stop was the TEENY tiny kitten who was crawling around the entrance, clearly separated from her littermates and mommy. There were kittens and cats everywhere in Morocco, but I only saw two stray dogs. The mosque was designed to be a centerpiece of the new capital, after victory of the Spanish, but was abandoned in 1199 after the death of the designer. The un-topped tower looks over hundreds of crumbling pillars that would have held the roof, had the project progressed. Sharing the same property, were the mosque and mausoleum of Mohammed V. The grandfather, father and uncle of the current king are all buried there. Inside there was a pathway around the edges of the upper room, looking down into the chamber where a man sat on a sheepskin mat reading from the Koran to the deceased.
Our next stop, Kasbah des Oudaias, was my favorite part of the Rabat trip. We entered the kasbah through a small doorway down the steps from the Bab Oudaia which our guide said was the most beautiful in the Moorish world. We turned into the gardens where the past rulers used to let their polygamous wives recreate. Inside the kasbah were absolutely beautiful blue and white painted walkways with the most ornate doors and windows, which were clearly very old.
We got back on the bus and drove past miles and miles of beaches before getting on the highway to Casablanca. There were so many young boys fishing in the ocean, and we even saw some with surfboards. It was nice to return to the boat and get some rest. Being in a country where you are on edge and hyper-reactive to any sudden changes was really exhausting.
September 13:
The next day Casey and I rounded up some of our friends and enlisted some male shopping chaperones. We went to the souks in Old Medina, walked around for quite a bit before settling into the shops we liked the best. $1US=8 dirhams, and most of the Moroccan specialties I purchases were between 80-160dh, making this a quite economical shopping trip. Rugs and carpets, camel leather goods, silver tea pots, hammered metal platters, ceramics of any shape and size in traditional Moroccan patterns and colors, Moroccan style tunics and loose pants, and knockoffs, oh were there knockoffs. I mean really, who buys a Louis Vuitton basketball….? And I’m pretty sure Gucci does not make tissue boxes… It was pretty comical though. One girl I was shopping with bought the most beautiful painting evocative of the famous Afghan woman with the piercing eyes from a past National Geographic cover. I had to pace myself, we still have so many countries in the horizon. The last item on our shopping agenda: stamps to mail postcards from Spain and Morocco. While peering into the window of the small shop, I saw the man pick up a sheet of stamps and, while they were upside down, I give myself no relief for how stupid my comment was, “Is that Barack Obama?” Luckily the response was just laughter, but it was a definite cultural oopsie!
That night we tried to go out for traditional Moroccan food, but the restaurant we went to was closed. Since we were already heading to a jazz concert at Rick’s Café, we decided to eat dinner there before returning safely to the boat.
September 14:
The following morning I had an FDP to visit the Coca Cola plant. The plant smelled like a carwash mixed with a sweet syrupy smell. We saw the water filtration systems, the simple syrup vats and the containers of secret formula flavoring marked CORROSIVE, how nice… At the plant they cleaned and inspected the glass bottles still widely used in Morocco, produced the plastic in house, filled, labeled and packaged the bottles. We were given lots of Coke products and offered a plastic plug that is the bottle before it is blown up and shaped. They served us lunch, my very first meal where I could legitimately not eat anything given to me. Hopefully there won’t be too many more! I was really glad to think of the 30 lbs. of food sitting under my bed back on the MV Explorer, although I neglected to bring any along to the Coca Cola plant.
During Ramadan, the Muslim population does not eat or drink during daylight hours, putting a serious cramp on our tourist style. While it was really interesting to experience the culture during such a special time, it made it all the more difficult for us to experience Morocco.
The buildings I saw while in Caza were the prettiest I saw during the entirety of my time in Morocco, with the exception of the historical buildings in Rabat. The French influence on Morocco was evident, between the patisseries and any old buildings that hadn’t yet collapsed from neglect and dilapidation. Most of the city was filthy, with smoggy grime on all of the once-white buildings. Our location in the port meant there was never a shortage of fish heads and guts from the morning’s catch. The smell of Caza may have irreparably permeated everything I wore off the boat.
As we departed, many of the boys clad in traditional Moroccan outfits and the girls with new henna tattoos, some people with significantly more experience with Camels, each of us all the more wordly and well-traveled, and all of us keenly aware of how easy it has been in the past to take advantage of the simple things: clean water, near-certain safety walking on a city street, the ability to communicate with those around you or even cars stopping at red lights. What a rewarding, exhausting and culturally shocking few days in Casablanca, Morocco.
