Home Sweet Home!!

Hi Everyone

Well I finally made it home!! I flew into O'hare Saturday night and got my Portillos cheeseburger right away :)

It is really hard for me to put the experience I just had into words. In the past few days so many people have asked me "how was it?" or "what was your favorite part?" I could say my favorite part was riding a camel in Morocco or climbing all over the ruins at Ephesus. I could say it was watching the most beautiful sunset I've ever seen in Santorini or traveling around the beautiful country of Italy or seeing the stunning island of Gozo in Malta. I could say it was having a picnic in front of the Eiffel Tower or seeing the FC Barcelona Stadium. I could say it was getting a tattoo with my friends in Seville, Spain or climbing to the top of a castle in Portugal. I could say all of those things and they would probably be partially be right, but to be honest there is not one thing in this voyage that was better than the other. Every second that I was overseas I was having new and exciting experiences that will never leave me. I have met the most amazing people in the entire world. I knew I would meet some great people, but I didn't realize in only two months I would get so incredibly close to so many of them. On Thursday morning I cried my eyes out as I said goodbye and left the ship. It is going to be very hard when I use one of our inside jokes and people here look at me like I am crazy. I am so excited to visit with them over the future!!

Now I must thank all of you!! I've talked to a few people since I have been home and I have heard that so many people read this blog throughout my voyage. I was really surprised that so many people were interested in my time abroad. Thank you so much for caring about me and being interested in my voyage. If I have talked to you in the past 10 years you have heard me talk about Semester at Sea and now if I talk to you anytime for the rest of my life you will most definitely hear about this amazing program that changed my life. I cannot wait to see everyone weather it be in a few hours, a few weeks, or a few months. Thanks again and I love you!!

Last But Certainly Not Least

Lisbon, Portugal is our last port of call, but trust me it was definitely one of the favorite countries I have visited. I had no expectations coming into Portugal. I really didn't know what there was to do so I was just going to go with the flow. The day we got into Portugal was a little strange because we did not get in until 4pm. In all of the other countries we visited we ported around 7:30-8am. So the first day we got into Portugal I went out to eat with my friends and then we hit a sports bar. Portugal's soccer team was playing a game against the Netherlands so we wanted to go to a bar and watch. It was a really fun atmosphere. People in Europe love their soccer so it was a lot of fun to watch the game there. I know nothing about professional soccer but I do know one player on Portugal's team and that is Ronaldo. So I did have someone to cheer for. After the game we walked around the city square area. There was a really awesome light show that we were able to catch so that was a lot of fun.

The next day we caught the morning train to the city of Sintra. Someone we talked to when we were in Seville recommended it for us. Sintra is about an hour train ride fro Lisbon. The city has a big national park with a palace in it. Of course since the palace was really cool it had to be on top of a mountain. Luckily we did a hop on-hop off tour so we drove half way up the mountain and only had to walk the other half. It was good exercise for my legs. Once we got up to the top of the palace the view was stunning. We were actually above the clouds and we could see all of Sintra and miles past it. It was also really cool to walk through the castle. We got to see all of the rooms and fanciness of it. 

I'm really glad we asked for ideas when we are in Seville. I found that is the best way to travel. If you are going to multiple places ask you taxi drivers, waiters, or hotel stewards where you should go. They always have the best opinions that a concierge may not know.

Today I spent some time on the ship. We had a very late night the first night so I did not get much sleep and then a full packed day yesterday so I gave myself time to relax a little bit. I did go off the ship for a few hours to walk around the city which was fun and then I went for a run along the beach. Now I'm back on the ship ready to write some papers and get ready for finals. We have our last class day tomorrow while still docked in Lisbon and then we are also docked in Lisbon on Sunday for Study Day. Monday is finals. And then Tuesday is our big Alumni Ball when we get to dress up super nice and have a fancy dinner. Wednesday will be just hanging out with everyone and saying good-bye. And then Thursday morning we will be docked in Southampton and I'll be home by Thursday night Chicago time. I was talking with my friends Sam and Emily and it is so weird how close I have gotten with people on SAS. We have only really known each other for two months, but I feel like it is much longer. I am not looking forward to leaving my SAS friends behind, but I hope to visit them in the future. Some of the friends I have made are in Illinois conference so we are planning to meet up when our schools play each other. The experiences I had traveling to all the countries was great, but the friendships I made made it SO much better.

Seville and Gibraltar

Hi Everyone!!

Sorry I have not posted in awhile. The email system on the ship is very temperamental and it just did not want to work the past few days. But it has finally started back up so we are good to go.

