Jan 31
There’s only two types of guys out there, ones that can handle me, and the ones that are scared.
The wise words of Britney Spears.
So anyways, I’m now sitting on the ship, exhausted but happy as a little clam. My Spain adventure was all I had hoped it would be and I will be in Morocco the day after tomorrow. Now that I have embarked and disembarked at a port seemingly in the flash of an eye I am finally truly happy to be here and have recentered myself around the goals I have for this trip. This is all about me, for me, and I have to remember that, always. No regrets.
So I wanted to write a little more about details I’ve left out. First of all the weather in Cadiz was absolutely perfect. It is winter in Spain, and though I definitely encountered some frigid weather, Cadiz was an exception. We wore jackets out, and after some time walking around, we were sweating and had to take them off. The sky was clear, the sun was beating down, and it was like walking along on a fall day in San Diego.
Cordoba was beautiful, a smaller version of Sevilla, I’ll have to write the details of where we went later I am a little too tired to remember, it’s all a blur. La catedral, Alcazar… and I am leaving something else out. I walked around town by myself in search of the perfect jacket, but never found one. The weather on this day was FRIGID. Until about 3 when we climbed on the buses and the sun beat through the windows. More sleeeeep. Wake up for the end of the drive. The Spanish countryside stretches around me, green hillsides, fields of trees, and suddenly I look up and see the whitest mountains I’ve ever seen. I hadn’t even been aware we were going towards the mountains and I was immediately really excited. The minute we reached town I knew Granada would be my favorite place we visited. I really wish I could post pictures to give you a visual of what I’m talking about. The town is nestled below the mountains and stretches along for several miles. La Alhambra, and our hotel called Alixares I believe, is perched on a hillside that gives a breathtaking view of the city below. All white houses, each one unique. I was so excited to be there. I was the first one off my bus, dropped my stuff in my room, grabbed my journal, and walked outside to catch the last hour of light. I walked along trying to find a place to watch the sunset and write in peace. La Alhambra was about a minute’s walk from my hotel. I wandered down, checking out the shops and hotels alongside the road. I couldn’t figure out how to get to an area to watch the sunset, so I stopped and asked a man, “Donde puedo mirar el sol?” or Where can I watch the sun? He laughed and raised his eyebrows and said, “El sol?” I laughed and said si, the sky. He told me the only place to see it was very far away, so I thanked him and sit down on a bus stop bench. I opened up my journal and wrote for the next hour as the sky changed colors through the trees. Spanish people kept coming up to me to ask me for directions, and I would smile and say, “Lo siento, no hablo espanol.” Then they would smile and walk away. One guy sat with me on the bench for awhile and we talked a little in Spanish, then he hopped on the bus, hasta luego.
After dinner we all decided we wanted to go into town and enjoy some nightlife. I hadn’t really had a huge night out yet so I was down for anything. We got all hussied up and called for three cabs. There were 11 of us, and the cabs waited while everyone got downstairs. Unfortunately, we didn’t know the meters were running. So we got into the cab already having an eight euro bill. Sweet. So I jokingly argued with the cab driver, and when I got out I said, “No gustamos ti.” or we don't like you. He laughed and told us to have fun.
We walked by a hookah bar and a couple of friends and I got very excited. We went in and sat with three SAS guys, all named Ryan haha, for a couple of minutes until we realized that the place didn’t have alcohol. Adios! Next we went into an Irish pub, where we had a great time. We did lots of Jager shots, had Spanish beer, and some vodka and pineapple juice. Between the five of us it was only a 32 euro tab, the guy gave us about ten free drinks. Well that made up for the eight extra cab euros! I made friends with these two great girls Danielle (another one) and Kelly. They were really fun girls and I can’t wait to hang out with them again. We started talking to some guys from Baton Rouge who live in Spain and teach English. One guy was absolutely hilarious so we hung out with them a little and I asked them all about their jobs. The funny guy told us he was a DJ, then a stripper, but I’m pretty sure he just teaches English. I want to do what they are doing. I want to go live in a Spanish country for AT LEAST six months. That is the only way I will ever really learn the language, and it really is one of my dreams to KNOW Spanish. REMEMBER THIS JILLIAN: GO LIVE IN A SPANISH COUNTRY. JUST DO IT. DON’T LET ANYTHING STOP YOU.
