Akwaba to Ghana - Fried octopus & friendly people

Tuesday, September 22, 2009 – Arrival to Ghana

 

            What comes to mind when you think of Ghana? Is it a lot of negatives ideas? Well, whatever stereotypes you’ve heard of Ghana and even Africa – forget them! Get your shots and visas and visit Ghana NOW! This country is amazing, the people are amazing, and I’m ready to book my next visit! Ghana is a country everyone needs to visit – not because of the sightseeing, beaches, or history, but because of the experience you will have while interacting with the people of this country. You will be changed forever. Akwaba is a phrase I didn’t stop hearing my whole stay in Ghana; it means “welcome”. Everyone is shaking your hand and asking your name everywhere you look. The hospitality is phenomenal and I think we could learn a lot from the Ghanaians from the way they live their lives, despite the hardships they endure.

            To start the morning off, I saw two whales jumping in the ocean while eating breakfast on the deck. Life doesn’t get much better than that! It was definitely a great welcome as we pulled into the port. I had not seen a whale yet and it was the one sea animal I was aching to see. The two whales were jumping and splashing and it was the coolest thing to see!

To begin my adventure in Ghana I had an FDP (Field Directed Program) with my International Business professor, Dr. Aimee Wheaton, to Global Mamas: Micro-lending business. Global Mamas is one of the most amazing organizations I have ever encountered, but I will get to that in a little bit. First and foremost, the bus ride to Accra! We took 1 ½ buses to the city of Accra, Ghana as soon as we were cleared from the ship. We ported in Tema, Ghana which is a ½ hour drive to Accra but with traffic and the road conditions can lead into a 2 hour drive. The highway we rode on was the first highway ever built in Ghana in 1962. You’d be surprised how different Ghanaian highways are from American highways. Their highway looked like it could be one of our back roads. Our tour guide was Samuel and as we drove to Accra he told us all about Ghana and the way of life in the country. All along the way we saw people carrying boxes, bowls of food, water packets, linens, and many other things on their heads! It was so cool! Samuel talked to us about the school system and there are two types: formal and informal education. Within formal education is public and private schools. Public tuition is free but parents are required to pay for the uniform, textbooks, etc. which makes it really difficult for many of the kids to attend school. Private tuition is paid for by the parents and is generally for the wealthier Ghanaians. Each student completes six years of primary school (elementary), three years of junior high school, and three years of secondary/technical school. Not all students continue on to the universities but many do their best to obtain a college degree. The informal style of education is when children learn trades such as weaving, pottery making, and fishing instead of attending school. As we continued our drive we saw so many street vendors coming up to our bus trying to sell us things. They were selling cell phone holders, newspapers, magazines, candy, gum, toilet paper, maps of Ghana, wood carvings, shoes, and anything else you could think of. Many women had clear wooden framed boxes on their heads that contained food. We asked Samuel what one woman was carrying and he said it was fried octopus. He called her up to the bus as it stopped and bought some. He handed everyone a piece and I’m proud to say that I tried street fried octopus. It was actually pretty good and tasted like calamari!!

We finally arrived at Global Mamas to begin our FDP. We were greeted by Renee, the founder of the organization, and then entered the store for a briefing. Global Mamas is a non-profit organization which started from the ground up by Renee (originally from South Dakota). Renee worked for the Peace Corps and volunteered in Ghana. She fell in love with the country and returned to start this amazing business – Global Mamas. The whole idea of this NGO is to allow women of Ghana to sell their products in a global market. There are over 400 producers across Ghana and each item is individually made by the women. Global Mamas gives the women access to the global market through a website and a distribution office in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Global Mamas doesn’t provide monetary loans but instead gives the women materials to produce their products; materials include: fabric, beads, dye, etc. 40% of all sales goes directly back to the producers. The women are paid upon completion of their order or within two weeks. The most astonishing part of the organization is that the start-up money came out of Renee’s own bank account and has been continuously growing for 6 ½ years.

After our briefing of the organization we were given time to look around the store and shop!! There were so many things to buy and it was very fairly priced. They had dresses, shirts, baby/toddler clothing, children’s clothing, purses, blankets, ornaments, jewelry, good luck charms, and so much more! Everything was so colorful and unique. I will be bringing some gifts home from Global Mamas everyone! After we shopped we split up into two groups: one group went to the drumming and dance workshop and the other went into the market. My group went to the market first with Selena, an employee of Global Mamas. It was one of the most exciting things I’ve ever seen. We almost got run over by a bus on the way because she led us right through the streets. As we walked through the market pathways we passed so many fried fish in huge bowls. I’d never seen so many fish in my life. The smell was horrible! We stopped at a fabric shop, spice and cleansing shop, and m In the market we saw eggshells, fabric makers, spices, shea butter, chalk pregnant women eat to help with sickness, straw like material they use to brush their teeth, and live crabs. We stopped at a music shop and I even bought some Ghanaian music! As we walked by all the little areas selling things, everyone smiled at us and said “Akwaba!” The Ghanaians were so welcoming and friendly. I loved the atmosphere and being able to see where they go to buy their everyday needs.

We spent a while in the market talking to various shop owners – if you can call them shops; it was more like small open areas filled with products. After leaving the market we went to the beach! Outside the entrance there was a small shop of wood carvings where I bought a wooden unity globe. One man that worked there taught us the Ghanaian handshake - I'll be showing everyone on my return home! There was a small restaurant at the bottom of the stairs leading to the beach where we bought drinks. The scenery was beautiful; huge rocks lined the backside of the beach and the waves just crashed against them like a scene from a movie! It was a nice relaxing afternoon before we headed back to Global Mamas for the second half of our day. We arrived at Global Mamas and, after exchanging addresses, said goodbye to Selena (amazing tour guide). Valerie, another Global Mamas employee, boarded the bus and took us to our Drumming and Dancing Workshop. The workshop took place right in the city but behind a few buildings with a patio and chairs set up along the edge. We were actually right behind the W.E.B Dubois School which was pretty cool! Our instructors were a husband and wife who are a professional drummer and dancer. There was also a little band of three drummers that helped with the workshop. Gifdy (dancer) showed us dancing styles from four different regions in Ghana. She was amazing and could really move! After she performed she brought our group up to learn the dance with her. It wasn’t too hard to learn and I have something to bring back to the U.S. now J Maybe I’ll even put it into our dance routines at Naz! Lauren and I really got into it and were doing our African dance the rest of the trip! After the dancing we sat back down and everyone had a drum in front of them. Knee (drummer) began teaching us different rhythms and it was a lot harder than we thought. Try putting a group of college students together and make them be in sync – doesn’t sound too good! We eventually got it and I absolutely loved the drumming!!!

When the workshop ended we boarded the bus to go to the gas station (meeting point for shuttles to and from the port). On the way, we passed the U.S. Embassy which has crazy security. We were warned not to take pictures (illegal) and an SAS student did. The bus was pulled over and the student got taken into the embassy. It’s a serious penalty and he had to sign so many forms to get out of it. He’s lucky his camera wasn’t confiscated; they did delete the picture though. Anyway, Lauren and I, along with quite a few others, were going to the Welcome Reception. We had to wait for the bus at the gas station, so we were mingling with the street vendors in the mean time. Whether we wanted to buy something or not, they were so friendly and wanted to make friends with us. It wasn’t the typical pushy street vendors we were dealing with either; the people just wanted to meet us and learn about our culture. I ended up talking to a guy selling bracelets, Divvy, and I told him I didn’t want one. We kept talking and I ended up exchanging e-mails with him so we could keep in touch. This short conversation opened my eyes to the meaning of making connections worldwide, which would normally seem trivial to us at home. The bus finally came and we arrived at Asheshi University.