We docked in Cadiz,Spain on Sunday! I really did not get a chance to see Cadiz because my friends and I hoped on a train first thing in the morning to go to Seville. Seville is really beautiful! The whole city is made up of narrow streets with beautiful balconies looking over. We spent a lot of time walking around the city and looking at the Cathedral. It was SUPER hot there so once it hit around 100 degrees at 3pm we decided to go inside somewhere. We had booked a hotel for the night because it was my friend Emily's birthday. We spent some time being lazy at the hotel and then we got ready for a really yummy dinner. Here is a picture of me and some of my friends. Marissa and Kate are in the back doing the O-H sign (they go to Ohio State BOOOO), Sam is in the front doing the Louisville "L" , and of course I am doing the best college symbol ever……CHIEF!!!!!!

We went to a tapas bar for dinner. Tapas are basically small portions of meals so you just order a bunch of them and share around the table. My favorite food in Spain (and probably on the whole trip) was seafood paella. It was amazing!!!! It is this really good rice mixed in with pieces of lamb, shrimp, mussels, clams, and sometimes squid. Seriously one of the best things I have ever tasted. Had it about 4 times while I was in Spain because I just could not get enough.

The next day we just spent more time in Seville. I really loved the city, and that night we came back to the ship. On the third day in Cadiz I went on a field program to the Rock of Gibraltar. It was SOOO COOL!!! For those of you who don't know Gibraltar is a British colony so you have to cross the border from Spain. Currently Spain and Britain are having a little fight so the lines to drive across the border were RIDICULOUS so we literally had to walk across which was cool. In the process of walking into the city area you had to walk across the airport. So at one point we had to wait and we got to see a plane land and then another one take off right in front of our eyes. Next we got a tour of the World War II tunnels that were created in the actual rock. It was really neat to see where a lot of soldiers spent years working and living. We then got to go higher up in the rock to see a triage hospital that was created in the rock just in case The Germans  attacked, luckily they never had to use the hospital. Then we saw a tunnel where the British set up guns on top of the rock to shoot down towards people trying to attack from the bottom. It was real awesome to see. But I think the coolest part was the monkeys. The monkeys in Gibraltar hang around like squirrels on the main quad at U of I. They are not scared of people at all and they will grab a bag or anything that resembles food. Here is a picture of my new monkey buddy!!

Now we are off to our last port Lisbon, Portugal. We will get there at 4pm today and then leave on Friday for Southampton. Its crazy how we are already heading to our last port, I cannot believe it. 

Barcelona!!!

Hi Everyone!!!

I am back on the ship after 3 very fun days in Barcelona!!! Our ship was docked right next to the city center and right by the street Las Ramblas. Las Ramblas is basically the center of the city with tons of shops and restaurants all over the place. It was really nice to have that right outside of the ship!! 

The first day I did a lot of walking around the city. I went to the La Sacre de Familia which is a gorgeous church. It was really really big and just stunning. I have seen a lot of churches throughout this trip and I would have to say this church was up on the list with the Notre Dame.

The next day I went on a snorkeling program through Semester at Sea. We drove to a small beach town about 2 hours away from Barcelona. The water was FREEZING but luckily we got to wear wet suits in the water so I was not cold at all. We saw a lot of fish and coral which was really cool. Afterwards we got to walk around the town a little bit and then I headed out to dinner with my friends when I got back to the ship. Here is a picture of me and my friends Shay and Kevin.

Today my friends Julia , Kevin, Shay, and I went to Camp Nou which is the stadium for FC Barcelona. It was AWESOME!!! There was a whole museum and we got to to go in the stands and right up next to the field. I am not a huge soccer (or futbol) fan but I still thought it was awesome. They had all the championship trophies and pictures of all of the players all over. I really enjoyed it!!! 

Now we are just back on the ship waiting to leave. I think we are going to leave around 10:30 or 11 tonight. We will be at sea for our last 2 days of class before finals. I kind of have to get my butt in gear and finish up some papers. I have no motivation to do school work while I am in port so I definitely need to be productive over the next few days. Our next port will be in Cadiz, Spain for three days and then right to Lisbon, Portugal for 3 days. We then have 2 class days while still docked in Portugal and then 5 days at sea on our way to England. I cannot believe I will be home 2 weeks from today! I have to start mentally preparing myself to look out my window and not see the sea!! 

France!!!!

Hi Everyone!!!!

I hope that everyone is enjoying the first week of August!!! I know I am!!