So we leave the bar and head over to a discoteque, Granada Diez. This place was a blast. There were a lot of Americans and Spanish people there. We were all dancing and having a great time. It’s amazing how friendly everyone is once you get a few drinks in. I started talking to one Spanish guy, keep in mind all of these conversations are in Spanish and therefore rather simple, and he told me that all of his friends had girlfriends so they didn’t want to dance. So when one of them, I don’t remember his name so I will call him Juan Pollo, came over and started dancing with us, I told him what his friend had said and asked jokingly, “You don’t have a girlfriend?” and he said, “No, I’m too ugly.” Hahahahhaa. It was funny because he was not ugly, quite the opposite. So all of us girls danced and had a great time, I practiced my Spanish as much as I could, then it was right around 3 am and people were ready to head out because most of them had pulled an allnighter the night before. I grabbed a cab back with Kelly and Danielle and this other SAS girl hopped in our cab too. She wouldn’t stop talking about Heinz, who apparently we had forced her away from. “I was just about to get with that guy. WHY did you guys make me come home? Heinz was SO HOT. He was DUTCH you guys. I have to go back to him!” Hahahahaha it was great.
Got home and went on the computer for a long time, ended up in bed around five. Facebook chatted with Anthony’s brother haha that was a good time. And a bunch of other people actually, including Chris who gave me tips on Morocco because he was just there. Uploaded some pictures from Spain.
The next morning was our latest one yet, we didn’t have to leave until 9:45, and La Alhambra was my favorite place of all just as I knew it would be. It was a beautiful castle of the old Muslim rulers. The view was spectacular, the gardens were so peaceful. I imagined living there amongst the king’s four wives and 200 concubines. To live in a place as beautiful as this, I might consider being a concubine. I wish I had stayed in Granada longer and been able to head up to the mountains. I felt great on this day despite a night of drinking, and despite the intense cold. It was 6 degrees Celsius, which is almost freezing. And I was in jeans and a sweatshirt. But we survived it. I took so many wonderful pictures. The town reminded me of the town we visited in Germany, the name of which escapes me at the moment.
The drive home was beautiful and long, about four hours. I only slept for about an hour so I really got to see the countryside this time. It was raining for about half of it. The air in Granada was so crisp, it smelled so fresh, just like after a fresh snowfall in Mammoth. Maybe I would do better in the cold than I think I would. It’s just a different feeling in the cold, somewhere so remote and beautiful like that.
Back on the boat, met up with friends I haven’t seen for a few days and we all exchanged glorious stories. Dinner was the best one I have had yet. We planned out Morocco a little more, seeing as we get there the day after tomorrow!
I finally feel captivated by the experience I’ve embarked upon.
“In case you never noticed, the path you never chose has chosen you.”
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Cadiz. SO HAPPY TO SEE LAND. Don’t get to bed till 3 because I am up talking with the girls. Tired, but it was worth it. Work out in the morning while everyone is in line. Gym is empty for once. Disembark. LAND! SPAIN!
Wander Cadiz for hours and hours. Quaint town. Pretty beach. With pretty girls Hannah Alicia and Caroline. Laugh all day long. Churros and chocolate. Café. Tapas. Paella. FREE WIFI. So Spanish right now.
Go to flamenco night. Really skinny tall Spaniard guy that looks like Johnny Depp and whose eyes sear into my soul. The women are hot too. Truly an art form and very glad I went. Baby bull fight, little cow was so cute. Rode over there with Douglas who showed me that there may be one or two guys on this voyage interested in things other than drinking and hooking up. Maybe. More new friends. Hung out with Taylor. Love her.
