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!

Today was a wonderful day in Istanbul.
 
Today Lindsay and I decided to stick together and hang out. We started by sleeping in this morning. It was much needed after a busy time in Cappadocia. After we got dressed, we headed out for our adventure.
 
We started out by making our way to the Spice Bazaar by way of the tram. The tram system here is very easy to use and it comes quite often. When we got off we walked around a large stand that was outside of the tram station. There were a few booths selling different goods. Lindsay and I both decided to buy some bracelets from this one stand.
 
After that we walked into the bazaar and started walking through it. I stopped at a booth and got a really good deal on a large array of spices with a spice grinder and an array of teas with a tea set. After that we continued to walk around and I found a small set of spices to give to my dad. We finished walking around the bazaar and walked back to the tram to head to the Grand Bazaar.
 
We passed by a woman who was selling bird seed to feed to the pigeons. She was a million years old and was sweeping the seeds off of her stand. I think she was a tad bit crazy.
 
We made our way to the Grand Bazaar and began the adventure of such a crazy place. It was overwhelming even just to look at. There are over 60 isles and 4000 booths. And to make it even more confusing, a lot of them sell the same things so it starts to all look the same.
 
We began walking around for awhile and then decided to find a place to eat lunch. We found a small café to eat at and had fresh lemonade and pasta. They were very kind men that worked there and gave us free Turkish coffee and a Turkish delight to snack on. Then they also gave us free water and then asked to take pictures with us. So we have pictures with the workers of the restaurant.
 
After lunch it was time to start shopping. We walked around for hours and I finally got what I wanted to get. I got a knock off shirt for my brother and a lamp for my parents. And then I got a few candle holders for myself.
 
Then it was time to go to a Turkish bath. We took the tram and got off to see a Turkish bath right next to the tram stop. We walked in and decided to get the luxury package and a clay mask. It totaled about $75 and was well worth it. They have it separated by gender so we were led into the area for women. From there they gave us underwear to wear and a towel to put on and a locker to put all of our belongings in. From there you move into a large room made out of marble with a huge ventilated dome. Then you make your way to one of the women working. She lays you down and washes your body scrubbing off all of the dead skin. Then the clean you off with buckets of water and then give you a soapy massage. Then they wash your hair and send you to the pool and Jacuzzi. You get to hang out there for as long as you please and then move to another room to get a fresh dry towel. You then wait till they are ready to give you your oil massage. It was a very busy day that day. Normally you will be in a room with about 5 other girls getting a massage. But because it was so busy, I was taken upstairs to a private massage room where I was given my massage and clay mask. It was very relaxing and there was a window open in the room so I heard the call to prayer while I was getting my massage. Then you get to shower and get dressed.
 
It was a very enjoyable experience and I highly recommend to anyone going to Turkey to do a Turkish bath.
 
Lindsay and I then made our way back to the ship to shower once more and get ready to go out for the evening. We decided to go to the Galata Tower to see the city and have dinner there. The Galata Tower is one of the oldest towers in the world and was built in 528 as a lighthouse. It was then reconstructed in 1348 as the “Christ Tower”. The external diameter of the tower at its base is 16.45 meters, the inside diameter is 8.95 meters. At the base the thickness is 3.75 meters and at the top it is 20cm. The tower is also 61 meters tall. It gives the most amazing 360̊̊ view of the city.
 
After walking around the balcony of the tower we went inside to have a fancy meal. They gave us an appetizer tray followed by another appetizer. Then a salad and then the main course. And finally a dessert tray with tons of fruit. During dinner there was a number of different performances that went on. There was a sultan with his women, a belly dancer, other dancers, a knife thrower, other dancers, and another belly dancer, and finally a male singer. The whole show was very entertaining and at one point Lindsay was pulled up on stage to be fed fruit by the sultan and then to dance on the stage. The singer at the end was great because he knew songs in almost every language that was spoken in the room. On each table was a flag representing the nationality of the people at the table. We had a lovely American flag on our table. There were people from Brazil, Italy, Jordan, Australia, Sweden, Denmark, and the UK. He sang a number of songs and introduced many of the people in the room to the entire room. The whole ordeal didn’t end until midnight! Before we made our way back to the ship (which was only a 10 minute walk from the tower) we went back out on to the balcony and I took pictures of the skyline of Istanbul all lit up at night. It was an amazing sight.
 
We walked back to the ship with no problems at all and headed straight back to the room to get ready to sleep for the night. I was able to call my family and chat with my mom for a bit before going to sleep for the night. It’s very sad that there is only one day left in this amazing country!

Today was an eventful day in Cappadocia.
 
I woke up this morning around 5:30 to finish getting packed and ready for the day. I made it to the union around 6 to eat the “continental breakfast” which was juice and pastries. We waited for a while so everyone could get checked in and to make sure that everyone had their passports. There was one girl who never showed up and she really missed out.
 
Once everyone was ready, we boarded the buses and made our way to the airport. The airport security in Turkey is interesting. They make you go through security before you check in for your flight and then again after you check in. It took awhile for the leader to check in all 80 of us. They then handed back out our passports and boarding passes. We had about an hour and a half left before the flight so we just relaxed and had some food at the café. There was free Wi-Fi in the airport so I was able to chat with a few of my friends online.
 
We finally boarded the plane and it seemed as though we took up most of the plane. We actually did occupy over half of the seats on the plane. It was an hour long flight, but I slept almost the whole flight. I woke up for the last few minutes, and thought I was going to pass out it was so hot on the plane. I was very happy when it landed.
 
Our huge group was greeted at the airport by 2 people who took us to our buses where we loaded up and left on our adventure. It was another hour drive to the Cappadocia region, so I fell asleep again.
 
To explain what Cappadocia is, imagine a region transformed from a blazing inferno into a flourishing village. Cappadocia, or “Land of Well-Bred Horses,” began with the eruption of two volcanoes, Erciyes Dagi and Melendiz Dagi. When hot ash was dispersed over the terrain, it created a thick layer of soft, porous stone called tuff. The wealthy
believed it to be barren land, but the poor saw a means of survival and a miracle of nature. The indigenous people used crude tools to carve sturdy homes out of this pliable substance. Eventually they carved churches, schools and an entire village. To escape persecution, the Christians also built underground cities.
 WNevsehir, the wealthy center of Cappadocia, is the provincial capital and largest town in the region. The landscape of Nevsehir resembles the surface of the moon.
 
Our first stop was at the underground city of Kaymakliı, where Christians hid during times of persecution. It was basically a huge cave city. They carved a city underground 8 levels deep. We were able to go down 4 levels (we couldn’t go farther than that because the caves still connected to areas in town that lead to people’s houses).
 
I absolutely love caves so this was an amazingly fun time for me. It even smelled like caves, hollow air. There were areas that were meant to be stables, kitchens, churches, bedrooms, and so on. We spent a good amount of time underground exploring before making our way outside. We then had a bit of free time to stop at the shops nearby. I got a few souvenirs including a small hand drum.
        We then made our way to a city to stop and have lunch (at 3:30 in the afternoon). Me and a friend of mine, Marsha, decided to wander town and find a place to eat together. We stopped at a place that looked like it had some good food and low prices. We sat on small cushions on the ground at a small metal table. We both decided to order traditional Cappadocian food. It was a beef stew that was cooked in a ceramic pot. They brought the pots to the table and broke them open with a machete. It was very unique and very tasty. They also gave us bread and rice to eat along with it.
 
Once we were done eating we loaded back on to the bus and worked our way through the region stopping to take pictures along the way. We stopped at numerous great panoramic spots to take some magical pictures.
 
After a few more hours we made our way to the hotel which was very nice. We were assigned roommate based on our last names. My roommates name was Courtney Brown and she went to UC Davis. We were able to talk about the city and some of the people who went to my high school that she was friends with. It was pretty strange how that ended up but was nice to have something in common.
 
Then we went to dinner in restaurant downstairs. It was a huge buffet that was absolutely amazing. It was one of the biggest buffets that I have ever been to. The desert bar was crazy big as well. There were at least 3 cakes there to eat. We all enjoyed our dinner and then made our way back to the buses to head to the whirling dervish ceremony.
 
We went to a very old building and then watched the ceremony. It was a bunch of men spinning around in circles. They would do it fast enough and long enough that they would go into a trance.
 
After the ceremony they gave us some tea to enjoy. We finally made it back to the hotel to go to bed around 11:30. It took me about an hour to fall asleep.
 
It think it was because it was such an amazing day!

Today was an eventful day in Cappadocia.
 
I woke up this morning around 5:30 to finish getting packed and ready for the day. I made it to the union around 6 to eat the “continental breakfast” which was juice and pastries. We waited for a while so everyone could get checked in and to make sure that everyone had their passports. There was one girl who never showed up and she really missed out.
 