We got to Marseille, France on Saturday. Marseille is in the south of France and it is a very pretty city. The the buildings and houses themselves are art! I walked around the first day with a few of my friends and went to a fresh fruit market. It worked out well because it is best to visit the market on Saturdays and that just happened to be the day we docked. That night we went out on the town and went to a few bars along the "old port". It was a lot of fun and everyone seemed to have a really good time.

VERY early the next morning (around 4:30am) I woke up to catch a train to Paris. The train was only about 3 hours long so it worked out really well. I walked all around the city of Paris with my friend Shelly and we had a great time. A lot of people on the ship who have traveled to Paris before said that it was overrated and not worth going to, well I'm sorry but they were dead wrong! Paris was stunning!! There were so many things to see, people to watch, and delicious foods to eat. After our train got in we ventured through the Paris metro system and found our hostel. It was a really cute place right near Montmartre. Once we dropped off our bags we took the metro to the Arc de Triomphe in the Place Charles de Gaulle. This a beautiful French war monument that honors French soldiers who fought and died in the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. This is also the home of the Tomb of the Unknown soldier from World War I. It was really really beautiful!

After looking at the Arc we walked through the streets and found the Eiffel Tower. It was so cool to be right near such an iconic image that people know all over the world. Shelly and I bought some sandwiches and had a little picnic right on the lawn in front of the tower. We spent some time there just taking pictures and people watching, We also bought some baguettes and had a bit of a baguette sword fight right in front of the tower. I know we are cool kids.

After the Eiffel Tower we walked to see the Statue of Liberty. I learned that Paris is a very walkable city. As long as you have a solid pair of walking shoes you can get most anywhere in the city by foot. So we went and saw the French version of the Statue of Liberty which is almost an exact replica of ours. It is a bit smaller, and it was really cool to see. Our next stop was the Notre Dame which was all the way across the city. Unfortunately, Shelly went with flip flops yesterday so we jumped on the metro instead. The Notre Dame was stunning. I was actually really surprised with how accurate Disney got it in the movie The Hunchback of Notre Dame. We were able to walk in and see the whole inside of the church. It was so beautiful in there. I wish there would have been a mass to go to because I think it would have been really wonderful.

Next we wanted to make our way towards the Louve. We were pretty sure the museum would be closed, but the garden area was supposed to be beautiful. We stopped at a restaurant for dinner and it was fabulous. I had to get some authentic French food so I went with escargot!! It was so yummy!!!

After dinner we walked around the Louve and then headed back to out hostel. We stayed there for about a half hour and then walked up the steps of the Basilica of the Sacre Coeur. Once we got up the steps you could see all of Paris. The view was amazing!! It was worth all the steps to see that view. After that we jumped on the metro and went to see the Eiffel Tower because it lights up at night. We went to a cafe to get some dessert and I had the best chocolate mousse ever known to man!!! It was soooooooo GOOD! Then at midnight the Eiffel Tower started to sparkle!! It was really really cool!!

Now I am happy to be back on the ship after a exciting few days. We are leaving in about an hour. We have a really cool neighbor docked right next to us. It is the USS Harry S. Truman which is an aircraft carrier from the U.S. It was pretty cool to pull up to the ship this morning and see that. We will dock in Barcelona tomorrow morning for three days. My plans are up in the air for the first day, but the second day I am going snorkeling!! I hope everyone enjoys their last few weeks of summer before school starts. 

Love,

Kelly

Malta!!

Hi Everyone!!! 

I am currently sitting on deck sailing towards the south of France after 3 amazing days in Malta. If you do not know Malta is a small island country to the South of Sicily. If you look on the map Malta is the little speck right underneath the "rock" that the "boot" is kicking. I honestly knew nothing about Malta until I came on board but according to my history professor and several of my tour guides Malta was one of the most bombed countries in World War II. At a restaurant I ate at one of the waiters proudly claimed that the Allies would have never won the war. So that is pretty interesting!

The first day in Malta I had my last field lab for class. The class is Anthropology of Tourism so we went to a lot of touristy places to observe tour groups doing different things. We went to the Mdina which is an old walled medieval city. The city itself was really beautiful. There were small narrow roads and buildings with really nice balconies that looked out onto the streets. It reminded me a lot of the streets in Italy. The city was on the top of a really high hill (this seems to be a theme in European countries) so we had a beautiful view of the whole island. We also got to tour a really beautiful cathedral before we went to a glass blowing factory. Malta is known for their glassware so we were able to watch the class being created in the factory and it was really really cool.