In bed late again, up early again.
Jan 30 in the wee hours of the AM
Today was a quality day. I visited Sevilla which was beautiful. Gorgeous. Quaint. Really reminded me of little neighborhoods of Italy and pathways in Guanajuato, MX. I got some great pictures and made a ton of friends. There were two two hour bus rides today and I slept right through both of them. Last night was kind of deadzo in Cadiz so I skyped mom and Anthony for a little while then came home, but still probably only got about four and a half hours sleep due to the early wake up call.
Had breakfast with Smith and Doug, caught the bus, was able to nab a seat by myself, slept the whole damn way after watching the gorgeous pink sunrise come up over the water. Got there, hopped out to see La Plaza de Espana. Gorg. Then over to La Catedral de Santa Maria. More gorg. Remains of Cristobal Colon, or Christopher Columbus for you English folk. Walking the streets was my favorite part, the alleyways are small, only scooters can fit through or daring cars that press us up against walls. The doors and walls are painted vibrant colors. The buildings take on personalities of their own. Vines stretch out from windows onto the streets, inviting glances and thoughts of days that passed long before our own time.
Lunch was in a very sweet restaurant. We hung out with the animals mounted on the walls, the bull head was my personal favorite. I ate with Smith and Heather. Smith has a great camera with him, as do some other kids on the trip, and I love looking at his photos. We had a glass of Spanish wine, delicious pan, pollo con patatas y ajo, jamon, champinones (didn’t like those much), calamari, y un postre. Deliciosa! Talked about celeb gossip and specifically Perez Hilton during lunch and immediately regretted it. Bimbo.
Sevilla is all about oranges. Spain is all about oranges. Orange trees everywhere. The aroma is wonderful. Spain is also all about stray cats.
Next was the Alcazar, originally a Moorish building. Lots of Moorish buildings. Need to remember that for my art class. Beautiful. Orange trees everywhere. Orange trees are Seville’s thing. I can just imagine how it looked in its glory days… turquoise and blues splashed all over the walls, just vibrating with color.
Everyone in our group is really mature. The guys ask intelligent questions like, “Donde esta los gypsies?” and pretend to be crucified under a statue of the crucifixion. Changing the way Europeans see American youth one mature act at a time.
Another bus ride. Another nap.
Got to Cordoba. Checked into hotel. Roommate girl Marlee. Know her, sweet. Walk around two for two hours with new friends, TJ, Thomas, Sam, Beth, and Marlee. TJ is from Boston, subsequently I talked a lot about Melissa and Bedford like I know what I am talking about. Found the Forever 21 of Spain, Zara. Must go back. Loved it. I ask how phone cards have been working for everyone and Thomas tells me he doesn’t have one because he won’t be talking to his parents, that they’re happy he’s gone and having the time of their lives. Mental note: Thankful to have parents that love and miss me, I love my mom and dad and will call them a lot because I love them!
Get back to hotel. My feet. Are. Killing. Me. My left big toe is literally about to crack off. Anthony- wore the Reeboks. I think they did okay since I wore tall socks, but seriously, certain parts of my feet are dead. Dead. Dunzo. I have two more days of this so I need to step it up. My right calf is definitely pulled.
Showered and ate dinner. Called my mom who refuses to answer her phone. Looking good. Go out to the bars with everyone. I AM THE ONLY ONE WHO SPEAKS ANY SPANISH. AT ALL. And I had the best night ever. I talked to locals and was once again impressed with how much Spanish I actually do know once I let go of being scared of being wrong. The Spanish men are taken with my wit. Get them to dance with the girls. Go to another bar. Order drinks for everyone. Make more friends. I am the only one that speaks a lick of Spanish. Thoroughly enjoying it. Meet a girl named Danielle from Alabama that I think I love. She is funny. She is gorgeous. She is engaged. She is 22. Learning new things every day. She inspires me to be who I want to be. “A girl should do what she wants.” Damn straight, Danielle, I need to start doing that.