Stephanie@Sea
"To my mind, the greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted." - Bill Bryson
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Spain
Cadiz & Madrid, Spain: September 5-8, 2009
As our first country along this journey there were many important discoveries to be made and experiences to be had in Spain. Between language barriers, a lack of parental guidance, spotty/unreliable/non-existent communication, transportation struggles, eating in a foreign country and cultural differences, there was not a dull moment in Spain. In many ways, a Western, developed country, where many people from the ship could communicate at least at an elementary level, and the water was safe, was an excellent place to start, a “warm-up” of sorts. I ran into few problems using my rusty conversational Spanish with the people we encountered, was confident in my pronunciation of vegetarian-related vocabulary, and with the food I received at those meals, I never felt unsafe or unwelcome; I was able to experience Spain in a succinct, but enjoyable way.
As we approached Spain, I was so incredibly excited. I woke up every few hours the night before port. However, around 7:00AM as I looked out the window I saw something for the first time during SAS, something besides a vast expanse of ocean, lights and LAND! I immediately woke Casey up and we went outside to watch the ship be guided into port by a pilot boat, and finally dock in light of the Spanish sunrise.
Upon our arrival in Spain, Casey and I, along with two friends from USD Stephen and Bryce who were traveling to Madrid to visit their girlfriends, retrieved our passports and immediately disembarked. We walked around Cádiz for a few hours, and took lots and lots of pictures. Then we took a cab to the airport in Jerez de la Frontera. We were lucky to get on an earlier flight, which was more difficult than you would expect given the language barriers. Then we had Spanish sandwiches in the airport and boarded our hour-long flight to Madrid. Upon arrival we were met at the airport by two of our Theta friends. After a brief visit to the house of the señora who they are staying with, Johanna, Casey and I took the Metro to our hotel on Gran Vía in El Centro of Madrid. We checked in, browsed the stores along Gran Vía, and wandered into the most perfect plaza with a café at one end. We sat among locals, watched the passersby and traffic go by, and enjoyed sangria and, of all things, pizza! After a wonderful dinner we returned to our hotel, got dressed and met a group of friends at an Irish pub that was playing the Réal Madrid vs. Belgium fútbol game. Altogether, there were 18 of us (nine Theta’s!!) at the pub. As the game came to an end more and more Americans had arrived, friends of our friends studying abroad in Madrid. We walked past Plaza de Sol to a club named Joy, that has been open every day for the last 23 years. The music was great, including some American songs, and the entire club was packed, we guessed 800 people, but maybe more. The dancing was only stopped to allow the house Flamenco group to perform multiple times throughout the evening. When Casey and I finally left the club, the clock was just striking 5:00AM. Ringing in our long and eventful day at 23 hours!
The next morning, after a slightly later start than we had planned, we made up for lost time and ended up seeing a great deal of Madrid’s esteemed parks, churches, and plazas. We started at our hotel on Gran Vía and walked east to view the Palacio de Communicaciones. From there we walked through the Paseo de Prado, a large park filled with beautiful fountains, and sculptures. Then we passed the Prado museum, but had too little time to go inside. Next, we visited the grand and expansive Parque del Retiro (Retiro Park). During the 17th century this was the property of the royal palace of Felipe IV, of which only two buildings and the French-style gardens remain. Of the parks 330 acres, we were only able to see a small piece, and while we were tempted by the paddle boats in the large goldfish pond overlooked by the Monumento de Alfonso XII, but moved along in the essence of time. I was able to enjoy delicious horchata granizada a drink made from the milk of tigernuts slushy-style. From there we visited the beautiful Jardines Botánicos, built in 1781, and restored in the 1980s to the original plans. My favorite part of the botanical gardens was the greenhouse, with a room each for desert and tropical rainforest biomes. We even saw carnivorous plants and a starfruit tree!
From there we wandered into Santa Ana and found a plethora of cafes in Plaza Santa Ana. We chose a modern restaurant named with typical Spanish fare, in a prime people-watching location. For lunch I had tortilla española, a simple egg and potato omelette-type dish, and gazpacho. With a little food in us, Casey and I walked through Santa Ana to the Plaza Mayor. Plaza Mayor is an large paved plaza surrounded by buildings dating back to 1590, but most have been significantly restored after fires in the 17th and 18th centuries. We then navigated the labyrinth of streets to the Palacio Real and adjacent Catedral de la Almudena, where we snapped photos and enjoyed Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” played by a Spanish violinist who I had to tip for playing one of my favorite songs! We wandered through the Plaza de Oriente and neighboring gardens complete with statues of the Spanish rulers throughout time. On our way back to our hotel we wandered in and out of shops along Calle del Arenal, passing by Joy Madrid from the previous night. As a gummy fanatic I was thrilled to find a Haribo store, where gummy bear are just the beginning. I filled a bag full of candy and was already enjoying it on our walk back before I realized the possibility of not being allowed to bring my treasures back onto the boat!