The next day I went on a tour of the island of Gozo which is one of the five islands that make up the country of Malta. It took about 20 minutes by ferry to get there. We went to an OLD temple that was apparently the oldest free standing structure in the world! My history buff friends are going to kill me (Sorry Jen) but it honestly just looked like a pile of rocks. But then we went to the Azure Window which was absolutely amazing!!!! For all you Game of Throne fans this is apparently  where some character got married int he first season. The Azure Window is a cliff that has been basically eroded in the middle by the waves. It was really cool and the rocks along the cliff has tons of piles of sea salt.

The third day in Malta was pretty relaxing. All of my friends were on an overnight trip so I went around the city of Valetta on my own. It was a lot of fun to be able to do everything I wanted because I was the only one traveling. I love everyone that I have met on the ship so far, but we live in VERY close quarters so it is hard to get some alone time. So it was nice that I got to take advantage of it. 

We will get to Marseille, France on Saturday and I will be taking a train to Paris early Sunday morning!!

Italy Part 2: ROMA!!!

Hi Everyone!

I am back from 2 very exciting and HOT days in Rome!!

Yesterday morning I started off my day by going to visit an orphanage that is about a 15 minute drive away from the port. When we got there one of the teachers at the orphanage explained that it was very unique because this orphanage creates families with the children that live there. There are 4 houses and 8 kids live in each house. There are 5 boys and 3 girls in each house and then 1 male educator or psychologist and one female educator or psychologist. This group becomes a "family" and it gives the kids more of a sense of belonging. The youngest kid that lived in this particular orphanage is 9 and the oldest is 15. They do not allow international adoption out of this orphanage and adoption is not very common within Italy, so many of the kids will live there until they are into their 20s. Many orphanages have to "kick" kids out when they turn 18, but this orphanage helps the kids get a job in the town and save their money so they can move out when they turn 20 or 21. We got a chance to walk around the orphanage and then we sat in the courtyard waiting for the guide to finish his presentation. I am obviously not one to sit still for very long, so I saw a few of the younger kids were playing fuse ball outside. I tried to signal if I could play (There was obviously a language barrier) and they were nice enough to let me join. Eventually we had a game going, me and another kid from the ship vs. two 10 year old Italian boys. Needless to say the Italians kicked our butts!! It was a ton of fun and I think the kids really enjoyed having us there to hang out with!

Later in the day I took a train to Rome with my friend Sydney. We checked into out hostel and then walked the cobbled streets of Rome for the rest of the night. Our first stop was the Colosseum. We did not get a chance to go inside, but it was really really big from the outside. It was literally right in the middle of the city too. Many of the places I have visited the buildings have been built away from the sites, in Rome they just built everything right along with the sites.

Next we walked through the streets to the Pantheon. Personally I thought the walk to the actual Pantheon was the best part. We got to walk through a bunch of small side street and we came across a massive church. We went inside and it was breathtaking. The paintings on the ceiling and the walls was amazing. I am telling you these Italians know how to build a church!

Next we went to the Trevi Fountain. I think this was probably one of my favorite parts of Rome. It was really large and the sculptures all along the fountain were beautiful! We spent some time just sitting and looking at the fountain, which was nice. I also threw a Euro into the fountain for good luck. After the Trevi Fountain we went to the Spanish Steps. The Spanish Steps were really crowded, but it was fun to sit down and look at all the different people who were traveling in Rome. There had to be families, tour groups, and young people from thousands of countries. I have heard so many different languages spoken over the past few days here in Italy.

This morning we checked out of our hostel and made our way to the Vatican City. Luckily we bought our tickets online a few days ago because when we walked up, there was a line that had to be about 2 hours long. We talked to some other SAS students who were standing in line and they said that they had been there for an hour and they were still outside when we came out of the museum. The Vatican Museum was amazing! I am not usually an art museum person because I get bored pretty easily, but the paintings, sculptures, and oddly enough carpets were so beautiful! We walked through the museum for about an hour and a half and then at the end we went into the Sistine Chapel. I wish they allowed pictures because it was AMAZING!! I swear I almost fell over 2 or 3 times because I kept leaning farther and farther back to see everything on the ceiling. The chapel itself was a lot smaller than I originally expected but the beautiful walls and ceilings made it so much larger. We spent so much time just looking at every part of the chapel making sure we did not miss anything. After the museum and the Sistine Chapel we walked around to St. Peter's Basilica. It was really really cool! They seemed to be doing a lot of construction in the Vatican City area, but it was off to the side so we were able to see everything.