Leave bar, early again tomorrow, goodnight.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Jan 27
I have met some really cool people in the last couple of days and am looking forward to meeting more on my trip in Spain, because I won’t know anyone, at least not that well.
Oh yeah, tomorrow… SPAIN! We are all itching to get off the boat. We can’t believe we’ve only been here a week. Everyone is doing different things all over the country. Some are going to Madrid, others Barcelona, and some are just mixing it up like I am. Tomorrow I will be exploring Cadiz on my own, probably with the girls. At night I’m going to a flamenco show, then probably out clubbing. The next morning I head off on my SAS trip for three days. I’ll be visiting Sevilla, Cordoba and Granada. I’ll write more details about where exactly I’m going when I get back, but expect lots of buildings haha. I’ve always wanted to go to Spain, and it was actually my chosen study abroad location for a really long time. I know it is going to be a really beautiful country, as well as a huge cultural destination. “The New Europe.” So I guess now I get the best of both worlds… a glimpse of Spain as well as the rest of the world.
More whales spotted today. More disappointment for me. All I’ve seen out the window was a buoy. But even that was kind of cool after seeing nothing but water for days and days.
We are going to wake up very early tomorrow morning to watch the land come in. Some people have been saying we might even see land tonight, so maybe I’ll be staying up late instead.
We are also starting to plan out what we want to do in Morocco. It’s a little difficult for me to do what I want to do because I’m having dinner with a Moroccan family on the second night we are there, so it kind of cuts my traveling possibilities in half. But so far I’m thinking explore Casablanca for a couple of days with a big group of people we’ve got going (Taylor and her group of friends), go to the dinner, hitch a train that night to Marrakech, spend the third day in Marrakech, then travel early in the morning back to Casablanca. That way we won’t have any traveling on that third day and we can just sightsee. Alicia is doing a camel camping trip. Pretty sweet.
The independent planning is kind of exciting. In Namibia Alicia and I and a few other girls we’ve met through Nancy, another girl that goes to USD, are going to go skydiving in Swakopmund. Apparently there isn’t much to do in Walvis Bay so that’s where everyone goes.
Oh and I found my watch! Very exciting and essential news. White sports bra, sunglasses, and vid cam still MIA however. My mom says I left the vid cam sitting by the phone at home. Big surprise. But at least I have video capability on my camera, about a half hour’s worth, so that should suffice to take footage of some very special things. And I think I saw some kid with my sunglasses but I can’t exactly say they’re mine because they are pretty generic.
Our ship has a fully equipped spa on it, like massages, facials, sauna, full hair salon, all that. So I’m gonna hit it up and get my eyebrows done today haha. After I work out.
I met my Vicarious Voyage partner last night, Phillip, and he was cool with the theme of food, thank god haha. So I’ll be trying to collect pictures of food, menus, other things to send over to the kids. He says he isn’t a very creative guy either though so those poor kids are in for some poorly drawn diagrams and four-year-old boy writing.
Pub night last night was a good time, Caroline and I had a great hour long talk about life again, and basically I just want to say again how very lucky I am to have found friends like I have in my sorority and that I am on a trip of a lifetime with some amazing women by my side. AXO’s bid day was Sunday and we are so excited to find out who our new girls are! It’s sad we won’t be around to get to know them for awhile, especially because this time last year was when I met Hannah and Caroline and Imelda and Carson and all those other girls that I am obsessed with.
No class for nine days now! Pretty exciting. I miss all of you and will probably update in a few days once I’m back from Spain! Adios!
You can’t tell me that you don’t miss Bobby, you can’t tell me that you don’t love Bobby, noooo mooooore…..