The Welcome Reception was put on by the university administrators and students to welcome SAS to Ghana. There was a large courtyard set up with an open space under a tent. We arrived early so had a bit to mingle with each other and exchanged stories of our day’s adventures. After dousing myself in 98.2% DEET bug spray, the reception began. We set up lawn chairs under the tent and the event began. We were honored with a dance show by the Asheshi dance troupe which was awesome! There were three guys and three girls and they could dance! It was the ultimate form of Ghanaian dance. The girls’ dresses were beautiful! The Deputy Minister of Education spoke to our group to welcome us – it was a huge honor for him to be there. The Dean of the school and student government president, Romeo, also welcomed us with a speech. After the introductions, we were able to grab some finger food and mingle with the Ghanaian students. The food included delicious, spicy beef kebobs (great flavor), pepper hummus and pitas, plantain chips (my new favorite snack!). At first everyone was a little timid to talk to the students but Kristin and I went right up to two boys named, Edwin and Nassau. Turns out there’s only three majors at Asheshi: Computer Information Systems, Management Information Systems, and Economics/Finance. They were so friendly and we talked business for a bit (Kristin is International Business so we all had a lot in common). I made my over to some of the other girls and we met Rasheed. He was awesome and we learned about the fun things to do in Accra. He recommended the beaches but we wouldn’t be able to make it because our trip was packed full. We told him about SAS and how he should look into being an inter-port student for the next voyage! He seemed to love hearing about our voyage and all that we do! We gave him our names so he can look us up on Facebook! The last person we talked to was Diana who was so sweet and so funny. She does karate on her free time and the school’s dean teaches it! She taught us our partial African names (day we were born). I’m Monday so my name is Adzoa – pronounce A-jo. We exchanged e-mails to keep in touch in case we ever come to Ghana or she comes to the U.S. She was so great and it wasn’t much different than meeting someone from the U.S. The students are very much like us except the majors are more restricted than at our own universities. We all found things we had in common and it was very easy to talk with them and get to know them. Hopefully we will remain in contact after we leave Ghana!

We caught the second bus back to the ship and I sat with Katie. She’s from Portland, Oregon but goes to school at Colorado State University. We get along so well and she’s becoming one of my great friends. We talked the whole hour and a half trip back to the ship about SAS trips, people on the ship, and making lifelong friends! We got back to the ship and Lauren, Katie, Kristin, Rosario, Jennifer, and I all got ice cream on the 7^th deck before bed. It was a great way to end the night by reflecting on everything that happened. I turned my phone on and it FINALLY worked so I got to BBM mom!!! It was SO good to talk to her and I couldn’t type fast enough to tell her everything that had been going on. It definitely made my night and I only had more to look forward to; the Cultural Immersion trip starts tomorrow! Until tomorrow…

Tap Tap Tap "Can I have your attention please!"

Sept 12 - Camel Trek: Part Two

 

           This morning everyone woke up about 0600 and hiked to the top of this hill/dune thing to watch the sunrise at about 0630. We hiked back down and packed up our stuff, then dragged our mats back into our tents and found our next camel. Lauren found her camel from the day before, Elvis. She rode him the entire camel trek and had become pretty attached to him. I got on the camel behind Elvis and named him Abu. He was a little awkward but I liked him anyway! He had a strange growth on the side of his neck and was oddly lumpier than the other camels. Abu was very nice though so we got along just fine. The morning trek was pretty uneventful except that the camels were all pretty cranky. A few were foaming at the mouth and making weird noises. We were all a little freaked out but just figured they were sick of carrying a bunch of crazy Americans on their backs. Even still, I suggest everyone should ride a camel at some point in their life; it’s a pretty wild experience!

            After the morning trek for about an hour we made it back to the bus to begin our second 8-hour bus ride back to Marrakech. I am happy to report that we did not have any near death experiences on this ride. By now we were all pretty used to the thousand foot cliffs outside our windows and we didn’t seemed too phased by them. About a half hour into our drive we stopped at an overlook to see the Palm Groves. Everyone got out to take pictures for about five minutes. As we were getting back on the bus I was distracted by some kids and right as I turned around to enter the bus, I saw a short man holding something that looked like a corn cob. I looked at it a little longer and realized it was a yellowish-green lizard!!!! The man was shoving it at me and wanted me to take a picture of it for money. I looked at Eddie (assistant dean of student and our trip leader) and he said “Just get on the bus!” I was freaking out and couldn’t believe I just saw a lizard nearly seven inches away from me. Gotta love Morocco!

We stopped at a Kasbah (Rock the Kasbah!) for lunch. Lauren and I sat with a group of girls and an LLL (LifeLong Learner) named Vanessa. She used to be a police detective for domestic violence and child abuse. Vanessa has traveled all over the world and told us about a lot of her experiences. She told us about volunteering at National Parks in the U.S. and how they give you housing while you work in the park. Vanessa also told us about places in Spain and Italy where you go for a month and speak English to Spanish and Italian executives who want to learn/improve their English. It was pretty interesting to hear about the opportunities out there which I had never heard of. Lunch was definitely very interesting and fun! After lunch Lauren and I walked around the Kasbah. We walked into a little store and were looking at lots of pretty scarves. The next thing we know, the shopkeeper was wrapping a scarf around Lauren’s face and began tying it in the traditional way. Lauren was a little freaked out but I whipped out the video camera and got it on film. The best part of the whole thing was when the shopkeeper said “You worth 2,000 camels!” According to Jamal, anything over 1,000 is really good! HAHA! We both ended up buying scarves for 40 Dirham (roughly $5). Lauren was a good bargainer and got it down from 50 to 40. Granted it wasn’t much, but you’ve got to start somewhere.

It was almost time to go so everyone was getting on the bus. I looked out the window and saw our bus driver holding a bunny by the ears in between the two buses. He was talking to another man who was digging through under the bus. The man pulled out a knife and hands it to our bus driver. He went behind the bus and killed the bunny so obviously I was hysterical; I called him Rabbit Killer the rest of the trip! We then continued our venture through the High Atlas Mountains to Marrakech. What we drove through to get back to Marrakech was insane. The mountains were beautiful, but what really shocked me were the little clusters of people that live up there. Their houses literally come out of the mountain. Donkeys are grazing in the middle of the mountain side all over. There are kids running around everywhere and men sitting on the sides of stores. We didn’t see too many women because they are always doing all the hard work behind the scenes. I wish we could have stopped in all the little villages. They were so fascinating but also really sad. Morocco is a country with 55% illiteracy rate and after seeing the rural part of the country, I understand why. Education is not as highly valued as it is in the U.S. Children need to help their families by herding the sheep or doing other various jobs to help out. Although the poverty level was quite high in these areas, the children seemed so happy. It really opened my eyes to see that you don’t have to have everything to be happy. It was pretty amazing.

We got back to the hotel we stayed at the first night in Marrakech about 1730ish. We had the whole night free to ourselves so we could explore and grab dinner on our own. Many of us were still a little nervous to walk around at night and were glad when Jamal invited us all to the place he goes when his mom doesn’t cook for him. A big group agreed to meet him in the lobby at 2030. We showered and took naps – I caught a cold the first day in Morocco so I was trying to rest up – then got some free internet time on the lobby computers. When I logged in to Facebook, I didn’t know what to do. I haven’t been on it in so long so I pretty much forgot what to do. It was a pretty nice feeling because I realized at home I’m glued to Facebook and the internet. When we’re on the ship and even in ports, we don’t get access to that (unless we’re lucky and find an internet café). It’s a freeing feeling being disconnected to the technological world and it’s definitely going to play a part in my life when I get home. My hours on Facebook will be severely cut down when I have computer access again!

At 2030, Jamal took us into the Medina (old city) of Marrakech. We got off the bus near the Mosque and it was a sight I will never forget. Thousands and thousands of Moroccans were all kneeled down praying outside of the Mosque. With Islam, there are five pillars, and one is to pray five times a day. When the Mosque bell chimes people begin their prayers. To see that many people devoted to the same religion all in one place was one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen. I’ve never understood the Muslim people very much but after tonight I realized they have such a strong bond with each other. Everyone is united by Islam and they all connect through their prayer – it’s amazing. When we got into the Medina we walked through the back streets of the markets and passed many stores that we wouldn’t have seen from the regular market. All of us were wondering where in the world was Jamal taking us and why are we walking down these creepy streets. When we arrived at the restaurant I was a little surprised. The outside of this place looked pretty sketchy, especially because it was down a really dark, narrow ally. When we walked in, it was a totally different place. There was beautiful tile work and archways. It turned out that this restaurant used to be some high city official’s house. We were led out into this courtyard in the middle of the building – it had no ceiling!! We could see the stars as we ate dinner! There was a large fountain in the middle with circular dinner tables all around which had beautiful table settings. Jamal told us that this type of architecture is really common in Morocco and is called “Veil architecture”. This type is used to mask what the insides of places really look like to protect the feelings of the less fortunate. The Moroccans hide how elaborate the insides of buildings are and then decorate to the highest extent on the inside. It was pretty neat!