Now I am back on the ship for the night. We have one more day in Civitavecchia and then we leave to Malta on Saturday morning. I hope everyone is enjoying their last few days of July! I cannot believe it is almost August. I looked at the calendar and I come home in exactly 4 weeks from today. I do not know where the last 6 weeks went and I have a feeling the next 4 are going to go by just as fast. I will be soaking up every single minute of this experience!!!  

Love

Kelly

Italy Part 1: Pisa and Florence

Hi Everyone!

We docked in Livorno, Italy on the 21st and I have done a lot of traveling around since then. On the 21st I had a Field Lab for one of my classes. We went to a World War Two cemetery right outside of Florence. It was extremely moving to see all of those white marble crosses in rows and rows. There are 4,398 men and women buried in this cemetery. It was intense walking up to several of the headstones and reading the soldier's name and the date he died. I found one solider that was killed exactly 47 years before I was born. It was a very unique and heart wrenching experience, but I am so glad I had the chance to pay my respects to the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

The next day I went with a few friends to Pisa. The city itself is pretty big with shops and restaurants lining the streets. The Leaning Tower is only a small part of the city. So we were able to walk through the streets before we found the tower. I had my first authentic Italian pizza and let me tell you it was delicious. After lunch we found the Tower. It was really cool, but a lot smaller than I thought it would be. We spent a lot of time just looking around and taking pictures of it. Here is a picture of me "holding" up the tower.

 

Today I went with my roommate and a few other girls to Florence. It was really beautiful there! I just could not look away from the buildings they were so pretty. We spent a lot of time walking around the city and eating Gelato of course. Then we found the Duomo. It was HUGE and beautiful!! I could not get over how many sculptures were on the outside of the church! It was absolutely stunning!! 

Tonight the ship leaves Livorno for Civitavecchia. This is basically the port city for Rome. Tomorrow morning I am going on a volunteer project to an orphanage. Then later in the day I am going to Rome with a friend for the night! We are going to see as much as we can in the first evening and then on Thursday morning we are going to the Vatican! I am really looking forward to it!

I hope everyone is doing well! I hear you guys are getting some hot days at home!! We were probably floating around 95-96 today in Italy so I know how you feel!!

Kelly

Athens, Greece and Santorini, Greece

Hi Everyone!!

I am finally back from an amazing 4 days in Greece! I had such an amazing time experiencing the big city of Athens and the breathtaking island of Santorini.

The first day in Greece my friend Sam and I went around Athens together. We took the subway into the center of the city and spent a lot of time in the older area of town. There were a lot of shops and restaurants and a really nice marina. We walked around a bit and had lunch at a small cafe. Best gyro in the world!!! People who have gryos in Chicago I am sorry, but they are no comparison! These gyros were so amazing. I had 3 for the four days we were here in Greece. After lunch we started our walk towards the Acropolis. Let me tell you something, these Greek people must have calfs of steel because everything worth seeing is either up 300 steps or up a hill. When Sam and I got up the hill we saw the Parthanon and Nike's Temple. From the top of the hill we also had a wonderful view of the whole city of Athens. On our way dawn the hill we saw the Theatre of Dionissos and the Temple of Zeus. Next we went into the Acropolis Museum. It was an awesome museum with a lot of the sculptures that were dug up with the Parthenon. Here is a picture of Sam and I in front of the Parthenon.

The next day my friends Sam, Emily, Julia, and I got up super earlier to catch the ferry to Santorini. The ferry took about 5 hours to get to the island. Our hotel was a beautiful little place right along the water in Fira. Fira was kind of in the center of the island. We spent some time walking around town and hanging out by the pool. That night we went to Oia. This is the part of the island that has the best sunsets in the world! And let me tell you it was stunning. There were hundreds and hundreds of people in the restaurants and along the cliff to watch the sunset. We had a very nice dinner and spent the evening there. After the sunset we went back to Fira and spent the night hanging out with other Semester at Sea students in town. The next morning we decided we needed more time in Ois so we went and spent the day there. We took tons of pictures! If it was not for all you people at home I would be staying there forever :)  I am really glad I was able to go there, I hope to go back someday!! 