That evening we met our friends Chelsea and Johanna who are studying in Madrid, along with Stephen, Chelsea’s boyfriend who is on Semester at Sea with us, for dinner in Sol. We had paella, tortilla española and even tasted pimientos de pardon (sautéed and salted chili peppers, from Padron, Spain) from a neighboring table that was intrigued with our introduction to Spanish food. As we said goodbye to our friends, we ran through the variety of options for our evening. We decided to go back to Gran Vía and enjoyed a pitcher of sangria at a table on Gran Vía at Café Zahara, a block from our hotel.
The next morning we focused on light shopping in Chueca, the renowned gay-district across Gran Vía from our hotel, after a light breakfast at… Starbucks! Our luckiest find of the shopping trip was the surprising Casa Postal. While we had expected to find an array of post cards, we were not expecting them to be antiques from the 20s and beyond. The entire store had walls of filing cabinets filled to the brim with postcards organized by attraction. Some had messages scrawled on the back, and some did not. Casey and I perused stacks of postcards depicting El Retiro and the Palacio Real, and purchased a few. On our way back to our hotel, we purchased postcards for mailing home and ran into two boys from USD, one studying abroad in Madrid and another of our friends from Semester at Sea! It was such a funny coincidence, but it was nice to run into them, as communicating and coordinating proved much more difficult without the e-mails, text messages and Facebook communications that we are so accustomed to.
After retrieving our bags from our hotel, we boarded the Metro, and navigated through three different transfers to arrive at the airport. While trying to check in for our flight, we were told that our reservation had been cancelled. What had been such a fortunate change in our reservations en route to Madrid, had actually confused the computer system, and since it thought we never got to Madrid, it didn’t expect us to want to fly back to Jerez de la Frontera from Madrid. Luckily the ticket agent was very helpful and we were able to get back onto our flight. Another very interesting part of the airport was the security lines, very inefficient and much more touch-intensive than security in the US. We grabbed simple sandwiches of mini-baguettes and Manchego cheese in the airport and waited to board our plane. After returning to Jerez de la Frontera, we were confronted with the problem of how to get back to the boat. On the way to the airport, four of us split the €61, making it more reasonable. We were told there was no bus directly to Cádiz until 7:00, and waiting around in the hot & windy weather was not too appealing. We were able to take a bus to the transit center and then the train to Cádiz.
After returning to Cádiz we showered and met up with friends from the boat. We then went out to eat, late, of course, as the Spanish are accustomed to having dinner around 9:00 or 10:00PM. At the restaurant we enjoyed delicious sandwiches and potato dishes, OK they were French fries, but that wasn’t what I thought I was ordering! We enjoyed great food and drinks in a plaza that is as busy by night as it was by day, we even saw one of our professors and his wife! Then we went to meet more SAS people at a bar in Nuevo Cádiz. Casey and I came home relatively early, but still had a great time dancing and socializing.
The next morning, our final day in port, I went on an FDP (faculty directed practicum, aka. field trip) to a wind and a solar farm near Cádiz. We were given a very in-depth and behind the scenes tour, as well as amazing photo opportunities. One of Al Gore’s close contributors for An Inconvenient Truth was our guide and spoke at length about many of the topics I am so interested in. I learned a lot about Spain’s efforts to generate alternative energy sources, and that they are third in the world for efforts of this type.It was a long day, and I wanted to get back to Cádiz to do some last minute shoe shopping, but the group stopped for lunch. Although we were off schedule, the restaurant was very good. Casey and I both enjoyed delicious gazpacho and Manchego cheese sandwiches on fresh flakey baguettes.
Upon our return to Cádiz, a friend from on the boat accompanied me on a whirlwind attempt to purchase some emergency shoes. After great consideration about packing, particularly in regards to shoes, each pair I brought to Madrid had given me a separate set of blisters. The evening before, as we walked to get gelato, I spotted out shoe stores to go to. However, the delayed return of our field trip meant that most businesses were closed for siesta, the midday nationwide nap. I was able to purchase a pair of flats and a pair of sandals, but the trip was high stress. I have never power walked so fast, but with the threat of dock time motivating me to get back to the ship on time, I had no problem nearly running.