We all sat down at the tables and introduced ourselves to new friends! Lauren and I sat with Christie, Leigh-Ann, and Julie. Our waiter was named Abdul and he was hysterical! I have found that Moroccan people are SO nice. They just want to talk with you and make sure that your stay in Morocco is the best it can be. Abdul told us all about his family and what we needed to make sure we saw while we were in Marrakech. We ended up taking pictures with Abdul and he gave us a rose. The meal was really good – Lauren and I split cous cous with chicken and veggies. We had some of the best dinner conversation yet with the girls we sat with. I have never laughed so hard. (“You want to sleep with camel? It will support your weight.”)

After dinner we went back into the souks. When we walked through the souk before dinner, it was right after sundown. Now, it was about 2230 and the place was packed. Everyone had come out to break their fast since we were in Morocco during Ramadan (part of the Five Pillars – month of fasting). It was crazy so we all stuck close to Jamal and his fancy snakeskin shoes.  Jamal gave us advice on where to buy stuff and get good prices. He also gave us the history of the markets. One of the areas that he took us to used to be part of the slave trade. It was an open square of the market and the slaves were brought there to be sold – pretty chilling. Another area he told us to stay away from because they sell contraband.  We walked back to the main square and there were motorbikes zooming around, donkey carts, people hollering to us to come see their store, and in the background you could hear the snake charmer’s music. It was pretty intense. One man brought a snake into our little group and tried putting around one of the guy’s necks. I FREAKED out because I did not want that thing near me. I couldn’t believe they just came right up to us without asking. Apparently, they do this so they can force you to pay them dirham – we didn’t think it was funny. On our walk home, Jamal gave us the history of the Mosque and we learned how to cross the street the Moroccan way. You put your hand up like Moses and just walk right in front of the cars. It was pretty fun and a little scary but we all made it across the street! We finally made it back to our hotel and got some sleep before our morning shopping adventure.

We got up early so we could go to the souks and shop. Lauren and I walked with Alyssa, Ashley, and Mike. The souks were busy, but nothing compared to the night before. Lauren and I bought our dresses from a little shop – we are both buying a dress from each country! The guy that sold them to us then wanted to show us a “real” Berber house. We followed at first, but then decided against it because we thought he was going to trap us in a shop so we would buy a rug. We spent the rest of the morning in the souks. I bought a few things and had a great time bartering! It was my first real experience bartering in the markets and I think I did pretty good!

We had to run back to our hotel to grab our bags and get on the bus back to Casablanca. On the way back we stopped at the Moroccan equivalent to Wal-Mart to get lunch. It had a McDonald’s in it, and like the typical American tourists, we flocked to it. Their credit card machine was broken so everyone made a mad dash to get to the ATM. The food was pretty much the same but tasted a little different. I got a McFlurry with KitKat and they added caramel – if only they would do that at home!

Once we were about 45 minutes away from the port, we started having bus karaoke. Some girls went to the front to use the microphone (I didn’t need it because I’m already loud enough, you all know this!) and the songs included: I Want It That Way, Wannabe, Buttercup, Ain’t No Mountain High Enough, and some more. We tried to get Jamal and Eddie to sing, but they wouldn’t do it. Jamal got on the microphone (tap tap tap) and said that this was going to be the last time he got on the mic. Alyssa then presented him with the money we collected from everyone on the bus and a postcard with a special note because he was such an amazing tour guide. Our tip ended up being about $40-$50 – it was well worth it! We all got pictures with Jamal and were all sad to part ways.

We got back to the ship about 1630, but I didn’t get to board the ship until about 1800 because the security line was so long. All the trips got back at the same time and security has to go through everyone’s bags. Security has so many rules on what we are allowed to bring on the ship and it gets pretty annoying when we have to dump our water bottles out every time. They think we’re smugglers! There were probably six buses worth of students, LLL, faculty, and staff waiting to get on the ship so it took forever but we eventually made it up the gang way. I grabbed some dinner with a group of friends and watched Emperor’s New Groove with Lauren, Rosario, and Jennifer. I went to bed early that night because I had the Coca Cola Plant visit the next morning!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Sept 13 – Coca Cola Plant Visit

 

            Today was my visit to the Coca Cola Plant in Casablanca. We met in Classroom 2 to discuss the company and the different business aspects of Morocco. It took about a half hour to drive to the plant so I got to see more of Casablanca than I did before. It’s a very modernized city and isn’t much different from our cities at home. I sat with Lila on the bus and she is only a few rooms down from my cabin. We were in the same group for the tour and it was nice getting to know her. We received hair nets and ear plugs upon arrival – I got a kick out of it and of course saved them as souvenirs! We walked through the room where they purify the water which then goes to the bottling plant. There is also another process involving filtration, carbonation, and carbon filtration. It is a continuous process that lasts 7 days a week/24 hours a day and never stops.

            We then moved into the room where the syrups are made. There are two kinds of syrups that contain different degrees of sugar. Simple syrup: sugar + water and Refined syrup: adds the Coca Cola mix. The machines are made in Germany, the formula comes from Atlanta, Georgia, and it is processed in Morocco – talk about international business. In Morocco there are only bottles of soda – you rarely see cans. They recycle the bottles so they can reuse them for more processing. The life span of a bottle is 5-7 years. The bottles get two washings and the machines take 200 photos of the bottles to check for safety and efficiency before packaging. The biggest bottling machine produces 24,000 bottles an hour. There are four bottling plants in Morocco and hundreds in the U.S. We could definitely see the difference between Moroccan and American business when given these statistics.

            After our tour of the plant – it didn’t last too long – we were seated in a conference room with a big round table and comfy office chairs. Omar, the president of Coca Cola Corporate, gave us a presentation on Coca Cola Corporate and Coca Cola in Morocco. He discussed the different brands of Coca Cola in Morocco (13 total) and the community initiatives the company is taking. We were given a lot of information about the company and its marketing campaigns. The marketing campaign usually changes every three years depending on what works. Omar told us how important it is to adapt to the market where you are located. The Moroccan Coca Cola company puts high standards on environmentally friendly approaches and by 2012 they plan to have their products become water neutral. This approach means that they will put back every drop of water they use into the environment. Coca Cola is the 4^th most admired brand in Morocco and many people desire to work there. The company gives the employees a lot of benefits and incentives for working there including insurance, health care, education for children, and higher wages. The company really works at doing as much as they can for its employees.

            After our discussion on the actual company we were able to have a round table discussion on business: Americans in Morocco. We had three panelists who spoke to us and answered our questions: Omar (Coca Cola Corporate), Mendi (Moroccan lawyer who studied in U.S.), and Tim (President of SD Meyers in Ohio). Mendi told us how Morocco is working to bring American style law to the country. We also discussed how business in Morocco is different from America. The most common difference was cultural because Americans are used to speedy responses and in Morocco, communication takes a lot longer. We learned how important it is to adapt to the culture we are in and try our best to understand the way the people and country work. Personal contact is extremely important in Morocco as opposed to technological communication in the U.S.

            The panelists gave us advice for a U.S. company coming to Morocco to do business. The biggest piece of advice was again to adapt to the culture. He way to be successful is if you immerse yourself in the Moroccan culture and build your plan around the way Moroccans handle business. Market research is also extremely important so you are prepared for the business transaction. The last topic we discussed was how things have changed in the last 10-15 years in Morocco. Omar commented that things are changing and many people are returning to the country after being abroad for a long time. Although things are evolving slowly, they are still evolving. It is obvious that Morocco is becoming more modern as time goes on. Lastly, we had a question and answer period in which the SAS students got to ask the panel questions regarding Coca Cola and Moroccan business. I asked a question regarding how women are perceived in Moroccan business. As soon as I asked the question, the entire panel remained silent for 10-15 seconds. It was pretty interesting to me because I think they were taken aback by my question. Omar took on the answer and explained that women are becoming more respected in Moroccan business. The head of marketing in one sector of Morocco Coca Cola is a woman which was great to hear. However, the way he described his answer beat around the bush and wasn’t as direct as I had hoped. Obviously, Moroccan women are not on the same drawing board as Moroccan men but I wanted to understand more about the progression of women in business including the struggles. It was difficult for me because I did not want to offend the panelists by being too direct or appear disrespectful so I did not further my question. It definitely left me something to think about.