We got back from Santorini last night and went straight to bed on the ship. This morning we went back to walk around Athens for a little bit. After having lunch in the city, we took the metro to check out the Olympic Stadium. Right when we got off at the Olympic stop we were instantly hit with and erie feeling. The whole place was a ghost town. There was graffiti everywhere and there were very few people there. The only people we saw were some athletes swimming in the pool, and a bunch of kids who were in a summer camp playing in the stands. It was kind of creepy to see how something so magical as the Olympics can turn into something so plain. I am writing a final paper for one of my classes about the different countries who have hosted the Olympics and the effect it has had on the country. I hope to see the Olympic villages in Rome and Barcelona. Here is a picture right under the Olympic Stadium sign.

i

We leave Greece tomorrow morning! I am sad to leave because I have had such a good time, but in three days we will be in ITALY!!!!! I am so excited to good some real Italian pizza into my belly! Also GELATO!!!!!!!!!!! 

Hope everyone is doing well in the US of A! Love you all!!

Kusadasi, Turkey: The Gateway to Ephesus

Hi Everyone!

We spent the past 2 days in Kusadasi, Turkey. This was definitely the most touristy city we have been to so far. There were two other cruise ships docked with us. If you look at the picture below you can get a sense of how small the MV Explorer is compared to some of these HUGE ships. The white one in front is a Royal Caribbean and the little blue one next to it is the MV. She might be small but she it mighty!! The first day at Kusadasi was not all that exciting. We just walked around town for an hour or so, but we were getting harassed like crazy by shop owners to come into their stores. The cat calls were getting a little out of hand so we spent the rest of the day relaxing on the ship. It was actually really nice since the ship was empty! We basically had the whole thing to ourselves.

Today we got up early to go and see the house Virgin Mary spent the remainder to her life before she died. That was a really cool experience. We got to walk into her house, and then there is a spring of Holy Water right next to it. Down the road from the house it a wall with thousands and thousands of prayers written on anything from tissue paper and napkins to bus tickets. The prayers are tied onto these poles connected to the wall. It was a really cool thing to see. Then we took a taxi to go see Ephesus. Ephesus is a town of ancient ruins. It is believed that many of Jesus's disciples spent many years of their lives there. It was awesome! It amazes me how many of the ruins are still standing. Something my friends and I also discovered is that ruins and monuments in other countries are not roped off. So you can go up and actually touch and climb on the ruins. There may or may not have been some Greek statue poses made on some of the pedestals. Overall it was a wonderful place to see. By far one of my favorite sites so far on this trip.

Tomorrow morning we leave Kusadasi for Athens, Greece. We only have one day of class (tomorrow) between out departure and our arrival so that makes us students very happy. We are more than half way done with class since we have so many port days coming up in the next 6 weeks. This trip is flying by and it is about to get a whole lot faster. I miss everyone at home so much, but I do not know how I am going to readjust to looking out my window at home and just seeing grass or other buildings. I am getting so used to seeing the beautiful sea water or an interesting foreign city. Maybe I'll just take a picture of my porthole window and just put it on my window at home :)

Beaching in Crete!!

Hi Everyone!!!

When SAS canceled our stop in Istanbul it added the Greek island of Crete so we have been there for the past few days. Crete is a beautiful island with a very fun city. The first day we were here we walked around the city and looked at all the shops. We ate at one of the cafes too. All of the cafes in the city center are open air so we were able to sit outside and do some serious people watching. At the cafe we asked out waitress where the best beach near town was. She told us to get on a bus and drive 20 minutes to a small town called Amoudara. This beach was beautiful. There are beach bars up and down the sand with sand chairs and umbrellas all over. All you have to do is order one drink and you can sit on the chairs all day. It was a really great set up.

We spent almost the whole day at the beach and then on the way home we got some gelatto. It was really refreshing after a hot day on the beach. We enjoyed the beach so much that we woke up this morning and did the same thing. We ate a big breakfast right on the boat and just went right to the beach. On our way back we had a late lunch at a little cafe. We had gyros and bread and oil it was amazing. The restaurant owner was so nice and sat and talked with us the whole time we were there. He was telling us everything we need to see when we go to Athens in a few days and talking about his family who lives with him in Crete. It was a great spot for lunch and they had free WiFi which is always a plus because we only get 2 hours of wifi on the ship for the entire summer. 

Crete was a great port to kick back and relax. The ship leaves from Crete early tomorrow morning and then we have class tomorrow. On Thursday we will dock in Kusadasi, Turkey which was also another addition from the Istanbul cancelation. After Kusadasi we will be going to Athens, Greece for 4 days. For the first day I am going to go around Athens with my friend and then the next two days I am going to Santorini. For anyone who has seen Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants that is the area of Greece in those movies. Basically the most beautiful place I think I will travel to this summer. I will take as many pictures as possible. Hope everyone is doing well. 

Love,

Kelly

P.S.- Please enjoy the pictures of my SEXY tan lines!!!!