Once everyone was ready, we boarded the buses and made our way to the airport. The airport security in Turkey is interesting. They make you go through security before you check in for your flight and then again after you check in. It took awhile for the leader to check in all 80 of us. They then handed back out our passports and boarding passes. We had about an hour and a half left before the flight so we just relaxed and had some food at the café. There was free Wi-Fi in the airport so I was able to chat with a few of my friends online.
 
We finally boarded the plane and it seemed as though we took up most of the plane. We actually did occupy over half of the seats on the plane. It was an hour long flight, but I slept almost the whole flight. I woke up for the last few minutes, and thought I was going to pass out it was so hot on the plane. I was very happy when it landed.
 
Our huge group was greeted at the airport by 2 people who took us to our buses where we loaded up and left on our adventure. It was another hour drive to the Cappadocia region, so I fell asleep again.
 
To explain what Cappadocia is, imagine a region transformed from a blazing inferno into a flourishing village. Cappadocia, or “Land of Well-Bred Horses,” began with the eruption of two volcanoes, Erciyes Dagi and Melendiz Dagi. When hot ash was dispersed over the terrain, it created a thick layer of soft, porous stone called tuff. The wealthy
believed it to be barren land, but the poor saw a means of survival and a miracle of nature. The indigenous people used crude tools to carve sturdy homes out of this pliable substance. Eventually they carved churches, schools and an entire village. To escape persecution, the Christians also built underground cities.
 WNevsehir, the wealthy center of Cappadocia, is the provincial capital and largest town in the region. The landscape of Nevsehir resembles the surface of the moon.
 
Our first stop was at the underground city of Kaymakliı, where Christians hid during times of persecution. It was basically a huge cave city. They carved a city underground 8 levels deep. We were able to go down 4 levels (we couldn’t go farther than that because the caves still connected to areas in town that lead to people’s houses).
 
I absolutely love caves so this was an amazingly fun time for me. It even smelled like caves, hollow air. There were areas that were meant to be stables, kitchens, churches, bedrooms, and so on. We spent a good amount of time underground exploring before making our way outside. We then had a bit of free time to stop at the shops nearby. I got a few souvenirs including a small hand drum.
        We then made our way to a city to stop and have lunch (at 3:30 in the afternoon). Me and a friend of mine, Marsha, decided to wander town and find a place to eat together. We stopped at a place that looked like it had some good food and low prices. We sat on small cushions on the ground at a small metal table. We both decided to order traditional Cappadocian food. It was a beef stew that was cooked in a ceramic pot. They brought the pots to the table and broke them open with a machete. It was very unique and very tasty. They also gave us bread and rice to eat along with it.
 
Once we were done eating we loaded back on to the bus and worked our way through the region stopping to take pictures along the way. We stopped at numerous great panoramic spots to take some magical pictures.
 
After a few more hours we made our way to the hotel which was very nice. We were assigned roommate based on our last names. My roommates name was Courtney Brown and she went to UC Davis. We were able to talk about the city and some of the people who went to my high school that she was friends with. It was pretty strange how that ended up but was nice to have something in common.
 
Then we went to dinner in restaurant downstairs. It was a huge buffet that was absolutely amazing. It was one of the biggest buffets that I have ever been to. The desert bar was crazy big as well. There were at least 3 cakes there to eat. We all enjoyed our dinner and then made our way back to the buses to head to the whirling dervish ceremony.
 
We went to a very old building and then watched the ceremony. It was a bunch of men spinning around in circles. They would do it fast enough and long enough that they would go into a trance.
 
After the ceremony they gave us some tea to enjoy. We finally made it back to the hotel to go to bed around 11:30. It took me about an hour to fall asleep.
 
It think it was because it was such an amazing day!

Today was an amazing first day in Turkey.
 
I woke up early this morning to watch the sun rise. It was a very unique sunrise and it was very humid outside. So humid that my lens on my camera fogged up for about 20 minutes. I stayed out to watch the pilot board the ship and as we pulled into port. We made our way past the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque which was really amazing to see from afar.

Then I went to eat breakfast, and then went back to my room and went back to sleep. We had our standard mandatory diplomatic briefing this morning, but I ended up sleeping through the entire thing. I did not have anywhere to be today until 11am so I made the decision to sleep in till 10.
 
I finally woke up and got dressed for the day. I worked my way down to the bus and boarded for a full day of city orientation. The description is as follows:
        Drive through the streets of ancient Pera (Latin Quarter) and Taksim Square. Then cross the Golden Horn over the Ataturk Bridge to the old town. View the city walls dating back to the fourth century, which were destroyed during the conquest in 1453, and the Roman Aqueduct of Valens from the second century. Tour the Sehzade Mosque, which was designed by architect Mimar Sinan. As chief architect of the palace, Sinan designed more than 360 structures. The Sehzade Mosque represents his mature style and the first grand mosque he created. Then take a break to eat lunch. Next, visit the Byzantine Cistern and the Hagia Sophia. Then, visit the Blue Mosque with its unique configuration of six minarets and blue tiled interior. Walk by the Hippodrome and view the Serpentine Column and the Theodosius Column, both of which were brought from Egypt in the fourth century. Then return to the bus and back to the ship.
 
We drove around for about an hour viewing the entire city. Our first stop was the Sehzade Mosque. I really enjoyed going into the mosque. It was the first mosque that I have ever visited and was a truly unique experience. It was also not full of tourists, other than all of us SAS students. I like that you have to take off your shoes before entering. It was very nice to run my toes through the soft Turkish rugs. We stayed for a good amount of time before moving outside to enjoy our boxed lunches. They are some of the worst lunches possible, but it’s nice to sit around and meet new people. We also took a picture will all of the females in my group with our head scarves on.
We then got back on the bus and work our way over to the area where the Hagia Sofia and Blue Mosque are located. First we went into the Byzantine Cistern Basilica. This is a truly unique place, like nothing I have ever seen before. It is an underground basilica. There are numerous pillars and paths to walk on all surrounded by water. In the water there are fish swimming around, some small, and some are the biggest fish I have ever seen. There is one pillar with a small round hole in it. It is said that if you are able to put your thumb into the pillar and rotate it in a complete circle, an angel will grant you one wish. I did it and now hope that my wish will come true. I can’t tell you what it is because then it won’t come true. At the end of the basilica there were 2 pillars with medusa heads on them. One head was sideways and the other was upside down. They were actually pretty scary to look at.
 
We then made our way to the Hagia Sofia which was once a church, then a mosque, and now is a museum. It was very large and had many different parts to it. It is a pretty cool thing to see and be able to say I have been to. I wrote my SAS admissions essay on the Hagia Sofia. I’m going to include it because it was surprisingly accurate.
        “I just spend the day in the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. The architecture of this building is unbelievable. It is the most beautiful building. And the dome. I cant even believe that I was able to stand there, look up, and admire how vast and how much light is let in. I can see how it took so long to build it. I also cannot believe the religious history of this building. Starting as the largest cathedral in the world, then turned into a beautiful and one of the most principal mosques of the area, and finally turned into a museum.
        The Hagia Sophia was considered a monument during both the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. It is now considered a world heritage site.
        Throughout the ages, cultures have been based around religion. Many cultures today are still based around religion. Last fall when I was thinking about studying abroad, I couldn’t decide what culture I wanted to experience. I found out about the Semester at Sea program and know that it was exactly what I needed to really enhance my global perspective.
        Being born and raised in California I have always been exposed to a number of different cultures. But until this journey, I never had never studied the way that the cultures interact and work together to form a cohesive society.
        I have been able to spend my days exploring so many different cultures and religions. My classes have also broadened my opinions about many cultures. It is amazing that one day I am on a ship learning about a culture and the next day I am in a city experiencing the culture first hand.
        This program is more than I could have ever imagined. I feel like it has made me a global citizen and prepared me for an increasingly globalized world.
                Can’t wait to see what is in store for me tomorrow."
 
We then worked our way to the Blue Mosque which is just across the park. I don’t know much about why the Mosque is famous, but it was a true sight to see. There are 6 minarets on the structure and a huge interior.
After seeing the mosque we went and viewed what was left of the Hippodrome and the pillars from Egypt. After that we worked our way back to the bus. Somehow we managed to lose our professor while walking to the bus and ended up leaving her in the city on her own. She was able to make it back to the ship eventually, but when I talked to her the following day she told me it was quite an adventure.
 
When we finally got back to the bus I showered and ate dinner. Then I packed up my stuff for my trip the next day and got in bed early for the early morning tomorrow.
 