            After the round table discussion, we headed to the cafeteria for lunch. We received complimentary Coke products and I tried the new Moroccan brand Hawai – which was delicious! It was a juice drink with a soda kick and tasted like pineapple and coconut. Too bad they won’t be bringing it to the U.S. Lunch concluded our visit to the plant and we departed for the ship. Many of us wanted to spend some more time in Casablanca to shop because we had about two hours before Byron time (an hour before on-ship time so you know you won’t be late!). I decided to go around the market with Lila and let me tell you, she is the best barterer I know. We went to one shop and saw a bunch of jewelry that we liked. The shopkeeper said 70 dirham for each piece; Lila got it down to 10 dirham a piece and we bought a lot! I found a purse I fell in love with and bartered that down by 200 dirham! I was getting good. (The ratio from dirham to USD is about 8.14 dirham to 1 USD). Lila and I continued around the market and found a little secret market area that had the most beautiful paintings and mirrors I had ever seen. I wanted to take them home but no way would I fit it all. I decided that when I buy a house I’m going on another adventure around the world to find furniture and decorations! We said hi to a few Moroccan shopkeepers but didn’t go in their shops. They were so friendly and one brought out his little girl who was six years old named, Muna. Lila got her picture with her and exchanged addresses. It was a really neat experience with the Moroccans because even though we didn’t buy anything they still wanted a conversation. We made it to the ship in perfect time. By now I was exhausted and didn’t watch the ship leave because it was dark out. I had dinner then shared stories with the roomies and went to bed early! One week until Ghana!!!!

Ride Sally Ride

September 11 - Camel Trek: Part one   

 

            Today we left the hotel at 0700 to head to the Sahara! We had a 7-8 hour bus ride which would be longer if you include the stops. We took a coach bus and were on our way to the outskirts of Marrakech. Jamal, our tour guide, told us we would be traveling through the High Atlas Mountains which are famous in Morocco. They were high alright!! Eddie, our other trip leader kept asking if anyone wanted motion sickness medicine because the roads would be very windy and we would be reaching an altitude of some 2,000 kilometers. Looking out the window at all the mountains ahead of us, I was getting nervous! As soon as we started up the mountain we saw a truck turned over on its side! That didn’t give me a good feeling about this trip through the mountains. Our bus driver was crazy! He would zoom around the corners and up the hills. The roads literally went back and forth as we climbed the mountain. We passed many small towns with the same types of shops selling odds and ends. It looked like people were not very busy because everyone was always sitting down outside near the road. As we got deeper into the mountains we started seeing houses made right out of the mountains. Clothes were strung all over the outside walls to dry and donkeys were all over the place. I couldn’t believe the poverty level. Jamal told us that the majority of these houses rarely had running water. It was sad that so many people live like that. When we passed children in the towns they were always eager to wave to us!! It was exciting to see how happy they were despite the way they lived.

            Small towns and houses came few and far between as the hours passed. For a while at a time all we could see were mountains. There were no guard rails and when I looked down over the cliff I couldn’t believe how steep it was. We were so high up and there wasn’t much holding us back from falling over those cliffs. That’s when I started to get nervous when I bus driver would speed constantly. Surprisingly, there were other trucks and cars on the road. Whenever we got behind one, our driver would pass them at mock 500 speed!!! I think I saw my life flash in front of me a few times. I was petrified we would be going over the cliff and never make it to the camels! We had an extremely close call about half way through the ride. I was sleeping and all of a sudden Lauren puts her arm across me and we jerked to a stop. I woke up and we were about 5 inches away from the rocks on the wall of the mountain. A truck had been coming straight at us around the corner because he was on the wrong side of the road. If we hit him, the truck would have been over the cliff – and I don’t know if we would have been following. I was SO scared!!! Needless to say, I didn’t sleep after that! We pulled over a little way down the road to regroup and everyone was shaken up. We had an amazing view over the cliff that we almost went over so I made sure to get some pictures of that! Once the bus driver settled down we got back on the bus and stopped for lunch.

            The other three buses were already in the restaurant. It was literally in the middle of nowhere because we were somewhere in the High Atlas Mountains. I was surprised a place located her could even stay in business because there was nothing around at all! The day was September 11^th, so before our meal one of our leaders said a few words and we had a moment of silence in memory of the day. It was hard to be away from home on this day because of how important it is in our country’s history but it was also amazing to be so far away from the U.S. and still have such a powerful moment of silence. I was really happy that we all took the time to acknowledge the day and remember. After lunch we headed back on the road to Zagaura (the city right outside the Sahara where we would meet our camels). The ride lasted forever because we were so anxious for the camel trek. When we finally arrived we scrambled to take what we didn’t need out of our backpacks. Lauren and I shared her hiking backpack so we wouldn’t have to worry about two bags. The camels were all sitting down in a huge group waiting for us! We had to go in riding groups because there were so many of us. I walked the first portion which wasn’t bad because I was so excited to be taking pictures of the camels! When it was my turn I chose my camel and named him Fivel! He was great. I was so scared for him to stand up. Fivel leaned down on his knees to get his on his back legs then stood straight up. It was extremely awkward and I thought I was going to fall off him! Once we started riding we formed a group with the other trains of camels so there was a bunch of us. I was having so much fun and everyone knew it because I was just a hootin’ and hollerin’. Throughout our ride some children from a village nearby were standing on the side of our train watching us. We would say “hi” and wave at them and they looked so happy! There were also random herds of sheep on the way which was kinda funny to see. We stopped again and I got on another camel named Sally. This was our final trek to the camp and as we rode I sang “Ride Sally Ride”. Everyone seemed to enjoy the entertainment! Getting off the camel was the most challenging part because it felt like you were on a rollercoaster. First, the camel kneels down and it looks like you’re going head first into the ground, then you lean back really far when the hind legs sit down; it’s quite the process. My butt hurt pretty badly after I got off but I had so much fun!

            We arrived at the camp and it looked like a little village made of tents. As we walked through the entrance way we were greeted by a singing/chanting Moroccan nomad group in all white – it definitely made the experience. Inside there was a big square with a fire pit in the center. To left were more tents filled with small tables and comfy bench seats where we would eat dinner. To the right were our sleeping tents made out of carpet and rug material. We got our tent assignments and dropped our bags; each tent held six cots with blankets. In the center of our tent village the nomads set up a drink bar for us with soda, water, beer, and wine to purchase. I bought a Moroccan beer and it was pretty good besides the fact that it was warmer than any beer I’ve ever had before! Dinner wasn’t for another two hours so we climbed to the top of the dune and watched the sun go down. It was pretty unbelievable sitting there with a group of new friends, watching the sunset in the middle of the Sahara (kinda).

**On the last summer voyage, Morocco was the last port of call. Three students were on the same camel trek trip that I just went on but were kicked off SAS. Apparently, the three boys got really drunk and started fighting. They ended up destroying the nomads’ tents and were ultimately sent home. To hear a story like that was really embarrassing because when you come into another country you need to be aware that you are in another country. Acting like animals and idiots is not a great way to make a good impression on the people of the country. I was actually surprised that they still served alcohol while we were at the camp. They even had a bottle of hard liquor for 1000 Dirham (about $125) – no one bought that!  Luckily, there were no fights – just one really drunk guy who wouldn’t shut up when everyone was trying to sleep.**

             We went back to camp and sat around waiting for dinner to start. The nomads started singing and dancing again and before I knew it everyone was up dancing and trying to sing with them. We really did more clapping and laughing than actually singing because we had no idea what they were saying. I got pulled up by the woman in the Moroccan group to dance and it was really cool to dance around with her. I had a great time even though we couldn’t even communicate with each other. We ate dinner at 2030 so that everyone could eat at the same time because of Ramadan (Islam religion’s month of fasting). The meal started off with bread and a salsa dish, of course; I’ve never eaten so many carbs in one trip! The main dish was a Moroccan twist of beef stew and it was really good. Dessert was some sort of melon that I’m going to call Nomad Melon. It was delicious and tasted like a mix between cantaloupe and honey dew with an extra flavor of goodness.