Beaching in Crete!!

Hi Everyone!!!

When SAS canceled our stop in Istanbul it added the Greek island of Crete so we have been there for the past few days. Crete is a beautiful island with a very fun city. The first day we were here we walked around the city and looked at all the shops. We ate at one of the cafes too. All of the cafes in the city center are open air so we were able to sit outside and do some serious people watching. At the cafe we asked out waitress where the best beach near town was. She told us to get on a bus and drive 20 minutes to a small town called Amoudara. This beach was beautiful. There are beach bars up and down the sand with sand chairs and umbrellas all over. All you have to do is order one drink and you can sit on the chairs all day. It was a really great set up.

We spent almost the whole day at the beach and then on the way home we got some gelatto. It was really refreshing after a hot day on the beach. We enjoyed the beach so much that we woke up this morning and did the same thing. We ate a big breakfast right on the boat and just went right to the beach. On our way back we had a late lunch at a little cafe. We had gyros and bread and oil it was amazing. The restaurant owner was so nice and sat and talked with us the whole time we were there. He was telling us everything we need to see when we go to Athens in a few days and talking about his family who lives with him in Crete. It was a great spot for lunch and they had free WiFi which is always a plus because we only get 2 hours of wifi on the ship for the entire summer. 

Crete was a great port to kick back and relax. The ship leaves from Crete early tomorrow morning and then we have class tomorrow. On Thursday we will dock in Kusadasi, Turkey which was also another addition from the Istanbul cancelation. After Kusadasi we will be going to Athens, Greece for 4 days. For the first day I am going to go around Athens with my friend and then the next two days I am going to Santorini. For anyone who has seen Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants that is the area of Greece in those movies. Basically the most beautiful place I think I will travel to this summer. I will take as many pictures as possible. Hope everyone is doing well. 

Love,

Kelly

P.S.- Please enjoy the pictures of my SEXY tan lines!!!!

Antayla, Turkey!!!!!

Hi Everyone!!

I am back from a very busy and exciting three days in Antayla, Turkey!!!

The first day we were here my friends and I just wanted to explore and do some shopping. Antayla is a very touristy town, but there is an old market where you can buy tea, turkish delights, and other fun stuff. So the four of us had a very successful shopping day. I had to hold back buying too many things because every time I walked by a new shop I saw a bag or scarf that was just gorgeous!! But I stayed strong and only bought a few things!!! The hospitality in Turkey is pretty amazing. I went to one shop and bought a postcard and turkish delights and the man kept offering me tea. At first I thought he wanted me to pay for it, but he explained it is a way of welcoming people to the country. So he made some really good apple, beery and pomegranate tea for us! It was SUPER hot but it was fantastic! After that I had a very interesting experience of going to a Turkish bath. I won't go into great detail, but basically you go into a very steamy hot room and sweat like crazy while this woman soaks you in freezing cold water. There was also the choice of getting a scrub down and massage, but since I had recently gotten some serious sunburn I decided against it. My two friends did get the whole package and they said it was wonderful, but my roommate Julia and I were pretty content with the bath.

On the second day in Antayla I went on a Field Program organized by SAS. We went to an island about 2 hours away from out ship called Kekova. It was absolutely stunning! We were able to go hiking to the ruins of an old castle and the view on top of the hill was breathtaking. I did not want to leave it was so beautiful! We then took a boat to the middle of the water and did a little swimming. Once we returned to the dock we took the bus to Derma. Derma is the home of St. Nicholas……so in other words SANTA!!!! (See Rachel I told you he was real C: ) We got a tour of the ruins of the old church and were able to walk around the town. After that we went to Myra where there were ruins of an old roman theater! We were able to go inside and look at everything it was really cool! Then finally after a very long and fun day we made it back to the ship. A pretty good 4th of July if you ask me.

Today I went white water rafting at Serik. We took a 2 hour bus ride into the mountains. I found out that Turkey does not believe in guardrails on their roads so I was having a minor panic attack every time we turned (which was every 25 seconds). But we made it!! The rapids were pretty tame, but it was still a lot of fun. Our boat guide kept on throwing us into the freezing cold river water and every time we passed another boat we would have a splash war. Everyone seemed to have a great time. 

Now I am back on the ship for good. We do not leave Turkey until tomorrow night, but all students have class tomorrow. We can get off but we cannot miss a class and since my classes are all throughout the day I can't really get off. I am not too bitter thought because I can use some time to rest because on Monday we will be in Crete!!!! My parents have been telling me that everyone has been telling them how much they enjoy reading my blogposts. It means a lot to me that so many people are interested in my trip!! Thanks for the continuous love and support!! 