Today was Turkey day!
It was actually not an exciting day at all. However, we didn’t have class, so that is always nice. I was able to sleep in this morning which is very relaxing. I missed breakfast in the dining hall as a result. I went to my pedicure which was much needed. It was very relaxing and made my feet nice and smooth.
 
I decided it would be a good day to try out the breakfast that they have at the pool deck, and it turned out to be quite good. I had a croissant with eggs and cheese, but they make an omelet and put it in the middle of the croissant.
 
We then had a mandatory lecture to watch today. It was regarding the culture in Turkey. I thought that it was going to be boring, but it ended up being interesting. She gave us a lot of good information regarding behaviors, the culture, and even food.
 
I then decided that I would so some homework. The only homework that I had to do was sketching, so I got to work on some of my drawings. I’ve come up with a good way to do the drawings that seems to be making it a little easier for me. I print out the picture that I’m going to use in black and white and then tape it on to the page next to the drawing. It works because it’s in black and white, and we sketch only in black and white. I’m able to figure out value a lot better. It seems as though I am making some progress with my drawings.
 
After working on that for awhile I got bored and decided it was time to become a zombie. I popped in a movie and relaxed in bed for a few hours.
After dinner, we had a mandatory pre-port lecture just like always. They told us what to expect safety wise and informed us that we would have to carry our passports with us at all times. That’s always a little scary, but since I am not an idiot, I don’t have to worry too much.
 
I went to bed early for my exciting day to follow!
 
 
 

We woke up this morning at about 9am and packed up our stuff and got ready for the day. After we were all packed we went to have breakfast before getting our ride back to the port. The buffet at the breakfast is one of the best that I have been to. It would be the best if they had pancakes in the morning as well. This morning they also had cheesy mashed potatoes for breakfast. I had a whole bowl of them they were so good.  I love the fact that they have such perfectly cooked bacon. All that they have on the ship is crispy bacon which I really don’t like.

We then went back to the room, got our bags, did a final sweep of the room, and went to the lobby to check out. We then were taken by a driver over to the port to head back to Piraeus. When we got to the port all of the SAS holes from the day before were there waiting for the boat as well. Some of them were even drinking champagne! A couple more arrived and one of them realized that they had forgotten their passport in the hotel. So 2 of them left to go back to the hotel to get it. They would miss the ferry, and have to catch a later one if possible.

The ferry arrived right on time and we boarded with no problem. Me and Lindsay were seated apart again, but we sat together and asked one of the people to switch seats. It worked out well, and its always nice to sit next to someone you know when you have such a long ride ahead. I worked on my blog again, and Lindsay slept just as before. It seemed like the trip back was shorter than the trip there, but you never really know what's going on with the Greeks.

We made it back with no problem and walked back to the ship. Lindsay stayed out in the terminal to use the internet, and I went back on board. I hate going through security on the ship because they literally check every inch of your belongings. Then they shove them back into your bag with no care in the world.

I unpacked everything and then went and turned in my passport and made my way to the pool bar to get some food. I had myself a hotdog and a root beer and ate it pretty quickly because it was so hot outside. I then went back into my room and took a shower and put my PJ's on. I then watched a movie and went to dinner. Then it was time to get my clothing ready for laundry day tomorrow.

After I was done with all that I watched another movie and got in bed early. I am absolutely exhausted after the long fun days that I had in Greece. Tomorrow is Turkey Day, and I have to get up early for my pedicure!

We slept in this morning which was very enjoyable. I haven't done that in days and it was much needed. We got ready for the day and headed to breakfast. They had a buffet breakfast which a whole lot of choices. They had bacon that was nice and soft just like I like it. There was tons of fruits and a number of different types of bread as well. I had myself a huge meal and enjoyed it greatly.

We then got on a bus to head into the city. The ride into the city was only about 15 minutes long. Once we got there we started walking around. We weren't really sure where we were going, but I brought the map with us so it didn’t really matter. We went into a number of different souvenir shops to get stuff and a bunch of other Greek shops. There was one store that was full of Murano glass and Swarovski Crystals. It was lovely but extremely over priced.

I was able to get my standard souvenirs and some other gifts for my family and friends. Lindsay was able to get a few gifts as well!

We found a place that had smoothies and ice cream and got ourselves a little snack. We passed an elementary school and found a place to sit down and enjoy our snacks. Next to the bench we were sitting at there was a sign saying 
   
Massage boy
        1. Relaxing Massage
        2. Body2body
        3. 4hand massage
2 professional boy
And beautiful presence
For moments unforgettable

Followed by a phone number to call.

Its probably the best sign that I have seen so far. We did a little people watching which is always interesting. From there we continued walking until we made it back to the bus station. We then bought our bus tickets and waited to board the bus to Paradise.

Paradise beach is like something that you would see on a "Girls Gone Wild" movie. It’s a beach that is mellow during the day, but by 5pm they get the party started. And the party doesn’t stop until people cant drink anymore.

We arrived around 2pm and got ourselves some lounge chairs to relax in. Its 4 Euro to use a lounge chair for the day. We just laid out in the sun for awhile. In Europe your allowed to go topless on the beach so Lindsay took advantage of that. I didn’t want to burn to badly because I'm almost guaranteed to get burnt. (Must be something with my last name….) We each got a slice of pizza and enjoyed it down by the beach.

Later in the afternoon, just before the party was about to get started, a bunch of SAS students (SAS holes - which is the name that everyone calls other SAS students) showed up at the beach as well. It was a good group of people though, a lot that I already knew. We joined them at their table close to where the dancing and drinking was going to take place. The MC came on the microphone and announced that the party was going to start so everyone should be ready.

Now I've come to the conclusion that there are a TON of trust fund babies on the ship. At the table were 3 large pitchers (more like huuuuuuge jugs) of "Sex on the Beach," each costing 90 Euro with like 25 straws in each, 4 bottles of wine, a couple bottles of champagne, a few bottles of Absolute vodka,  and 20 or so beers. I enjoyed the sex on the beach quite a lot. There were also numerous tables of rich people around us. They had the huge bottle of champagne which each cost 200 Euro. A lot of those bottles were used to shake up and spray all over people. I would say that about 10 bottles were used for that purpose.

So they played club music and everyone was drunk and dancing in their bikini's and Speedos. The MC was wearing an elephant Speedo. It had ears and a trunk. The trunk was were the weenie went and it was quite a sight to see. Apparently he is absolutely crazy and a complete man whore. There were girls dancing on platforms and people dancing everywhere. They played the same 7 songs over and over again, but because people were so wasted they didn’t notice the difference.

The SASers at the table continued to buy more booze every time we were running low. They would also start getting crazy if they were running low on booze. When a bucket that was full of ice and holding beers would go empty, they would take the bucket, add water, and throw it on someone's head.

Its really hard to describe this scene, but I hope you are getting the picture.

We stayed for a good amount of time, drinking some, but never getting wasted, and dancing the afternoon/evening away. We finally decided to leave and head back to the hotel. We got back around 9:30 and took showers and ordered room service. It was very nice to be able to enjoy dinner while laying in bed. We watched a silly movie and went to sleep.

I  have to say today was a great day and it was really fun going to such a crazy beach and experiencing something like that!

Today was the beginning of a top class vacation.

Lindsay and I woke up at about 6am this morning and got ready to head to Mykonos. We went outside the ship with our baggage and tried to get a taxi. It took us ages to actually get one, and then when he was driving us there he made us get out early because he said it would take to long waiting in traffic. So we still ended up having to walk half-way. We have had nothing but bad experiences with taxis in Greece, so I would recommend that you NEVER try to use a taxi in Greece.

We got to the ferry and were able to board right away. It turns out that they assign you a seat on the ferry, and they are set up much like and airplane on the inside. Since we bought out tickets separately, our seats ended up being a few rows apart. It ended up not being a big deal because Lindsay slept most of the time and I spent the entire time catching up on my blog. (I've been so busy and tired at the end of the day I haven't been able to write everything down. I'm going to try and do better from now on)

The ferry ride was pretty bumpy, but we got there right on schedule. There was a black Land Rover waiting for us at the port to pick us up and take us to the hotel. However when we got into the car, he told us that they had sold our room and were going to be taking us to the Mykonos Blu hotel to stay there. He reassured us that it was very nice though. It was very confusing and he didn’t really explain it that well, but basically, someone offered to pay more money for the hotel, and the Greeks being so broke took them up on the offer and sent us to another hotel for a room.

It was a short drive to the hotel and it had a beautiful and fun lobby so I wasn’t too worried about it. They checked us in and told us the room was not quite ready so we could go down to the pool or beach to hang out or head to the pool restaurant for lunch. They took us down to the spa so we could change and store our bags while we waited.

First we went out to the restaurant because it was lunch time and we were hungry. It was really great to be able to see the amazingly clear blue water from lunch. It was very enjoyable and they had some great bread to go along with our meal.