            We spent the rest of the night talking, which was occasionally interrupted by more singing, dancing, and clapping. Everyone loved it the first few times but after a while it felt like they were coming out to entertain us every ten minutes. We eventually got a game of Mafia going in one of the dinner tents. I’ve never played the game before and everyone on the ship seems to be playing it all the time. It turned out to be really fun and definitely a great game to play with a huge group of people in the middle of the desert. Each person gets a card which will tell you if you are a townsperson, mafia member, nurse, or sheriff. The narrator leads the game and everyone closes their eyes at certain times for others to find out information about the other players. The mafia chooses who to “kill” and then there is an argument/trial about who killed the person. It gets pretty intense and I got to be the mafia for one round which was awesome! We played a few rounds and then everyone was slowly going to bed. A huge group of us decided to pull our cots out from the tents and put them in the middle of the camp to sleep under the stars. It was quite a process but we eventually had all the beds laid out perfectly. Our sleepover consisted of Lauren, Kristin, Jeremy, Bryan, Kaitlyn, Kim, Rebecca, Laura, Rochelle, and me! For our beds, we were given a mat, two sheets, a pillow, and a thick wool blanket. There was sand all inside the blankets so therefore in all of our beds. No matter how much you brushed off, more appeared. We finally gave up and tucked our pant legs in our socks (to avoid from anything crawling up there like the scorpion that was found a few feet from the camp) and settled into our sandboxes. The sky was so clear and you could see so many stars in the sky. It was one of the most beautiful sights I’ve ever seen. We all fell asleep looking at the stars in our little pow wow of beds. Until tomorrow...

Welcome to Morocco: One of the most insane experiences of my life!

Sept 10 – Marrakech, Morocco

We are finally in Morocco!!! We docked in Casablanca at 0800 and had to be in the Union for our Moroccan diplomatic briefing by 0830. There were two people from the U.S. Consulate in Morocco there to give us some details about the country statistics and different things to expect while in Morocco. The camel trekers had to be ready to go immediately after the briefing to get our passports, and bus/room assignments. Luckily, I was on the same bus and rooming with my friend Lauren! There were four buses full of SASers who went on the camel trek (nearly 200 students). There were so many of us!! We loaded the buses with our backpacks and were off to Marrakech. Jamal, our awesome tour guide, gave us a little briefing of Casablanca as we drove through the city to leave. I couldn’t keep my eyes from looking out the window – there was so much going on! Lauren saw someone give a thumbs down to our bus which made us a little apprehensive to arrive in Marrakech. We knew things like that could be expected but I think to actually see negative feelings towards us were hurtful. Anyway, most of us slept on the four hour bus ride to the city but were very excited once we arrived in Marrakech!
Our bus dropped us off at the Djemaa el-Fna Square which is where all the souks are located. We had lunch at a restaurant right inside the square for our first Moroccan meal. The place was so neat! We walked down some stairs, through a hallway, past a mosaic fountain, through a garden like pathway, and into the eating area. Everything is a process! The tables were beautiful; from the dishes, napkins, tablecloth, and seats. It was all so extravagant. Lauren and I sat with some new friends Kim, Alex, and Quanju (a student from China). Kim and Alex are both on our bus so it was nice to get to know them better. Lunch was really good. They give us bread to begin with then bring out the real food. Just for the starters there were five plates of different foods including: sweetened carrots, beets (which I actually tried Grandma!), potatoes, eggplant concoction, and salsa with tomatoes and onions. Then they brought out the main dish of chicken marinated to look yellow. For the first dessert a plate of orange slices covered in cinnamon – which wasn’t my favorite. The second dessert was a plate of pastries which Morocco is famous for. They were delicious! To end lunch they gave us a small cup of hot mint tea – which was soo good! I couldn’t believe that was only lunch! To top it off, during the meal a bird flew in the restaurant and was just hanging out with us. The whole experience was nuts! Everything was so different from the U.S. After lunch we left the restaurant to head out for some free time in the souks.
The Marrakech souks are the most famous in all of Morocco so it was pretty exciting to be shopping there. When we entered the square I’m pretty sure my jaw dropped. I had never seen anything like it – it was pure chaos all around us. There were mopeds and motor bikes honking like crazy while zooming in and out of the crowd. You could hear the music of the snake charmers engulfing the square. Monkey trainers were anxiously trying to get you to take your picture with the monkey for dirhams (Moroccan currency). Fresh squeezed orange juice carts lined the walkway into the markets one right next to the other. I couldn’t believe my eyes! Lauren and I were a little overwhelmed and clung onto our trip leaders, Charlie and Carol, just to be safe! Charlie is a psychology professor on SAS and Carol is his wife. When Jamal told us to meet at the bus at 5:00 a man came up to us trying to imitate Jamal and act like our tour guide. I was freaked out because he was trying to get us to follow him around and we didn’t need his assistance. After we ignored him long enough, he finally went away and Charlie, Carol, Lauren, and I began exploring the souks. I couldn’t stop looking at everything. We got away from the main square and walked deeper into the markets. There were shops with carpets, lamps, traditional Moroccan clothing, shoes, leather purses, jackets, belts, even animal hides. We even walked right past a snake charmer and I couldn’t believe a cobra and python were just hanging out in the middle of the market! It was insane!!! They warned us during the pre-port briefing that you might hear “Balek, Balek” which is what donkey cart drivers yell to have you get out of the way. Well, no sooner were we walking through the streets did I hear “Balek, Balek” and I turned around to see a donkey cart running straight for me. I got out of the way in time and then of course tried to take a picture of the donkey! The cart driver started yelling at me saying he wanted money for the picture! Apparently, you have to be sneaky when taking pictures because they try to charge you. I couldn’t believe it! I got away in time so I didn’t have to pay him though! So far all I could think about Marrakech was: this place is crazy!
The sky had looked like it was about to pour so we headed to a nearby building for some cover. As soon as we got under it down-poured! A bunch of people joined us and the shop owners were scattering to cover their belongings. After standing under the building for about 20 minutes it was time to head to the bus. We didn’t have far to go so we took a run for it. All of a sudden I was standing in the middle of a ten foot wide puddle up to my ankles and couldn’t find a way out! I took a run for it and ran deeper into the puddle, finally emerging with completely soaked sneakers! Everyone was waiting for the bus completely drenched and all we could do was laugh! What a way to start our adventure in Morocco! The bus came and took us to our hotel where we could dry off and relax before dinner. The hotel was better than I expected. I couldn’t believe how fancy the bedding and curtains were. Our room even had a balcony! The toilet was a little crazy because the flusher was a push lever – something I’d never seen before! We napped, showered, and headed out for our folklore show and horse fantasia about 8PM.
When we arrived at Chez Ali, two lines of men on horseback with guns were waiting for us! It was crazy. We got our pictures taken with them and entered the palace like arena. There was music coming from everywhere. Different Moroccan culture groups were stationed along the way singing and dancing their particular type of music. I got my picture taken with the group from the Sahara – you can recognize them because they wear the color indigo. We walked around the huge sandy pit (where the horseshow would take place) and arrived at our huge dinner tent. The place was decorated like a scene from Aladdin! Lauren and I sat with Carol, Charlie, Eddie, Christie, Lucas, and Louis. It was an entertaining dinner to say the least. The meal was fabulous and we had some amazing cous cous! About every five-ten minutes a different singing group came through the tent to entertain us. I was pulled up to dance with the belly dancer!! I definitely looked like an amateur! After dinner the horseshow was about to begin. We all ran for spots on the bleachers so we could see. Each rider would do a trick on their horse as the horse rode around the arena. It felt like we were at Medieval Time: Morocco style!!! It was nuts! The show proceeded to be pretty crazy with lots of music, some from Star Wars, and a belly dancing show. The fantasia show ended with fireworks and we headed out to the bus. I think we were all in awe that we just saw a show that could have been seen at Disney’s Epcot Morocco! It was a crazy and wild experience, but I loved it!! I couldn’t wait to camel trek the next day!