Monday, January 26, 2009
Jan 26
AHHHHHH! The ship is rocking so much today. The seas are calmer than ever but the huge swells are exactly perpendicular to us. Caroline said all of our stuff in our room fell on the floor today. I heard today that it could have taken us only three days to get to Spain, but we have to have more class days. What the heck! Just cut out those extra free days at sea we get and get us home sooner! More people are seeing whales. Guess who hasn’t seen one still? Me.
I got pretty homesick yesterday. Apparently everyone else did too. It was kind of funny how it worked out. Caroline and I were both laying in bed, she was writing her mom an email while I was reading old letters from home, and we were both tearing up but neither of us wanted the other to know. So we hid it until Alicia, Caroline, Hannah, and I all admitted that we had been really homesick and pooey that day. I just need to be in Spain already. Only a littllllleeee bit longer. We all took super long naps today, though I went to all of my classes. After tomorrow I don’t have class for about two weeks!
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Jan 25
Last night got my assignment for vicarious voyage, I have a first grade class in Hillsborough, CA. No idea where that’s at. My partner didn’t show up so I’m hoping to be assigned to a new one. Also, the teacher of the class’s email didn’t work, so I have to email the guy about that. Anyways, I think my theme is going to be food. I mean honestly what else would my theme be?
I also went to Newspaper Writing, but apparently the guy who created the club didn’t feel like he or she needed to show up, so it was me and a couple other chicks and the communication coordinator, so I got his info down and I’ll probably be posting some stories on the SAS official blog.
Another pub night last night, pretty good times, Caroline and I came back to the room and talked about life for a good hour haha. Didn’t sleep barely at all again but surprisingly I stayed awake for both global studies and Islam today. Global studies was really interesting. It was taught by a guy who has written sixteen books about Spain and he showed beautiful pictures of the places I will soon be visiting! Islam wasn’t that interesting, but I find that if I think about something that interests ME, usually not something even remotely connected to the class, I can stay awake! So that’s the plan.
I didn’t get the fun little island excursion I signed up for in Mauritius, so now Hannah and I are doing a hiking and beach trip that day. Should be a good time.
It’s getting chilly outside now, as I knew it would. The seas have been really calm for about three days now, but the swells today are ginormous!! Working out was an especially interesting time today… one minute I was running downhill, the next I was running uphill. It’s crazy to look at the ocean out here. It just goes on and on forever, huge swell after swell. And the ship dips extremely side to side. But the sea is calm, just always moving towards some far off destination.
I’m realizing all of the things I left at home now.
-watch (actually really need this one)
-white sports bra (how did I forget that??)
-video camera (did I deliberately leave that at home I can’t remember??)
And I have already lost a pair of sunglasses, the new black ones I bought to replace the white ones. Ugh. Now I only have my thug life ones.
I had a very strange dream about my grandma last night… made me miss her a lot. I just can’t believe I won’t be getting any letters from her while on this trip.
Thanks for your emails guys, they really really make my day.
The whale watch continues…
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Jan 24
I’m about to head to my Vicarious Voyage meeting. I’m excited to find out what age group I’ll be in contact with and how to get the ball rolling on that. And I’m joining Newspaper Writing Club, not sure what that will be all about but we will see.
Today was a nice day, Caroline and I slept until 11:30 am. oops. Neither of us slept at all last night so we didn’t feel guilty. Caroline was doing all sorts of weird talking in her sleep and then her knees locked up on her and she went around the room hopping saying “ow ow ow ow ow ow.” I thought she was sleepwalking though so I just rolled with it.
The clocks switch again tonight so I’m going to try and get to bed by 11, or 12 since the clocks switch. So much to do, so little time to sleep. At least today wasn’t as long as the days usually are. I’m just not used to getting up this early. But hey, on the way back the clocks will move backward and that will be sweet sweet justice. Apparently sometime after we cross the equator we lose an entire day. Like… the day just doesn’t exist. Craaaaazy haha. They have slowed the boat down because they don’t want us to get to Spain early and lose a day of classes. We don’t really appreciate that.