After we ate we decided to go down to the beach because we are on the Mediterranean, why spend time in the pool if the beach is just down the stairs! There were plenty of lounge chairs situated under straw umbrellas. We got a spot right on the edge of the water and rested. After awhile it was time to go and get our room. So we went back to the front desk and they showed us to our room. It was beautiful. There was a large king sized bed on one wall that had a canopy over it and a small twin size bed on the other wall that was meant to be used as a couch. There was a flat screen TV and a waterfall showerhead. The ceilings were sponge painted to resemble the sky as well. We put our stuff into the room and got situated.

We came back down to the beach to lay out some more.  I got tired of laying there so I put on my goggles and went out in the water to explore. I knew that there was life where we were because you could see clear little fish right on the edge of the water. I went out and swam for awhile. At first I wasn’t able to see anything, but then my eyes finally adjusted to the neutral colors and I was able to see a whole lot of life. There were a lot of clear fish and a lot of fish that blended in with the sand and the rocks. There were flat ones and ones that resembled seaweed growing on a rock. I found an awesome sea shell and caught a hermit crab. I even saw one rainbow colored fish. Finally I was getting ready to swim back to the shore and get out when I saw a small octopus. It was pretty small, it could fit in my hand if I had grabbed it. I watched it for awhile because there would be little fish that would try to come close to it and it would try to strike them with its tentacles. It was like a game.

I then got out of the water and came back to the lounge chairs. It was time for us to order a drink, we both got strawberry mojitos and we also got a plate of fries as a snack. Its always fun to eat and drink on the beach. We laid out for a bit more and then took a walk along the beach. The area that is for our hotel had pebble-sand at it, but just a little further down the beach it turned into just sand which was really nice to dig my toes into.

We then decided to head back to the room and shower and relax for a bit. We got dressed for dinner and made a plan for tomorrow. First we decided to get a drink and sit outside for awhile. I had a pina colada and Lindsay had champagne. We sat there for over an hour enjoying the sunset and talking. It was very relaxing.

We then went downstairs to have dinner. It was a very fancy restaurant and we got a nice seat outside. There was a nice breeze outside so it was just a lovely night. They served us an appetizer that I'm not even sure of what it was. Something Greek. We then ordered and enjoyed some bread while waiting for our meal. This was the first place that I have been on this entire semester that we were served butter with our bread. Im not much of a bread and olive oil girl so I was very excited. Lindsay had a pork fillet for dinner and I had a beef fillet. Both of them were very tasty and I enjoyed myself very much. We had seen the dessert menu and saw that there was a chocolate soufflé but when we went to order it, it was the one dessert that they were out of. Oh well, it was still a great dinner. 

Finally, we went back to the room, changed into PJ's, turn on the TV, got into bed, and passed out for the night.

I woke up very early this morning for the journey through the Saronic Islands. It took be 45 minutes to walk across the port to the berth that the boat for the cruise was. It was a long walk and I was pretty tired after it. I was greeted when I boarded the ship but 2 characters dressed up. They took pictures of me with them as well.

I looked around the ship, which was 3 stories big. The bottom floor was  a dining hall, the second floor had some outdoor seating and then had a room with sliding glass doors all the way around it so it was like and indoor/outdoor room, and the top deck was all outdoor seating. I love being outside and I love the ocean breeze in my face, so I found a place to sit on the top deck.

I got there pretty early, because that’s how I am, and there weren't a whole lot of people there yet. But by the time the ship left the port, the whole ship was full. And to my surprise, the SAS trip to the Saronic Islands was on the same ship. So there ended up being 100 of my fellow classmates on the trip as well. So much for a day on my own.

On this journey, we visited the islands of Hydra, Poros, and Aegina.
        Hydra is different from the other Saronic Islands with its white, red and pink houses built in tiers. Substantial stone mansions and white, tiled houses climbing up from a perfect horseshoe harbor create a beautiful spectacle; this harbor also once served as a safe haven for Saronic pirates. Once a fashionable artists’ colony, Hydra has metamorphosed into one of the more popular (and expensive) resorts in Greece. The small, narrow stone-paved streets can be explored on foot or by the island’s traditional “vehicle”—the saddled donkey. Hydra is also reputedly hallowed by no less than 365 churches.
       
        Poros is in fact two islands separated from each other by a shallow engineered canal. Views of the harbor and the town from the ship are picturesque. The waterfront area, filled with the many cafés, is quite animated. Upon arrival, explore Poros at your leisure for approximately 50 minutes. At the center of this small island, note the Sanctuary of Poseidon where the Athenian orator and politician Demosthenes committed suicide in 323 BCE.

        Well-positioned on the trade routes, Aegina was once a prosperous maritime center and a rival to Athens. The Aeginetans were first among the people of Greece to mint their own coins, and they also created a standardized system of weights and measures. Today, Aegina has become an inexpensive resort for Athenians. A primary attraction for visitors is the beautiful Temple of Aphaia, one of the most complete and visually complex ancient buildings in Greece. Situated on a promontory, the temple also offers superb views of Athens and Piraeus across the water.

It was about a 3 hour ride to the first island, which was also the island that was the furthest away. I found a great seat at a table in the sun next to the edge of the ship. I really enjoyed having the ocean air in my face. An Egyptian couple came and sat with me at the table and they were very friendly. I managed to fall asleep during the trip so I was able to get a little cat nap in which gave me some extra and much needed energy.

The first island, Hydra, was a very mellow island. When I got off the ship I ran into more SAS people, this time staff members. I walked with one of them and her husband around the island. It was very pretty and there were a lot of Donkeys!

When I got back on the ship, it was time for lunch, kinda. They decided to break up the ship into 2 different shifts for lunch because the dinning hall is not big enough for 300 people. I was in the second shift though, so I made my way back upstairs to relax and drink a ton of water.

We made it to the second island, Poros, where we only had about 40 minutes to walk around. I stuck with just going in the shops close to the boat.

When I got back on the ship, it was my shifts turn for lunch. I went into the dining hall and they sat me down at a table with 3 other people. They were a family with a mother and son and grandmother from Chicago. Before the boat left, I was looking outside and somehow a fire started on the hillside on the island. There were huge flames and black smoke taking over. I had never seen anything like that in my entire life! We left before anything was being done about it, so I wonder how long it took them to get the fire out.

The food that they served us was absolutely terrible First was a salad with tuna and olives pilled on top of it. Then they served a Greek dish that could have been good if they hadn't had to make it for 300 people. The final course was a lemon square which was actually good and the only thing that I enjoyed.

During lunch, there was a group of children sitting in the booth behind my table. They were part of the first lunch shift so they weren't eating, they were playing cards. I have never heard of a group of people being that loud playing cards before. I got annoyed and turned around in my seat and told them they needed to quite down. That didn’t work at all. The old lady at my table was getting a headache from the screaming of the children, so she asked a waiter to tell them to quite down. The waiter tried but of course that didn’t work either. It was way to hot for me to just sit there and do nothing, so I got out of our booth and walked over to their table and gave those kids a lecture of a lifetime. I completely went off on them just like a very frustrated teacher would. I managed to dumb down everything I said to the most simple sentences possible. I also gave them my famous death look and it seemed to do the trick. They stopped making noise after that.

After lunch there was still about an hour left till the final island, so I moved back outside to sit in the breeze.

When we got to the final island, they had given us the option to do it on our own for 2 hours, or to pay a small price for a guided tour. I choose to do the guided tour of the island. I got on the air conditioned bus (a very nice relief) and got the best seat on the bus. The tour showed us around the island as well as the ruins and the church.

We got back to the ship and started the 1.5 hour journey back to Piraeus. It was very very hot at this time of the day and the trip seemed to take forever. I was very happy when we finally got back.

It was a good trip, but made me miss Dubrovnik even more! I got back to the ship and packed my bags for Mykonos. We would be leaving on the 7:15am ferry the next morning.

After everything was all packed, I got in bed and passed out!

We woke up early this morning to the announcements that they do every day that we get in port. For us it basically means get up and turn on your TV. I got dressed and ready for the day even before the Diplomatic Briefing began, while Lindsay spent most of the briefing getting ready for the day. I was very concerned about how hot it was going to be outside because they told us it was going to be about 100 degrees. Now that hot with the amount of humidity that I was expecting is not a good combination. I dressed on the cool side just as a precaution.

The briefing was very long and there were about 4 different people that came to talk to us. They didn’t say anything that we didn’t know already and basically just told us to be safe and not to loose our passports.

After the briefing was over, the ship was cleared and we were able to leave and start seeing the sights. All me and Lindsay did was walk through the port of Piraeus until we found a both selling ferry tickets. We got our tickets for the trip to Mykonos with no problem. After that, we walked around trying to figure out where to buy tickets for the 3 island cruise.