Hola from Espana

SPAIN

 

Day 1 – Cadiz, Spain

 

Hola amigos! I still feel as though I’m in Espana because I can’t stop saying “gracias”! Let me tell you, I had the time of my life! I absolutely love Spain. I don’t even know how to describe how I felt when I was there but it was definitely a great feeling. I’m ready to move there when I’m done with Semester at Sea. I have never been to a place with so much history and beautiful architecture. We spent a total of four days in Spain from September 5^th to September 8^th. We ported in Cadiz, Spain at promptly 0800 on Saturday morning! It was so exciting to finally see land! I didn’t wake up early enough (about 0700) to see the man from port climb onto the ship to help steer us in. I guess it’s a pretty neat process so I plan to get up early to see us pull in to Morocco. When I looked out my window I saw a building with Spanish written on the side and some men walking in and out of big pull down doors – we were officially docked and in Spain!!! Breakfast on the deck was awesome. We looked into port and could already see the beautiful buildings of Cadiz. Everyone was antsy to get off the ship but we still had to be cleared by Spanish Customs and Immigration. They board the ship and check all of our passports, and then we get cleared to get off the ship! It had been so long since we’d seen land or other forms of life other than the people on the ship, so it was great to be joined with the world again.

            The first day in port I did the Cadiz City Orientation. The tour didn’t start until 1300 so I had some time to kill. I was ready to go by 0900 so I packed my backpack with my camera and some Euros and headed off with my map of Cadiz. I ran into some girls who were exploring too so we ventured into Cadiz together. The city was amazing. There were so many old buildings that had beautiful architecture. We explored the back streets which led us right into the life of Spain. People were going about their daily routines as we passed apartment buildings, cafes, small grocery stores, bakeries, and even a bar! The streets were so narrow and made of cobblestone – I loved it! I couldn’t stop taking pictures of the buildings, balconies, and even the people. They probably thought I was a crazy tourist!

            We ran into a plaza in the center of town and it was already so lively even at 1000 in the morning. We found some little shops and I bought some postcards, magnet, and a dress! There were fellow SASers all around; it was like we were taking over the city! We headed back to the ship for lunch (it’s free and we can save our Euros if we eat on the ship!) and to grab last minute stuff for the city orientation. Everyone boarded the buses for the tour at 1300 and we had a half an hour bus tour through the city with our guide, Carmen. We stopped at the famous Cadiz beach and took pictures. The scenery was breathtaking! Carmen told us the walls built at each end of the beach were for protection because the city had been attacked by 7,000 men way back when. Cadiz is known as the best fortified city in the world (pretty impressive). After the tour of the city through the Old Town and the New Town we embarked on our walking tour. We walked through many of the streets I had seen earlier but it was great to hear the history of the buildings. We passed an old merchant’s house from the 14^th century. We went to the Holy and Apostolic Cathedral of Cadiz. I can’t even begin to describe what it was like walking through such a phenomenal place like that. The detail, the architecture, the size – it was amazing. Following the cathedral we went to two museums and La Plaza de las Flores. The plaza was so neat because there were flower shops everywhere with other little stores. We bought some helado (Spanish gelato) which was amazing!!! After that our tour was over so we headed to the ship. That night I went out with Becky, Kate, and Ashley to explore more of Cadiz. We found a café right in the middle of the plaza and ordered some sangria. Our waiter was so friendly and knew we couldn’t speak Spanish very well. We tried to order tapas (appetizer) but what we thought was nachos was actually cheese slices and anchovies. That changed our mind fast so we stuck with the sangria. The four of us sat in the plaza and talked for hours. It felt great to be immersed in the Spanish culture surrounded by the people of Cadiz. Before we knew it, it was 1AM. The plaza had not quieted at all! There were little kids running around and families still eating and chatting. I couldn’t believe how late it was and everyone was still out and about like it was 7PM. The siesta (afternoon nap/rest time between 2-5) makes so much more sense to me now. We walked around a bit more and found our way back to the ship about 2AM. We had an early morning for our Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada trip.  I still hadn’t packed yet!

 

Day 2 – Sevilla, Spain

 

            We left Cadiz for Sevilla at 0800 with two coach buses full of SAS students, faculty, staff, and LifeLong Learners. We met our tour guide, Martella, and took a short bus tour of the city. We stopped at Plaza de Espana, which was a huge open area with the most beautiful building surrounding the plaza. It was built to represent the different states of Spain and was one of the most incredible places I’ve ever seen. We passed the Plaza de Toros, the famous and 2^nd oldest bull fighting arena in the world. Our first main visit was to the Royal Palace of Spain, or the Reales Alcazares. It has been the Royal Fortress for the Royal Family of Spain for more than 1,000 years. The family only stays there when they visit Sevilla which is the only time the palace is closed to the public. The palace was built with a Moorish style (Moorish is rooted with Muslim religion) and includes their intricate mosaic ceramic walls. The King of Spain was Christian and it is ironic that much of the palace is rooted with Muslim symbolism, yet there are Christian symbols found throughout. The gardens of the palace were breathtaking. The garden was split up into about 17 different parts and was dedicated to something special (ie. The Lion Gardens). I was ready to become a Spanish queen after our visit to the Reales Alcazares!

            Before lunch we toured the Jewish Quarter where the Jew, Muslims, and Christians all lived together in peace centuries ago. It was so interesting learning the history behind the city walls. We went to lunch at a restaurant, Laurels, right in the middle of the Jewish Quarter. Inside were hams hanging from the ceiling, bull heads on the wall, and free wine with lunch! It was a great experience. We had tapas which included: tortillas (Spanish omelets), calamari, chicken, pork, and rabbit, asparagus, mushrooms, watermelon, and wine. It was a unique lunch and although different, it was very delicious. Our entire SAS group (2 buses worth) sat in one room and chatted over the tapas before some free time in the square. I bought some souvenirs and then we headed for the Seville Cathedral.

            The Seville Cathedral is the world’s 3^rd largest cathedral and is the largest gothic cathedral. The cathedral was originally a mosque until it was adapted into a place of Christian worship. Again, my jaw dropped when I entered. The size was insane and I couldn’t believe I was walking through such a grand building that had been standing for centuries. Inside were the remains of Christopher Columbus (or so it is said – they’re not sure if it is really him because his body was moved so many times). It was a steel coffin held up by four huge statues of men. It was so surreal to be standing at the feet of Christopher Columbus. At the end of the cathedral tour we were allowed to climb to the top of the tallest tower for a view of Sevilla. It was a long hike up the tower but the view was worth it! You could see everything and it was beautiful.

            At 1545 we left Sevilla for Cordoba where we would have dinner and stay for the night.. Everyone was pretty tired that night so our free time was spent napping. Dinner was at the hotel and was a buffet style of different Spanish food. It was similar to what we have been eating on the ship with a Spanish twist. After dinner we visited with everyone for a while and headed to bed.

 

Day 3 – Cordoba, Spain

 

            Our guide, Terry, greeted us brightly in the morning before our tour of the city. He took us to the Church of St. Nicolas which was a mosque before it was converted into a Christian church. The theme of Christian dominance was very prominent throughout my visit in Spain, which I thought was very interesting. We visited the heart of the Roman town from 2,000 years ago. The square had a bronze statue with a marble head mounted in the middle! The University of Cordoba was next. It is a liberal arts school dating back to the 9^th century. I couldn’t believe how long these buildings have been around and they are still in usable condition.

            We then visited Cordoba’s medieval Jewish Quarter which was quite similar to Sevilla. Our biggest destination was the Cathedral of Cordoba which is also a present mosque. Not to sound repetitive but when I walked inside my jaw dropped. I had seen pictures of the candy cane striped arches but never did I imagine what I saw when I walked through the cathedral doors. The place was HUGE! We began our tour and I kept looking around trying to find the end – I couldn’t. It was one of the most amazing places I could ever have imagined. It was so neat to hear that the cathedral is literally a Christian church and a Muslim mosque existing together in one place. There was also a Roman temple discovered beneath the cathedral which shows that many different religions used the cathedral in peace with each other. The cathedral is obviously split into the respective religions own portions of the building to be used for their own purposes. I just couldn’t believe how big it really was. I recommend anyone to visit the Cathedral of Cordoba just to truly understand what I mean.