I watched my first sunset tonight. I know, hard to believe. It was gorgeous. We sat at a table with a bunch of people we have met and I got some amazing pictures. More people saw whales today! I’m really jealous.
Gearing up for that first night in Spain… very excited! The weather should start getting chillier now.
Friday, January 23, 2009
Jan 23
Another day at sea! Getting through my two morning classes today was a sincere struggle. Global studies has not been interesting like I thought it would be and my Islam class was all lecture today. I can’t do all lecture classes, I will fall asleep every time. Just let me talk a little. Even taking notes I can’t stay awake, I’ll get halfway through a sentence, nod off, then have no idea what I was writing. And it’s like a squiggle mark instead of a word. Then I try to creepily look at the person next to me’s notes, and they don’t ever really like that. I guess I’ll get coffee every morning from now on. I don’t really think it’s a lack of sleep, even though the clocks have steadily been moving forward, I just don’t function well before 10 am and I’m probably not adjusted yet to this clock system. When I wake up in the mornings it’s like 2 am America time. AMERICA!
Today the weather was so gorgeous, the sea was very calm too. Hannah and Alicia and I tanned for a long time but I’m just not the Latina I used to be. Tomorrow marks only four more days till ESPANA! I’m getting very excited to go on adventures and see land again. Some people have seen whales and I am so so jealous. Hannah and I have a great game where we yell whale and see how many people look. It’s usually a lot, in case you were wondering.
Tonight was open mic night and a lot of people are really talented and hilarious. There was one guy who looks straight up like Cory Matthews and he played this weird piano/flute thing but he was like a stand up comedian. And one of our resident four-year-olds sang a sweet song dressed in full sailor outfit. Hannah and I think we will do “Han-Han, Jill-Jill, and the calls of the wild.” Animal sounds. I’m definitely going to write a song and perform it on some mic night, I just have to choose what I wanna set it to. I was thinking either “SOS” by Rihanna and switching it to SAS. Clever, I know. Or Colt 45 by Afroman. Always a good one.
Anyways no sickness today. Today was full of laughter and I am obsessed with Hannah and Caroline.
Taylor and I talked about Melissa soooo much tonight and I am missing you roomie. ☹
Last night was my first pub night experience, it was pretty grand, played Thumper with a great group of kids and was the koala bear. Then I came back to my room and used some of internet minutes haha. Can’t wait to hear people’s voices again, I miss you guys.
Tomorrow there’s a lot going on too. I have three classes and at night all the activities we signed up for are having meetings, so I’ll be bouncing around. Night!
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Okay so tonight was my first night drinking on the ship.. and I loved it! The drinks are miniscule but whatever, we all worked around it and socialized and had a great time… I got an email from Becca which pretty much just made my life. I wanna go to sleeeeeep cuz I have school tomorrow but I love you all. Goodnight.
Jan 22
Yesterday was another long day, early mornings and late nights. Class in the morning is tough, man. Especially because the clocks are being set forward an hour every single night on the way to Spain. I try to get to bed by midnight while I still can. I know this entire semester of my life will include very limited sleeping time. I’m not sleeping that well yet, either, but I’m sure I’ll get used to it soon.
Yesterday I had my first seasickness experience, or it might have just been because I was dehydrated. I went up to breakfast feeling fine, when all of the sudden I knew I had to throw up. So I quickly walked to the bathroom on the other side of the ship and on the way there I started losing my vision and hearing, so I knew I was about to faint. I made it to the bathroom okay and sat down for a few minutes and then I was alright. While I was sitting there a girl came into the next stall and threw up. So after that I bought a refillable water bottle emblazoned with the SAS logo and I put on a little bit of a seasickness patch. I felt fine the rest of the day and even worked out at night. That was an interesting experience as well. I’ve never run with the ground constantly moving. At night I busted out my Apples to Apples travel case, thanks mom, and we played for a long time with a bunch of people, even the sexy dean of our ship Les haha. We also had the activities fair and I signed up for a few things. Looking forward to fitness classes, everyone knows how much I love those. And Vicarious Voyage should be really interesting as well. I’ll be keeping in contact with a classroom of K-12 somewhere in the world. I think the theme I’m going to pick is art, as I know a little something about it and I feel art will be a prevalent part of my trip. It’s everywhere!