Eventually we found a place, but it turned out that the boat would get back to late for Lindsay to do the trip because of her FDP. I still wanted to do it though, so I bought myself a ticket for the following day. After that we walked around Piraeus for awhile to explore. But it was so hot outside that we weren't able to stay out for long because it was so gross. There wasn’t a whole lot to see either so we walked back to the ship to go to lunch.

After we ate lunch, it was time for the SAS trip titled "Sights of Athens and the Acropolis."
        Athens, the capital and largest city in Greece, lies six miles from the port of Piraeus. It is one of the world’s oldest cities with a recorded history that spans at least 3,000 years. Travel to the heart of Athens to Syntagma (Constitution) Square. At the top of the Square stands the Parliament Building, formerly the royal palace, where guards in their traditional costumes keep watch over the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Next, pass the Panathenaic Stadium and the National Gardens. Travel along University Street to see its neoclassical buildings.

        Then head toward the foot of the Acropolis, and pass the remains of the Temple of Olympian Zeus and Hadrian’s Arch, the Roman archway built by Emperor Hadrian in 131-32. The Acropolis, or “High City,” is a true testament to the Golden Age of Greece, that magical period at the height of Pericles’ influence (461-429 BCE) when the intellectual and artistic life of Athens flowered. Seeing the ruins of the Parthenon, one of the archetypal images of Western culture, is a revelation yet utterly familiar. Today, as throughout history, the Acropolis offers one entrance—from a terrace above the Agora. The modern path makes a zigzagging ascent through the Beule Gate to legendary attractions such as the Propylaia, Temple of Athena Nike, the Erechtheion and the Parthenon.

So we did exactly what the description says. We also go to watch the changing of the guards at the Parliament building which was really cool to see. They wear really funny shoes and did a very strange  march.

At the Acropolis, it was so hot that we weren't able to stay there for very long. We spent just enough time to see what we needed to see. We signed out of the stip so we could stay in Athens and do some shopping and get dinner.

We decided to take a taxi from the Acropolis to a square that the inter-port student told us had good shopping. Now this cab driver was crazy and drove like a nut case. The place that we were going to was only about a mile away from the Acropolis, so we really didn’t think that the cab drive would cost that much. However, this cab driver demanded 60 Euro from us and then on top of that tried to say that we had only given him 20 Euro after we paid him. He was the biggest scammer I have ever met. During the drive he didn’t ever stop doing the sign of the cross. I think it was because he was trying to get God to forgive him from his vicious act that he did on us. He basically stole from us, and I don’t think that doing the sign of the cross over and over again is going to help him at all.

We walked the square and did a good fair of shopping. Most of it was looking at the shops and not buying anything, but we still did get some good stuff. I got my standard shot glass and post card along with some olive oil soaps and some gifts for Andria and Ciara back at home. Lindsay got a beautiful red leather purse for a steal!. We both got some great olive oil and balsamic vinegar because apparently the best olive oil in the world comes from Greece.

We then found a place to have some dinner, and got some lovely Greek food. It was an enjoyable dinner and there were misters and fans outside to help keep it cooler.

After dinner we headed back to the ship, via Metro, which was very easy to use and only took about 20 minutes. After we got back to the ship it was time to relax and get ready for tomorrow. I needed to be at the island cruise boat by 7:15, but it was on the complete opposite side of the port. About a 45 minute walk.  So I set my alarm for 6am and packed up my backpack.

We then watched some TV and passed out for the night!

Today was an interesting day to say the least.

I woke up around 8am and went to breakfast with Lindsay. I never go to breakfast without getting ready for the day, but today was an exception. We went to the dining hall and I got a full plate of food, it was a sausage day. I ate my food, but did not speak one word the entire time. I basically was a zombie. In fact, I don’t even really remember going to breakfast this morning I was so out of it.

We went back to the room, and I climbed in bed and passed out. So much for going to class today. Lindsay woke me up at about 11:15 asking me if I needed to be in class. I mumbled and crawled out of bed. It gave me enough time to get dressed and get lunch before going to my religious studies class for my midterm. I got some last minute studying in at lunch as well.

I got to class and we spread around the room for the test. The questions on the test were identical to the questions from the study guide. I was able to complete the test with no problem. Since it was a short answer test, it took me ages to write everything down. I never do anything by hand anymore, that’s what a computer is for. Typing is my life. If we had typed the exam I would have finished in a matter of minutes, but since it was had written it took me almost the entire time.

After the test, it was time to relax and get ready for Greece. I did this by laying in bed and watching Mama Mia. Really got me in the mood for Greece. I got my backpack ready for the next day as well.

Other than that, all I did today was relax and enjoy the afternoon of doing nothing.

We had a lecture from the guest inter-port student followed by the pre-port lecture. Me and Lindsay watched both of them in the room on the TV. I really get a lot more out of it from doing it that way.  Also, Lindsay decided that she really needed to do laundry, so she did some hand washing. It was pretty entertaining to watch because she had never hand washed anything before. She also did like an entire load of laundry so there were wet clothes hanging everywhere in the room. Its going to take days for the stuff to dry!

After all that, we went to bed for the early rise tomorrow!

Today was a class day as we make our way to Greece.

After visiting Dubrovnik I am so satisfied that I could go home today and have no regrets. Dubrovnik is said to be "Heaven on Earth" and it truly is. If I get rich one day, I will buy a summer house there and stay as often as I can. Everything about it was amazing, from the sights, to the history, and even the food. I had no idea what to expect, but even if I had expectations, they would have been exceeded 10 fold.

I slept in today and didn’t make it to Global Studies…. Oh well its bound to happen ever now and then.

Drawing seems to be getting more and more of a tedious class everyday. We started working on texture in class which really means just drawing crooked links with different pressures. An hour of drawing lines is not my favorite thing. I wish we used colors in this class because im not a black and white girl.

We did some review in religious studies today for our midterm tomorrow. She also gave us a study guide for the test with all of the possible questions on it. That is going to be very helpful to study with. She then told us that we are allowed to use a note card on the test both front and d back. And on top of that, we are allowed to type the note card. With my computer skills this is the best news ever. I should be able to fit the whole study guide on the note card!

After class I went straight up to my room to start filling out the study guide. Of course I got side tracked watching a movie and ended up falling asleep. This seems to happen to me a lot when I'm trying to study.

Dinner time came, and I magically woke up. My brain really know what it wants to do and studying is just not on the top of the list. I ate dinner quickly so I could force myself to study more. I checked my e-mail and to my surprise, one of my group members had finished the study guide and sent it out to the entire group. This was sooo helpful. I had finished about 1/2 of it so I added my answers to her study guide and had an amazingly thorough guide.

Then all I had to do was work my magic and make the study guide small enough to fit on to the note card. It only took me about 20 minutes to  get it all on there.

I then studied some more before heading bed. I figured I should get a good night of sleep before my midterm.

Today was a magical day.

This morning was an early rise. So early that they had to open breakfast early for us. I ate some cereal at about 6:30 in the morning, and worked my way down to the bus to make the journey to Medugorje. I loaded on to the bus and lucked out with getting both the seats in my row to myself for our 3 hour bus ride. Its only 85 miles away, but in a bus it always takes longer, and we would be driving along the coast on a road much like Highway 1 in California.

For those who don’t know what Medugorje is, I'm going to include the description from SAS.
        "A small village located in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Medugorje is a unique phenomenon in the modern world. It received international attention when, in 1981, six children who were playing together between the villages of Medugorje and Bijakovici claimed that an apparition of the Virgin Mary appeared to them. As a result of their claims, Medugorje has welcomed more than 20 million visitors since 1981, thus becoming the second largest Catholic pilgrimage site in the world."

We finally made it after the bus ride, and everyone slept on the bus ride. When we got there the first time that was on the agenda was to climb the path that leads to Apparition Hill, the place where the children say their first vision. It was a very rocky and steep climb up the hill. Along the "path" were different images of the stations of the cross. From the top of the hill you could see the entire valley below. Here was a statue of the Virgin Mary as well as a large Crucifix.

I said my prayer to the Virgin Mary and then enjoyed the view for awhile before making my way back down the hill. I love to think about how my grandparents were here back in the late 1980's. Its always a great experience to be able to see things that they have don’t and to walk in their footsteps. The entire time I was there I was thinking about them!

When we got down the hill, the bus drove us back into town and dropped us off for our free time. I went with a few girls to look at the souvenir shops before going to the noon mass. I got my post-card and a small statue of the Virgin Mary (instead of a shot glass) and some other little things for my family.