            We got some free time between the end of the tour and lunch to shop around. I bought some stamps to mail my postcards in none other than a tobacco and cigarette shop. I guess it’s pretty common to buy stamps in a shop like this. We had lunch at the hotel then departed for Granada. The bus ride was about 3 hours so we all got some long naps in! When we arrived in Granada I think everyone was surprised at what they saw – it was beautiful. We were driving up a hill to our hotel that gave us a view of the entire city outline. It was much quieter and less populated on our small hill above Granada but it was so peaceful. We had free time before dinner so Becky, Katie, Alex, and I explored the little shops. I bought some authentic Spanish sandals and a few more postcards. The area reminded me so much of Italy but it was so unique that it was obvious we were in Spain.

            After dinner a group of us ordered some bottles of wine from the hotel bar and sat around chatting. It was so fun to finally be getting to know more people on SAS. It’s hard to know more about everyone on the ship because we are always so busy so it was definitely a relaxing evening. I can’t believe how many awesome people I’ve already met and it’s only our first SAS trip. Another big group was going to go into Granada to find a discoteca (bar with dancing). I, along with three other girls, decided to join their group! We got a few taxis and took a very long ride into town to one of the coolest places I’ve ever been to. The bar place had about 4 or 5 different bar areas with a huge one in the center. There were different stages to dance and the whole floor was open for dancing too. We were nearly the first ones there because it was only midnight but once the music started pumping more people started coming. I had a great time dancing to some Spanish and American music. Who would have thought I’d be listening to Single Ladies in a Spanish bar!? It was awesome! We left about 0230 in the morning and took a taxi back to the hotel for a little bit of sleep before our tour in the morning.

 

Day 4 – Granada, Spain

           

            Today our tour guide was Lucia and we didn’t have very far to walk to the Palace of Alhambra. It was literally two blocks down the hill from our hotel. I didn’t even know the palace was there the night before because it is so hidden from everything. The Alhambra is a Moorish palace built for a Christian king, Ferdenand and his wife, Isabel. It was very similar to the Reales Alcazares because there was the same rooted architecture and design. The mosaics and wall detail resembled the Reales Alcazares so much I thought they were identical. We saw the famous Patio de los Leones although the lions were not surrounding the fountain because they were in the museum for restoration. We then came upon the women’s living quarters which had a very interesting story behind it: all the guards of this area were castrated so the women could not have affairs with them. I guess this was pretty typical centuries ago. Pretty crazy! The gardens were my favorite part of the palace. It was set up as a maze which made it hard to navigate through but our guide was very helpful! The flowers were gorgeous and there were running fountains all over with small pools filled with lily pads. After my visit to Spain I’m ready to become a princess or queen!

            We had lunch at the hotel and then had some free time before we left Granada. I mailed out my postcards and then boarded the bus just in time! We had a four hour bus ride ahead of us which I was not looking forward to. After being out late the night before I slept the entire way back to Cadiz! On ship time (designated time to be on the ship which is two hours before port departure) was 1800 and we arrived in Cadiz about 1820. Luckily, we don’t get dock time (delayed entry to next port – punishment for being late to on ship time) because we are a SAS sponsored trip and they knew we were running late. We got our bags checked, handed in our passports, and were finally home! It’s still kinda crazy that I’m calling a huge traveling ship my home! It felt good to be back.

            After dinner we left Spain and began our trip over to Morocco. It’s not too far considering they’re right across the Mediterranean from each other!

 

On ship – Morocco Day

 

            Today we had Global Studies – our only class for today. We were lectured by a Women’s Studies teacher who is Muslim and she explained to us part of what to expect in Morocco. We had the majority of the day free to catch up on school work and pack for Morocco. At 1900 we had our cultural pre-port where we learned about the customs of Moroccan culture and things to avoid while in the country. We were all warned to dress modestly out of respect for the culture and were also told not to drink the water. Overall the cultural pre port was a little nerve racking because there are so many things to remember. Our logistic pre port followed at 2000 and we discussed trips and time changes and we also received our trusty Green Sheet (paper with emergency phone numbers, trip info, country info regarding transportation, money exchange, and postal services). Then it was time to pack!!

            Tomorrow morning I leave for Marakkech and the Camel Trek through the Sahara. It’s a 3 night/4 day trip and I’m so excited!! I can’t believe we only had one day between Spain and Morocco but I guess that’s what makes this trip so crazy and unique. Wish me luck on this adventure, I think I might need it!! Miss everyone so much! I’ll report back when I return!

TOMORROW

            Spain is TOMORROW!!!! I can’t believe we’ve traveled all the way across the Atlantic on a ship for the last week. I’m so excited to be in Cadiz and begin sight-seeing. I’ll be going on the Cadiz City Orientation tour tomorrow from 1300-1630. We will be visiting lots of the popular cathedrals and shopping plazas. One of my roommates studied in Spain for five weeks so I got some good tips from her J I wrote down some Spanish phrases because it’s been so long since I’ve taken it. Hopefully I can make my way around without sounding too much like an American tourist. Last night we had our Spain pre-port lecture about what to expect and things to do. Our Spanish inter-port lecturer told us not to wear socks with sandals because that’s how the Spaniards recognize American tourists!!! The entire audience started laughing, it was great! I promise I won’t be wearing any socks with sandals tomorrow.

            Tomorrow night I plan to get dinner with some friends at a restaurant nearby the port then head out on the town. We won’t be out too late because we have to be up early for our next day’s adventure. Mom, I promise to have no more than 2 glasses of wine ;) We are allowed to stay on the ship while in port and because I’ll be staying in Cadiz I can sleep on the ship. As long as we have our IDs we can come and go at anytime. The ship still provides lunch and dinner for the people not traveling out of our port city but most of us will be venturing to try some Spanish food! Maybe I’ll get some good shopping in too.

            Saturday is an early morning. I’m going on a 2 night/3 day trip to Sevilla, Cordoba, and Granada. We will take an hour and a half bus ride to Sevilla and spend the day. We will travel to Cordoba to have dinner and stay in our hotel there. Sunday is devoted to Cordoba and that night we travel to Granada for another dinner and overnight stay. Monday we will be in Granada for most of the morning and mid-afternoon until returning back to Cadiz for departure to Morocco.

            I cannot believe my adventure around the world is finally going to feel real tomorrow as I step foot in Cadiz, Spain. I have never looked forward to visiting another country as I am right now. I will take lots and lots of pictures to capture everything I see. I can’t wait to share my experience with you. And tomorrow, let the adventure really begin!!!

I know it’s been a while since I’ve updated! I’m sorry!!! It’s been crazy here on the ship the last few days and I’m finally getting settled in. I’ll start back from when I boarded the ship to get you all up to date.

MOVE-IN DAY –  Thursday, August 27th

Thursday morning came very quickly! I had all my bags ready to go and we headed to the hotel lobby at 9AM. I met another girl doing SAS and could quickly tell we would be friends! It was settling my nerves a lot to meet another friendly face. Before heading down to the ship Mom and I grabbed breakfast in the hotel restaurant. I got a call from Jacque, my cousin, who wished me well! The hotel provided complimentary service to the port and we got a ride in a nice, black Lincoln to the ship! When we first pulled up I could see two HUGE ships and almost thought it was mine; turns out they were Carnival Cruise ships (whoops!). I got a glimpse of the MV Explorer and it was not as intimidating as I expected it to be! I had to go through the line and fill out a few forms, hand in my yellow fever vaccination card and passport, received my SAS ID card, and put my bags in the luggage check. From there I hugged Mom and after a few tears I was going through the security check before boarding the ship. Luckily I would see Mom later at the Parents Reception to say goodbye. The stairs to the ship were so high and I couldn’t believe I was finally boarding! It was a little hard to find my room at first but I eventually made it to the 3^rd Deck room 3148. My roommate was already there and she is actually the RA for my Sea (which is like Floor back at school). She’s very nice and is from York, PA which is not too far from us considering where everyone else is from on board (we have at least one student from all 50 states!!). My room is all the way at the Aft (end of the ship) and is right above the engine. The noise is not bad and our room just vibrates a little which has turned into a kind of soothing background noise. Because the room is on the very end of the hall it is a quad (2 rooms joined together by a door and everyone shares a bathroom). My other 2 roommates would be arriving the following day.        