This morning I was sitting in class eating an apple when I was like… yeah I gotta throw up. Haha. So I did and now I feel better. It’s strange though I feel fine I’m not sure why this keeps happening… oh well! I will have my other two classes for the first time today. My classes are Global Studies (studies of every country we are traveling to), Biology, Migration of Art, and Classical Islam. They should all be interesting and actually challenging. It’s weird to even have school, I’m just supposed to be on vacation? I’m just kidding, but it is hard to get into the right mindset. The ocean stretches around me and it is absolutely gorgeous. The weather is great and I love lying out. I’m also trying to meet people so I’m putting a lot of energy into hangout time. But now I have homework so I have to keep up with homework time! Only 6 days till Spain…
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Jan 20 cont
Tomorrow begins first day of classes. We all watched the inauguration today and it was a little bit emotional, especially considering where I am right now and what I am doing. Obama had some great things to say and he has more challenges and expectations on him than any president yet. We’ll see if he lives up to his words. Tonight we had a little inauguration party with desserts and cake and little champagne flutes. And fresh fruit! But I missed out on all of the grapes and was pretty bummed out. I made some more friends during dinner and then played a bunch of card games with some people Taylor knows. It will get easier every day and soon I’ll be best friends with everyone.
We have to sign up for a time slot to use the gym since there are 1000 people and like ten machines, so I signed up for tomorrow. Hannah and Caroline and I are going to try to work out a time we can all go every day. Doing the elliptical while constantly swaying will be a challenge though. We are walking around like we’re drunk 24/7. It’s a good time though and definitely a different experience, but I’m sure I’ll be ready to get off the boat once I’m in Spain.
I’ve been a little seasick but not too bad. It actually hits me worst when I get on the computer, so I’m gonna get off soon. Some people have it really bad… one girl threw up in the main room in front of everyone, poor girl.
Alright I’m off to bed because the clocks move forward one hour pretty much every night from now on and I have class every day at 9:20 am. Maybe this trip will make an early riser out of me…… or maybe I will sleep through class.
Bon Voyage!
Boarded the ship! Said bye to mom and dad.. unfortunately I couldn’t spot my mom’s pink shirt when our ship was taking off. Caroline and I have settled into our room. Watching the land fade into the distance was very surreal. We watched our first sunset and the flying fish going in and out of the water. I’m meeting people everywhere I go and I’m so excited to make some amazing friends. I’m very happy to have Hannah and Caroline with me though.
I’m so tired right now but I’ve still got a long night ahead of me, lots of meetings and stuff. We did our lifeboat drill. Good times. Me and Caroline were the only ones who wore hats like we were instructed to do so and in turn looked like men.
Had our first dinner together with this guy Riley. Talked about Bear Gryllz a lot haha.
Tomorrow will be another full day of meetings and orientations and blablabla. But I am very excited to finally be here! I really like our room and I know this is going to be everything I have expected it to be.
Jan 20
Lots of orientation meetings today. We really enjoyed watching a guy’s head bobbing from falling asleep the whole time. The room is really cold and we are really tired so sometimes my eyes shut a little bit as well. The weather is great today and we tanned for awhile.
It feels like freshman year all over again with all of the repetitive introductions and conversations, and it’s all a little uncomfortable. I want to be past this part and just be friends with everyone! I’m looking forward to starting classes so it can be a little more of a normal schedule rather than wandering around aimlessly and continually sitting with random people so I can try and meet my friend soulmates that are somewhere on this ship. Till then though I’m chillin with Hannah and Caroline and Lexi, which is superb all in itself.