We then went as a group of girls to the church for mass. We arrived and had no idea what language mass would be in. It was a Sunday so they had masses all day long. They also did them in various languages throughout the day. To our surprise, the mass was in English so we were able to understand everything. It was just like a mass back at home with song, readings, prayer, and lots of standing, sitting, and kneeling. The only difference that I saw was that there were 15 priests up on the alter. Most of them just stood there the entire time, and only about 4 of them said anything during the mass. But it was very helpful when it came time to hand out the communion because there were hundreds of people there.

After mass was over we decided to get lunch before getting back on the bus. We went to a restaurant close by and were shocked by how inexpensive everything was. I got Spaghetti Bolognese and a Sprite and it was only 5.50 Euro! We all enjoyed our meal and then made our way back to the bus.

For some strange reason the bus ride home was miserable. The a/c was not working very well and I was sweating and burning up the entire ride back. I was so thankful when we finally made it back to the boat.

The first thing I did was run into my room and take a cold cold cold shower. It was extremely refreshing. I then went and had dinner as we cruised out of the port and back on to the open sea. 

Today was another event filled day in beautiful Croatia!

I woke up this morning early enough to make breakfast, but not too early. I decided to eat a full breakfast because I would be sea kayaking today and that can really take it out of you. Of course it was not a sausage breakfast today, which is the only one that I actually like, so I had a couple bowls of cereal. I'm happy that they always have cereal in the morning and skim milk, because even if I don’t like the rest of the food, I know I can rely on that.

I made my way off the boat to get on the bus. It was a good group of people who went on the trip. There was about 30 of us total. We made a short bus ride to the old city, (apparently the old city is where EVERYTHING is) and walked down to the water. There were kayaks, dry bags, life vests, and water waiting for us. I met a girl and we decided to be partners on the kayak. We were one of the last groups to get on our boat, and it was a good thing we waited because we got kayaks that had back rests in them. It really makes things a lot more enjoyable if you have the seat in the kayak.

The girl I was with told me she had been kayaking before so I thought this was going to be an easy journey. I told her I would sit in the back and do the steering and all she needed to do was paddle like normal and I would follow her pace. I don’t know why this was so difficult for her, but she did not stick with a pace and would randomly stop paddling or paddle more than once on the same side. It made my job a lot harder than it should have been. She also splashed me the ENTIRE time and I probably drank about a gallon of salt water thanks to her. It would have been better if she had just sat there and made me do all the work.

Anyways, we made our way to the island of Lapid, and "parked" the boats. Immediately I heard a familiar squawking and went off looking for the peacocks! I found one in no time what-so-ever and chased it around for awhile taking its picture over and over. It was strange that I was able to chase it, because most of the time peacocks are aggressive and will chase you! I then found another one that was sitting on the top of a playground. I took its picture and then decided to see if I could touch it. Low and behold I was able to pet its tail a few times before it jumped off the playground and ran away. Ive never been able to do that before so it was really cool to be able to do.

Finally everyone arrived at the island and they handed out our snorkeling masks. We walked down a path do get to another part of the island. We ran into quite a few peacocks on our way. There was all sorts of baby peacocks as well. Some were as small as little chicks and some were a little bigger, about the size of my bunny. The babies were all with their mothers, so it was interesting to see the variety of colors.

We got to the water and made our way in to snorkel. The snorkeling here is nothing like the snorkeling that you would do in Hawaii or other tropical places. The water in the Adriatic Sea is to cold to harbor coral reefs and tropical fish. The sea life here does its best at blending in with the surroundings. A lot of neutral colored fish and plants. It took awhile for my eyes to get adjusted, but once they were I was able to see quite a lot. There were urchins, and sea slugs, starfish, and schools of fish. I eventually found myself swarmed by a school of a thousand fish. It was really cool to just be floating there with all of these fist around me.

I eventually looked up out of the water and over at the shore and low and behold it was covered in naked people. I had reached the naked beach area! I have no problem with nudity, but when you don’t expect to see penis, and you look up and see lots of penis it can be a true shock.

I enjoyed the water for a bit longer before making my way out. It was the strangest feeling getting out of the water because I felt completely drunk. I couldn’t stand straight and was super dizzy. I was not the only one who felt this way either. I shook it off and worked my way back to down the path. As I was walking I saw many more peacocks and their babies including a white peacock with black spots. I've seen colorful peacocks, and albino peacocks, but never spotted peacocks. That was a first for me. 

There was a small "lake" on the island which was filled with water that came from an underground linkage to the sea. It was more like a small pond with salt water. There was a cave on one side which had the tunnel to the sea in it. The water here was even colder than in the sea itself. I'm not sure why that was. There was also sea life in the water and I saw some fish and another couple of starfish as well.

It was then time for us to make our journey back to Dubrovnik. It was a much easier paddle back because the wind was behind us this time. We made it back to shore and I snuck over to my pizza place to get a slice while I was waiting for people to unload out of the kayaks. We then took a group picture and made our way back to the bus. We got back to the ship with just enough time to race and grab lunch before they closed lunch.

I then took a shower and decided that today was the day that I would walk the city walls. I took a bus back to the Old City and bought my ticket for the city walls.

I walked up to the top of the city walls and walked along the walls taking pictures from every spot possible. It was always nice to run into people who spoke English because I could ask them to take my picture for me. This was the first time that I have done something this trip and not run into any SAS students.

While walking the city walls you can see far off into the distance, but the most amazing sight is to be able to see all the roof tops of the buildings in the old city. At certain point I was able to see ruin from attacks on the city. So much history is in the Old City of Dubrovnik! 

It took me about 2 hours to walk all the way around the city. After I finished, I grabbed another slice of pizza and made my way back to the ship. I had some dinner and then got in my bed to watch a movie and fall asleep. Tomorrow is an early day!

Today was probably the best day ever.

First off I was able to sleep in today because I did not need to be at my island cruise until 10:45. So I had a leisurely morning and laid in bed and watched a movie for awhile. I'm not really able to sleep in a whole lot anymore unless I'm not supposed to sleep in. (I think it’s a psychological problem) Eventually I decided to get out of bed and get ready for the day. All that included was putting my swimsuit on and getting my camera ready.

I worked my way back into the old city by bus. I stopped at this little place that serves sandwiches, pizza, and ice cream and got myself a slice of pizza since I missed breakfast this morning. It ended up being the best pizza I have had in my entire life. It had thin, extremely dense crust, but was not hard, light sauce, and lots of cheese. I must reiterate, the BEST pizza EVER!  I could really be happy just eating that pizza for the rest of my life. In fact my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Anyways, I walked through the city (enjoying my pizza slice) and made it to the old harbor. Just as I was checking in with the boat people, a group of 10 SAS girls showed up at the boat as well.

There is no way to ever escape SAS students on this trip. Basically we take over whatever town we are in. No matter where you are, if you spin around in a circle you are guaranteed to see at least one other SAS student.

It turned out that 2 of the girls were people that I know and like on the trip so that worked out well. We got on to the boat and most of the girls decided to sit downstairs in the shade, but I worked my way up to the top deck and got a prime seat to enjoy the breeze and sun and view all the islands and city walls.

We began our journey to the Elafiti Islands! First the ship "sailed" around the city walls and it was pretty cool to be able to see the city in that way. I of course got my fair share of pictures in. (I have been averaging about 150 pictures per day, if I keep that up I will have a total of at least 9,900 photos of this trip by the time its over)

We cruised along the sea for about 45 minutes before getting to the first island, Kolocep. It had an old church and a small botanical garden on it. We only had about 25 minutes to explore, so I raced off the boat and made my way to the church. As I was walking up the hill, I took numerous pictures and thoroughly enjoyed all the flowers and butterflies flying around. There were so many I almost felt like I was in a butterfly greenhouse!

After wandering for about 20 minutes, I found a gift shop near the ship and picked up my shot glass and post card. I boarded the ship to find bread waiting for me on the table. They were getting ready to serve lunch. While I waited for the ship to leave, I threw bread into the water and watched thousands of crazy fish attack it. It was quite a sight to see because there were so many fish, and they were fighting and jumping out of the water trying to get the bread.

The boat then began its journey to the next island. They brought out lunch, which was fish and coleslaw. Now when I say fish, I really mean a whole fish. There it was, sitting on my plate, an entire fish, head and all. They had thrown them on the grill to cook, they didn’t even debone them. It was good fish and was quite an experience eating it. It reminded me of the fish that I caught, cooked, and ate while backpacking.

 When I finished it was time to feed the sea-gulls that were following our ship. The birds must have known that it was lunch time for us so they decided to follow in hopes that it would be an easy lunch for them. So we held out the entire fish skeleton, over the side of the boat, and the gulls would swoop in an take the body straight from your hand. That was new for me and was really fun to do.