As I watched the ship set sail last night, I realized the brevity of each visit, and the key point of making every minute count with the people surrounding you. Today we were anchored in the Strait of Gibraltar, where we could see Morocco in the distance, Spain on one side and Gibraltar (a British holding) on the other. We were anchored in order to refuel, and that process took hours. We made the most of it at lunch, making friends with the good-looking, and shirtless Spanish man who was driving the pilot boat monitoring the exchange of fuel between the ships. After waving and blowing kisses, he retreated into the cabin of the boat, only to return with BINOCULARS! He accompanied this viewing with a thumbs-up sign, which is a quite universal sign. He was even nice enough to invite us back to shore with him. Unfortunately, we had to decline. The afternoon was filled with sunbathing and the first (relatively) stationary run on the treadmill. The morning and evening were filled with educational information regarding Morocco.
We will port in Morocco tomorrow morning. Along with a few of my friends and perhaps 35 total SAS participants, I will be taking a guided tour around Casablanca tomorrow, including a visit to the Hassan II mosque (the third biggest mosque and the tallest religious building in the world). We will be the first group to disembark, as the timing of our Mosque tour is crucial during this time of Ramadan, when visitor hours are abbreviated. We will not be traveling outside of Casablanca, and will be staying on the ship each night. During our pre-port logistical briefing, we were told the port risk is a level two, which translates to high. There is some concern for safety of the boat, and I have my own personal reservations about personal safety in Morocco. I will be dressing conservatively and traveling lightly, but focusing on immersion and having as good of a time as possible.
Stephanie@Sea
Friday, September 4, 2009
MUY Cerca de España
I am so incredibly excited to get to Spain. We will be in Cádiz in less than 7 hours! I have been practicing my Spain-style Spanish, aka th-erve-th-a instead of cerveza, and Cad-ith instead of Cadiz. This is very fun, and I feel I may not be able to hold back a huge grin while trying to converse and keep up with the mile-a-minute Spanish speakers I will soon be encountering.
I have a backpack and a small purse for three days. This may be the lightest I have ever packed. The forecast is upper 90s to 100 degree weather. Casey and I are staying in the Hotel Best Western Arosa, on Gran Via in the middle of Madrid. I thumbed through my travel book for Madrid as I was packing it for the weekend and found a few great maps with the estimated location of our hotel in a prime location for great food, wonderful shopping (would I have it any other way?) and a plethora of activities for day and night that will give us a great cultural experience.
Casey, Stephen and I will disembark early in the morning, grab a cab to Jerez de la Frontera (a nearby town where the airport is located), and hang out in or nearby the airport until our flight at 5:50PM. Casey and I will check into our hotel while Stephen meets up with Chelsea, his girlfriend and one of our Theta friends! A few of our Theta sisters will be meeting us at our hotel for tapas or dinner!
This should be an amazing start to the semester, and I can't wait to have something more exciting to talk about than food and the motion of the boat!
Stephanie@Sea
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Cerca de España!
Ahoy!
All's well aboard the MV Explorer. Today was filled with sunbathing and swimming on the seventh deck of the ship. Quick dips in the small salt-water pool made the 80 degree temperature much more bearable. Don't worry, I was reading for one of my classes! At some points along our course today we were within a hundred or so miles of some Portuguese islands! I looked, but was told the average human can see a mere 30 miles before the curvature of the earth makes it impossible to see beyond!
I am really enjoying my classes: History of Jazz, Multicultural Detective Fiction, Operations Management, Global Studies (which the entire boat takes, in one of two sections) and Business, Government and Society. In the latter three, some aspects of social responsible business, sustainability or environmental consciousness are present. I am so glad to be honing in on what I really want to learn about. In some of my upcoming projects I have formed groups and/or topics that also coincide with learning about my interests on a global scale.
We have only two more days of class left before our first port stop in Spain! We will be porting in Cadiz, Spain at 0800 on Saturday morning. From there my roommate Casey and I, as well as another friend from USD, Stephen, will head to the airport in Jerez de la Frontera. We will take a one hour flight to Madrid, and check in to the seemingly luxurious Hotel Best Western Arosa, along the popular Gran Via, in the bustling area of El Centro! Two girls from our sorority at USD will meet us at our hotel for a bit of sightseeing and tapas, likely. From there we plan to meet up with more friends for dancing! Sunday is a big tourist day, we plan to see as much of Madrid as possible! Then have a big dinner with all of the Theta's who are studying abroad in Madrid. Our last night in Madrid is sure to be a good one, and our final morning will be spent seeing what we could not the day before. Monday afternoon we will fly back to Jerez de la Frontera, and return to Cadiz, where I'm sure we will be able to find something to occupy us in the evening hours! Our final day in port will be spent visiting a solar wind farm for a professor led FDP (Faculty Directed Practicum), a field trip of sorts. We will have a few spare hours before returning to the MV Explorer and embarking for Casablanca, Morocco.
Hopefully we will be able to upload pictures from an internet cafe in Spain, if not I will try in Morocco.
Stephanie@Sea
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