I managed to sleep for over 12 hours last night and that meant that I missed global studies. I made it for the last 15 minutes and it was one of the extremely boring guest lecturers again.
 
Then was time for drawing where we worked on a much darker picture. It was much harder but I learned a bit more about how to work with perspective.
 
During Religious Studies we watched a movie for part of it and then went on with the Unit on Christianity. I think I was in too much of a zone from the rockiness of the ship to really know what we learned about. I was able to take all the notes that she put up though.
 
After class I went up to the pool bar to have lunch because the food at the dining hall looked really gross. The chicken pesto pizza at the pool bar is my new favorite and it sure is tasty.
 
After I did the same thing as I did before. Become a zombie and watch movies. It was very relaxing and I was able to catch up on my blog from my time in Turkey.
 
We had our pre-port meeting tonight and I packed up for my trip in Egypt. After that I laid in bed to watch some more TV and relax before my exciting adventure ahead. I can’t wait for tomorrow!!!!

I woke up for breakfast this morning and enjoyed my food while doing the reading for my class. I was able to get most of the reading done which was a good start to the 2 class days that we have before Egypt.
 
Then it was time for global studies which was quite boring. The lectures seem to have gotten more boring since the midterm, which makes it really hard to pay attention to.
 
I then had my drawing class which was actually good today. I was able to make a really nice drawing of the acropolis. I think it is my best drawing that I have done thus far.
 
After that I raced to lunch to scarf down some food before religious studies. They had Chinese food at lunch today and it was pretty good.
 
Religious Studies was not very interesting, but we started the chapter on Christianity. It was interesting to start looking at it from a non-bias point of view.
 
After class was over I went back to my room to watch TV for a few hours before dinner. I was pretty out of it and unable to do homework.
 
After dinner we had a sea meeting, the first one since we crossed the Atlantic. We played a fun game and then had ice cream sundaes. We also signed up for the Sea Olympics. I’m going to be doing mashed potato sculpting and Hawaiian bowling. We then came up with a chant for our sea as well.
 
Finally I made my way to bed and passed out right away!

Today was an amazing last day in Turkey.
 
I woke up this morning, got dressed for the day, and ate some breakfast. Then I made my way down to the bus and loaded on. It was a lucky day for me because a lot of people didn’t show up for the trip. That meant that I got both seats in my row to myself. I ended up sleeping almost the entire ride to the Ballikaya region. It was a 2 hour drive and it was a lovely nap.
 
When we finally arrived we got out of the bus and got our boxed lunches. I needed to use the restroom and went to the building that had the restroom in it. This was my first experience using a squat toilet which was interesting to say the least. Not my favorite…
 
We then were lead by a local guide through the area. We hiked along a stream. It was very green in the area and covered in shrubs and trees. There were a lot of farms along the way full of all sorts to fruits and vegetables. We then ran into a boy who was herding goats. There were about 30 goats and they seemed to be very surprised by so many humans. The stood there and stared at us as we stared at them. We also had 2 dogs following us the entire hike.
 
We worked our way across a few stream crossings and up some hills. Eventually we made it to a large pool of water with a small waterfall. The water looked very refreshing until we saw water snakes in the water. Me and a few others climbed to the top of the waterfall to enjoy our lunches. It was fun to be able to see all of the other people in the group from above.
 
After we finished lunch we gathered as a group to listen to the biology teacher talk about the fauna and flora of Turkey and the Ballikaya region.
 
We then hiked back to the bus using a shortcut which was a straight uphill climb. We were able to see more of the valley and the amazing limestone rock formations.
 
The ride back was spent sleeping as well. It seemed to go by much faster than the ride back. When we got back to the ship me and a few girls walked over to Starbucks to enjoy a frapachino before the voyage to Egypt.
 
I got back to the ship and turned in my passport. I then took a shower and called my family to share my adventures with them. When we left the port, I headed up to the deck with a lot of people and watched us leave the port as the sun set. I got a good amount of pictures of the sun setting behind the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque.
 
Finally I made my way back to my room to head to bed for the night.
 
Turkey was a really amazing country and I hope to come back and share it with my family some day!