We then made it to the next island, Loupd, where we had 2 hours to enjoy. Now most people went straight to the beach to lay out in the sun, but not me. I found the arboretum that they had and walked through it. There was some really pretty flowers, including sunflowers, and a lot of old ruins as well. Then I walked to the monastery and took pictures, went down to the water and caught a crab with my bear hands, and then realized that I still had quite awhile left on the island. I then found a map and decided to take a hike, literally.

I trekked up the mountain all the way to the top where the ruins of a fortress remained. It had the most amazing views I have ever seen. First off you could see the entire island from up there including the beaches on the other side of the island. You could also see all of the Elafiti islands, and what seemed like the entire country of Croatia. You could see Dubrovnik clearly and it looked so small from being up that high! Words really can not describe the beauty and peacefulness of it. Everything was lush and green and it was not too hot out either.

I then made my way back down the hill with just enough time to get my shot glass and postcard, as well as some ice cream. I worked my way back to the ship and got ready for the short journey to our final island.

We made it to the last island, Sipan, where we had 50 minutes to relax. I decided to stay with some of the girls from SAS on this island. We walked around for a short while before deciding to swim out to a small cluster of rocks. Only me and one other girl were brave enough to do it. The water felt freezing when I first got in, but it did not take long for it to feel extremely refreshing. I could have stayed in it all day. It took us about 15 minutes to swim out to the rocks and about 5 minutes to stand on the rocks because there were so many sea urchins around. We stayed on the rocks for a short while and then made the swim back. By the time we got back to shore, it was time to head back to the ship to make our voyage back to Dubrovnik.

When we got back to Dubrovnik, all I wanted was so pizza and a shower. The water in the Mediterranean is the saltiest water I have ever been in my entire life. It feels fine to swim in, as long as it doesn’t get in your mouth, but when you get out of the water a layer of salt dries on your body. You can literally see the salt on your skin with your bare eyes.

I worked my way back to the port with 2 of the girls, first stopping at my favorite pizza place to get a slice. We got back to the ship and decided to go straight to dinner. After dinner I went back to my room, took a shower, and picked out a movie to watch in bed.

I was exhausted after being out in the sun all day so I decided to go to bed early, besides tomorrow is a full day activities as well!

Today was such an exciting first day in Dubrovnik. I cant believe how beautiful Dubrovnik is.

The day started off with the Diplomatic briefing which I of course watched in bed. Its really nice to be able to watch that stuff in the comfort of my own room because I can spend the time listening while getting ready for the day.

Once they cleared the ship, Lindsay and I ran off the ship and grabbed a cab to take us to the old city. Its much cheaper and just as easy to take a bus, but can end up taking a lot more time, which was something we did not have.

We got to the Old City which looks like a castle because of the huge walls that go all the way around the city. We took a walk down the main street and around the town. We ran into a drummer leading 2 guards through the city. We followed them for a bit and ended up taking pictures with them once they settled into their positions.

Most of the shops in the old city were tourist shops and just had the standard mugs and postcards and such. There were some clothing shops and some shoes stores as well. We walked what seemed like the whole old city in a mater of 1 hour. Its very small but dense.

We then decided to get some lunch and found a restaurant with a sign labeled "light lunch" I had lasagna Bolognese and Lindsay had some spinach tortellini. They also gave us some of the best bread ever. Its a lot like a very very dense sourdough bread. I thoroughly enjoyed my food. I'm still having a hard time with the stupid rule that you must ask for your bill, they cant just bring it to you. That is something I like about America because sometimes it is almost impossible to get the attention of the waiter.

We then walked around a bit more until we ran into a pirate. This was not a real pirate, but a man dressed as a pirate with a number of parrots with him. He would put them on your shoulder to take pictures with. They all loved sunglasses and would try to steal them from anyone they could. One bird liked me a whole lot and though it would be fun to eat my hair. Then he refused to get off of me. It was pretty interesting to find parrots and a pirate in the middle of the old city in Dubrovnik!

We then decided to make our journey back to the ship because Lindsay had a SAS trip to get to and I had an FDP shortly there afterwards. We chose to walk back to the ship because we had about an hour before we needed to be there. The port was not that far from the old city, and it was an easy walk, but it did take us that whole time. At least its not burning hot in Dubrovnik. Its a lot like California on a nice summer day.

I had about an hour to kill before my FDP so I went back to my room to rest. In that time I decided that I really did not want to go on my FDP. I took a bus back to the old city to get my souvenirs and a ticket for the island tour for tomorrow. The bus ride is really easy and pretty fast. They have pretty well designed busses as well, a whole lot better than in Santa Cruz. They have some seats in the front, lots of standing room in the middle and throughout the bus, and more seats in the back. They also have 3 doors per bus. The door in the front is logically used to let people on, and the one in the middle and the one in the back are meant to let people off. There's not a whole lot of pushing which was nice for a change. They pack people on to the bus just as much as they do in Santa Cruz, but you can actually get off at the stop you want to get off at!

When I got off I decided that I wanted to do the Dubrovnik version of "City Sight-Seeing." They don’t have the double-decker busses that do the city tours here yet, but they have a small company that had a bus that is higher than normal with open sides on it.  I got on for the tour and only 4 other people were on the bus with me. This was nice because I was able to move from one side of the bus to the other with ease. It was a good tour of the city, and made a few 5 minute stops to let us off and take pictures. We went to a mountain above the old city and were able to take pictures of the old city and walls from above. It was one of the most amazing views I have ever seen.

The tour had a lot of interesting information about the city and made you appreciate it even more. I really have a hard time believing that this country was in complete and total war in the 1990's. (It makes me think about the TV show ER because of the Dr. that was from Croatia).

When it was over, I got back into the city and walked around a bit and then I ran into this nice guy from the ship. He had some time to kill before heading back to the bus so we walked around together. I was able to get a painting of Dubrovnik, my island cruise ticket, and my shot glass and postcard. It was a successful jaunt.

I then headed back to the ship but first made a stop at the grocery store just outside of the port. I went in to get some good American junk food, but they did not have ANYTHING American except for Paprika Pringles. (Who eats Paprika Pringles…..freaks!) I got some things that looked like they might be good and when I got outside after paying I saw that there was a line a mile long to get back onto the boat. A SAS trip had just arrived and had taken over. I then sat outside the store with some guys who had just bought some booze to wait for the line to shorten. They told me that they had to drink before dinner and then they were going to drink after dinner.

These boys were a few of the many alcoholics on the ship. They told me about how they have blacked out almost every night that they are in port. They then told me about this "house" they rented in Split that they would be staying at for the next couple of days. There would be about 12 people staying there and they were planning on getting a keg and tons of alcohol for themselves. They also were planning on wearing a helmet cam so that they could watch the movie the following day to see what they did the night before.

I am still in shock after hearing all that from them. I cant believe how much people like to drink on this ship.

Anyways, once the line disappeared, I walked back to the ship and worked my way to dinner. Its nice that I can always come back to the ship at meal time and save my money.

I sat with some people that I had met before. They were all hung over and looked miserable. After I finished, I sat down with some other people that I know and made plans for the night. We, along with half the ship, would be going to club Fuego. It’s a Latin club that doesn’t play Latin music. (Don’t ask me how that works). We decided to meet up at 11pm to go out, so I headed back to my room to take a nap.

We met up right on time and worked our way back to the old city. When we arrived there were about 100 SAS students sitting outside of the club "pre-gaming" (For all you old folk out there reading this, that means getting plastered before going into the club because its cheaper to buy a bottle of liquor and down it rather than buying drinks at the club) Now since I have not drank at all this trip I decided to partake in the fun. There was a mini-mart next to the club, so I went inside (with the people that I was with) and we all got ourselves a mini bottle of liquor and some chaser.

We then went and sat outside with everyone else and drank. Since no one had cups or shot glasses it was a very interesting experience. You would pour as much as you could of the liquor in your mouth before gagging and chase it down with Fanta. Now since I think booze is so gross in the first place, it made this a very difficult task for me. I was only able to do it twice before I decided that it was just to gross. I would rather pay for a pricy mixed drink. So I pawned my $2 miniature bottle of vodka off on to some other SAS student.

We decided to head in at 11:45 because happy hour was until 12, and we could get drinks for half price before then. I went and got myself a pina colada which tasted like candy (and I swear didn’t have real alcohol in it). It took a good 45 minutes of standing around before anyone decided to dance. Me and the girls that I was with got tired to waiting so we started up the dancing. It was a jolly good time. I got one more pina colada during the course of the night.

This club was small, and they seemed to have no capacity in it. When the dancing started it was great and you could move around and do your thing. As time went on more and more people arrived and it became harder and harder to dance. Eventually everyone was dancing like squirming sardines in a tin can. It got way to hot and over crowded so I decided that this was a good time to depart.