I had only been in the room for 15 minutes and I had a work/study meeting. There are 6 work/study students for the Student Life desk (my work/study job) and we all ate lunch with our supervisor Rita. She said if we forget her name to call her “Sparkles” because she’s always wearing sparkly shirts. So far I haven’t seen her in a shirt without them! We got to know each other at lunch and Rita gave us the jist of Semester at Sea and how it works. Then she gave us a tour of the ship which was great because none of us had had a chance to look around yet. After the tour I went back to my room and unpacked!!! There was so much stuff and not so many places to put it. The room is actually a lot bigger than I expected and it worked out nicely with placing things in the closet, cabinet, drawers, and under the bed. I even got all my pictures hung up JWhile I unpacked I got to know my roommate a little better which was nice!

After having dinner on the deck with some new friends I met Mom at the Parents’ Reception. It was great to see her again and I snuck her to my room so she could take a look! After mingling a while with the other parents and some faculty it was time for her to go. The students were allowed to leave the ship at anytime as long as we had our ID card so Mom and I, along with a few other girls, were going to go to a bar (drinking age in Canada is 19!!). Mom decided not to go because she had an early flight so after walking about half way to her hotel it was time for goodbye. We hugged for a long time and I don’t think either of us wanted to let go but we knew it was time. I told her I loved her and that I would be back before she knew it, and of course added in Girl Power! It was a quicker goodbye than I thought it would be which made it a lot easier! After that, the girls and I headed to the bar to which we couldn’t get in because we forgot our IDs. Go figure! One of the girls and I walked back to the ship (a very longggg walk) to go get them. Once we were back on the ship we decided we were pretty tired and didn’t really want to go back so we ended up talking to some other students and a few of the Living Learning Coordinators which was awesome! We got their advice and tips on how to not get kicked off the ship. The whole staff is so down to earth and easy to talk to! After a long talk, I went to my cabin for my first night aboard the MV Explorer!!!

EMBARKATION DAY -  Friday, August 28^th

            Today was a very early morning! Pre-embarkation meeting was from 0700-0730 (the ship runs on military time so I’m using it to practiceJ) with all the student workers. Then we split up into small groups, some outside and some inside, to help with the rest of the students boarding the ship. My group was outside at different tables required for check-in. My job was to get the students’ room numbers, write them on a tag, and put the tag on the luggage they weren’t carrying onto the ship. It was a fun job because I worked with some really cool people that are now some of my new friendsJ I also got to meet everyone else that was coming on the ship. The morning was long and we were on duty from 0800-1300 with a quick lunch break in between. Once we were done we got to go mingle around the ship until dinner time. The atmosphere was so much different now that 500 more students had boarded the ship. It was definitely great to feel like we were about to leave! Everyone was still getting settled in their rooms throughout the day and at 0400 we had a lifeboat drill. We put on closed toed shoes, a sweatshirt, pants, and our lifejackets! Each Sea had a different Muster Station (place to go when drill/emergency occurs) throughout the ship. My Sea was in the Main Dining Room and we all lined up in 3 lines and waited for the Captain to come check on us. It was pretty crazy to think that this is what we’d be doing if there was a real emergency. The Captain finally came through to check for all the proper procedures and made an announcement that this drill was the best he’d seen since in all his voyages with Semester at Sea (total of 9). It was a great way to start our voyage J Shortly after 0500, everyone gathered on the top 2 decks to wait for embarkation. I was walking around the ship snapping pictures and getting video of the ship and Halifax. It still wasn’t real that we were leaving, FINALLY! After the ropes were untied and a few honks from the ship’s horn blew, we were off! Everyone yelled and waved; it was finally our turn to set sail around the world.

ORIENTATION Saturday, August 29^th

            Today was filled with lots of workshops! The entire ship crammed into the Union (the auditorium of the ship, fits everyone, used for Global Studies and other presentations) to listen to the different speakers. We were told about the UVA Honor Code, which the SAS follows because UVA is our sponsor school. We also learned about the Field Office which handles all of the SAS sponsored trips into each port and country. The Living Learning Coordinators all spoke and described what each will be in charge of: Career Development, Health & Wellness, Academic Advisement, Recreation, LeaderSHIP, Religion & Spirituality, and Diversity & Culture. The Academic Dean, Dean of Students, and Administrative Dean all spoke to us – it’s crazy how many Deans we have..I’m not even sure what each of them do! We were given a very long presentation about safety on the ship from the Captain. He’s British and his accent is awesome!!

            Later that night was the Involvement Symposium. Each LLC (Living Learning Coordinator) had a section where we could sign up for different activities/clubs that go along with their topic. It’s sort of like the Club Fair at Naz. They offered a lot of different activities and a lot of the same! I signed up for Vicarious Voyage, Students of Service, leaderSHIP, and aerobics J Vicarious Voyage is a program where you adopt a classroom from the U.S. I have adopted Mrs. Spry’s high school global studies class! I’m really excited to work with her and the class and it’s nice because it’s a class from my high school. I’ll tell more about that later. Hopefully there will be time for everything!

1^st DAY of CLASSES Sunday, August 30th

            Classes go by A days and B days because there are no weekdays on the ship. Sometimes we have classes on the weekends, sometimes we have classes for 10 straight days, and sometimes it’s only 2 days. It works best this way because we are in port so often. On A days I only have 1 class at 1340-1455: International Service Learning. This class is going to be awesome! My teacher is amazing; his name is Bernie Strenecky. He’s an older man and his wife is on the ship too! She is the director of the LifeLong Learners (typically retired people who are interested in traveling and learning). The class is geared towards serving in the countries of port. We are required to do at least 1 of his FDPs (Field Directed Practica – trips into the countries conducted by the professor and directed towards the specific class). I’ll be doing the Vietnam FDP. We will work with Vietnamese college students and travel to an orphanage with severely disabled children ranging from 2-15 years old. The Vietnamese believe that much of the reason the children are disabled is because of the Agent Orange used during the Vietnam War. We will be learning more about their point of view and working with the children. Our goal is to incorporate the $100 Solution (Dr. Strenecky created the idea) into the orphanage by asking them what they need for $100. Dr. S’ philosophy is that the problem is not solved with $1 million, $1,000, but with $100. In past voyages, he worked with an orphanage in India and asked how he could help with $100. They told him the children had never had a hot shower in their entire lives. With the $100, Dr. S and his students bought a hot water heater and had it installed. The children can now take hot showers. When I first heard this story it immediately gave me goose bumps. His theory and ideas are chilling and I am positive this class will be a life changing one.

2^nd DAY of CLASSES Monday, August 31^st

            B days are very busy for me! I have 4 classes – they recommend we only take 12 credits but I really wanted to take another one so I have 5 classes total.

0800-0915 Strategic Communications for Influential Leadership

            This class is going to be really exciting, even at 8AM. My professor is a riot and is definitely a fabulous Communications teacher. We are reading some very interesting books about intercultural communication which will be helpful for me as a Business major. I’m really looking forward to her FDPs and learning more about different influential communication styles. I’m starting to think I want to be a Communications minor now! This trip is making my mind spin – in a good way of course!

0920-1035 Global Studies

            I thought this class would be directed to learning about the different countries we will be visiting and their cultures. It’s more directed towards the idea of globalization and how it affects different countries in general. The class is not my favorite because it is half of the students on the ship. I’m not used to being in a huge room (Union) with that many students and being lectured at. Hopefully it will get better as we enter the different ports.

1050-1200 International Business

            This class is being used as my International Economics credit for Nazareth. It will be really interesting learning about it as I travel internationally. We have already had some in depth discussions about how globalization is affecting the different sectors of business. I’m becoming more and more interested in International Business so I think this class will give me a great idea of what it entails. Throughout the class we will discuss many interesting topics relating to Int’l Business which ties into my other classes.

1335-1450 Leadership Development

            Dr. Strenecky also teaches this class. Service learning and this class are like sister classes because they will be working so closely together. The Leadership Dev’t students will lead the service projects that the Service Learning students will be acting out. I had to choose 1 FDP for this class as well: LifeLong Learning and the Elderly in Hong Kong. We will be going to a Chinese elderly home where the elderly are interested in learning English. We work in teams a lot in this class which will be very helpful to practice sharing leadership styles.

Lots of things have been going on and I’m staying very busy! I absolutely love life on the ship. I’m meeting so many amazing and interesting people. I can’t wait to tell everyone stories already! Spain is in 2 days!!! I’m SO excited! I’ll update again soon, and I promise it will be soon this time J