I headed outside to of course find some other SAS students, and we shared a cab ride back to the port. After that all I could do was take a shower and pass out for the night.

I would like to point out, I did NOT get drunk like the rest of the students!

Breakfast this morning was interesting. The food was like always, the best meal of the day, but the conversation that I had with another student and the dean was interesting. We talked about the test from the night before and the problems that happened with the test. Its going to be interesting to see what they decide to do about that test.

Northing was really mentioned in global studies, except that we would be finding out information later. Other than that, we had a guest lecturer talk to us about Croatia. The lecture started off somewhat interesting, but then he talked about one of his slides for about 45 minutes. The main problem with this was that I couldn’t read a single thing that was on the slide. Watching lectures on TV in satellite rooms does have its problems some times. I ended up doing something else because I just had no idea what was going on.

We draws spheres in drawing today. I think I was pretty good at it. I'm really not the best person at drawing, in fact I may be one of the worst. I seem to be able to do art of any other type, but drawing is just not my forte.

We did our "presentations" in religious studies today. Basically we broke up into new groups, with one person from each of the original groups in it to explain their chapters. As I was listening to the other people talk about there chapters, I came to realize that most of them had not done the reading. They decided to not read the book, and to only read their assigned chapter. So I did the bitchy thing to do and when it came to my chapter I described it as vaguely as I could and referenced Global Studies (because I'm sure most of these people don’t go to global studies) you could tell that they were annoyed with me because they still weren't sure about what my chapter was about, and it was the most important one in the book. Maybe it will teach them to do the reading.

After class it was time to relax and prepare for Croatia. I spent the afternoon resting and chatting with people. I don’t know what to expect when it come to Croatia. People who have been there before say that it is absolutely beautiful, but that is the extent of my knowledge about the country.

The pre-port meeting was the same as always, except that I again watched it from the comfort of my bed. They didn’t have a lot to say about the country because its so safe there. The only interesting thing they had to say was that there are still active mine fields in Croatia. They showed us the sign that we should avoid because it meant there was a field there. Apparently the mines will be active until 2018, so there's still a chance to play in a mine field if your interested…..

Bed early tonight for the early wake up tomorrow!

Today started off just like any normal day at sea. Waking up for breakfast and then heading to classes.

Global studies was uninteresting today, and everyone was too focused on studying for the midterm in that class. Since everyone on the ship is in that class, they do the testing very strangely. We have class like normal during class time, and then have the test in the evening. Today they decided to try something new with testing after how terrible the testing accommodations were with the map test. People with the last names starting with A-L would take the exam at 6:45pm in the Union, and M-Z would take the test at 8:15 in the Union. He reassured us that the test was not going to be very hard which was nice to hear.

Next was drawing and then religious studies. Not much to say about either of the classes today…..

After class it was time to study study study. So I did exactly that. Studied my booty off until dinner. Then I ate they lovely ship food…..not so lovely. Did I mention that they haven't served pasta with tomato sauce in days. Its getting a little irritating having cream sauce everyday. Anyways, then I got back to studying for a bit more before the test.

Both mine and Lindsay's names are early so we both had the first testing session. Now I have to say, that was one of the most ridiculously and obscure tests I have ever taken in my life. I walked out of the test and felt like I had failed it for sure. I stood outside the Union to wait for Lindsay, and I watched the people as they left the test. I have never seen such depressed and angry looks in my life. I was certain that we sat in the hall and talked about the questions and how random they were and how they did not cover the main topics of the class at all.

The next group then took the test and came out feeling the same way. But on top of that, it turns out that the second group was given the exact same test as the first group. So a lot of people went in knowing some of the answers to the test because they had been told by their friends or even overheard people talking about the questions in the hall way. This ended up being a huge controversy on the ship and tons of people (including me) were very angry about this. Turns out there were over 10 formal complaints filed just that night about the test.

After venting over the test for awhile it was time to meet up with my group to finish our group handout. Most of my group is great and we get along very well. But one person, who will remain nameless, is not a bit helpful and didn’t even read the book for the assignment. We all were not so helpful tonight though. After that test we all were somewhat zombies and kept getting off track. We finished what we needed to do and then had the snack for the night!

I always sneak my snack back to my room, even though your not allowed to take food out of the dining hall. I like to eat my desert in bed, its much more enjoyable that way! After eating all that sugar it was time to sleep!

Today was the final day in Naples and it was a great one!

It was an early start to get to the bus by 7am and head over to Mt. Vesuvius. Today was pretty hazy so you couldn’t see that far. We reached the bus parking lot and had to hang out for awhile before they opened the gate to allow you to hike up. So I went to one of the souvenir shops and got my post card and shot glass. There were a couple of stray dogs around so I did my best to stay away from them because I have no desire to get ticks or fleas!

They opened the gate at 9am and we started our journey up the mountain. They handed out walking sticks right inside the gate so I gladly took one with me. It was a mellow hike up to the top of the mountain and it started to clear up a bit while we were walking. It ended up being really nice that it was hazy because it kept the temperature down.

We finally reached the top and were able to see all the way across the opening of the volcano. The volcano is overdue for erupting so it’s a good thing that I got to see it now before it blows again. After taking a million pictures at the top we began our walk around the rim of the volcano. We were able to walk about 3/4 the way around the volcano and see it from every angle.

I have never hiked up to the top of a volcano before so I didn’t really know what to expect to see from the top. It turn out you can not see very far down into the mouth of the volcano. It looks a lot like a giant crater that you can see the bottom of. Its like the hole of the volcano fills in with dirt and when it decides to blow it bursts through the dirt.

As we were walking around there were areas that you could see steam coming out of the dirt in the mouth of the volcano. I have a feeling that it will erupt soon since we have had so many natural disasters in the world recently.

We were up so high in the sky as well that we were walking through the clouds. It was really cool to be in the clouds, almost like floating! We had a good amount of time to walk around and explore before making our way back down the volcano.

Turns out the walking stick was a really good idea because it was very slippery on the way down. We loaded back on to the bus and made our way back to the ship.

Once we got back we only had a couple of hours before on-ship time. I decided to take a long shower and relax because I had no desire to go back out in Naples. It turns out that the Italian Mafia owns the garbage companies in Naples. The Mafia of course decided that they wanted more money so they went on strike and refused to pick up the garbage until the government would give them more money. The strike ended about 2 weeks before we got to Naples, so that was a large reason that the city was so covered in trash.

Around 4:30 my roommate and I headed up to the 7th deck to go to the "4th of July" / "Canada Day" barbeque. We were able to get seats because we were early, so we just relaxed (in the scorching heat) and people watched. 10 minutes till 5pm we lined up because the BBQ was supposed to start at 5. We got to be the first ones in line, but the crew was told that the BBQ was to start at 5:30 so we ended up standing in line for quite awhile. Some people decided that they did not want to stand in line and that ended up being a huge mistake. By the time they opened up and allowed us to get our food, the line was all the way around the pool.

The had there standard salad which I avoided, and rolls. But then came the good stuff, baked mac and cheese, ribs, burgers, baked beans, and corn. I piled my plate so high I thought everything was going to fall off. Some people even decided to get 2 plates and load them up with food. It was the best food that the ship has had so far.

They also had an entire desert table and 2 huge cakes, one for the US and one for Canada. It was a really good time, and they even almost ran out of food by the time they finished serving people.

After being out in the sun all day I headed back into my room to relax and study a bit. Turns out that the BBQ smoke made me smell like a giant fire pit. I had to take a shower and febreeze my clothing to make the smell go away (I don’t get laundry again until after Turkey).

It was a great day, but I am so excited to get out of Naples and on to Dubrovnik!!!!

So its not even really worth me writing about today because I literally stayed in bed the entire day except for the times I crawled out of bed and went to the dining hall for food.

I took a couple really great naps and watched a few movies throughout the day.

I went and sat out on the deck for awhile trying to get the free internet that I had found the day before. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any. But there was some entertainment going on from the back of the ship. The coast guard was trying to bring someone on to shore after arresting them. The fugitive decided to jump out of their boat and try to swim away and escape. Needless to say he didn’t get away and they ended up having to bring an ambulance to pick him up once they got to shore because of the temperature of the water. It was a fun ordeal to watch.

After watching that I sat down with Ellie, the registrar for the voyage. We chatted for a good amount of time about life and her job and my school and such. It came up in conversation that I wanted to try and get on the Mt. Vesuvius trip for tomorrow and she said she had tickets. Not only that, but she wasn’t planning on doing the hike because there was something else in town that she wanted to do. From that she decided to give me a ticket for free which was really great. Now I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

Lindsay came back tonight and told me about her trip which was fun to hear about. She was also really tired so we just went to bed early.

Oh PS Happy 4th of July.