Tea!! From left to right is my roommate Julia, and my friends Emily and Sam.

Outside of the marina on the first day!

View from the top of the castle in Kekova!

SEA OLYMPICS!!!!!

Hi Everyone!!

I am sitting on deck working on a paper (EWWW) watching a beautiful sunset after a very busy day here on the MV Explorer. Today was the Sea Olympics!! Every deck on board is split into Seas. So I was on the Yellow Sea and everyone competed in a bunch of different competitions throughout the day. Obviously we are on a ship so we had to be a little creative with the events we were allowed to do. Today I competed in dodgeball, musical chairs, and the lip synch competition. In dodgeball we got out butts kicked by the faculty!! And unfortunately one of my professors tore his achilles tendon during the game!! He had a minor collision with one of the guys on my team (who is also in my class) and he stepped wrong and completely tore it. Now the poor guy is on crutches for the rest of the voyage and he has to get surgery when he gets back home! So of course when I saw him coming out of the clinic I kindly offered to push back the due date of our paper so he can recover, but unfortunately he says he feels up to the challenge of grading….GREAT!! Luckily he is in good spirits!!

The highlight of my day was the lip synch competition. There were six of us competing with a mash up of songs. But basically the beginning started off with the first part of Don't Stop Believing and me and another kid did a beautiful "duet". It actually turned out really funny and the crowd loved it. My camera died just as we were about the start, but I am trying to track it down from someone else. As soon as I get it I will try to post it here!! 

For now I will just leave you with a beautiful picture of the sunset I took. We now have two more days of classes and then will arrive in Antayla, Turkey on July 3rd. So we will be celebrating the 4th in Turkey! The crew usually puts on a big BBQ with burgers, dogs, and ribs!!! This will be a GREAT change from the pasta and potatoes we eat everyday!! I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe 4th of July!!!   Love, Kelly

   

A Smile is the Same is Every Language

Ok so I know this title is completely corney and it has been ever since you seen the poster with this quote in your second grade classroom, but it is true. I had the unique opportunity to volunteer at the Sidu Moumen Cultural Center in Casablanca. This is a youth center that was created for the children who live in the slums of Casablanca. These kids have no running water, electricity, and they live in the most poverty stricken areas of Morocco. The founder of the center gave us a driving tour of the slums and then we went to the center. We painted two of their portable classrooms and picked up garbage around the building. It was amazing because the kids in the center were working beside us throughout the day. The center serves kids aged 4-18. The center offers music, art, sewing, and English classes. It also has a fitness and cooking class for the mothers of the children that attend the center. During our tour of the center I saw a ton of pictures of U.S. flags and newspaper articles with titles including Chicago. I learned that this center is in a Sister City program with Chicago. Mayor Richard Daley has done a lot of work for the center and there were pictures of him and other Chicago officials throughout the center. I felt very proud to tell the president that I was from that wonderful city.

Now back to the kids. The kids were working alongside us the entire day and we had a ton of fun with them. Most of the older kids spoke English, but many of the younger kids only spoke French and Arabic. When I was painting the outside of the classroom a little boy about 7 years old was painting next to me. I smiled and said hello in Arabic and after that he become my shadow for the day. I asked one of the older kids his name and it is Enmie. Enmie followed me around all day helping me pick up trash, holding open the trash bag, and sitting next to me when I was eating lunch. Enmie did not speak any English and I obviously do not speak French or Arabic, but we were still able to communicate through facial expressions and hand gestures. It was an AMAZING experiences and I am so glad to have spend time with all of the kids. It breaks my heart that they live in the conditions that they do, but I hope the little I did will help Enmie and all of the kids at the cultural center.

Morocco: Camels, Delicious Food, and HOT WEATHER!!

We made it to MOROCCO!!!! We have been in Morocco for 3 days and we leave tomorrow eventing around 7pm. I have had an amazing time here! Things are incedibly different from home, but it has been a great experience,

When we were pulling into Morocco on Sunday morning my roommate Julia and I decided to get up at 6am to watch the sunrise. It was beautiful. We decided that we wanted to do that for every port…..hopefully I'll still be excited about getting up so early! Later that morning I went on a Field Lab. A Field Lab is a required excursion planned by the professor of one of the classes you take. Each class I take has one Field Lab throughout the voyage. So Sunday I got on a bus with my classmates and professor and headed off the Rabat. Rabat is a city about an hour outside of Casablanca. When we got to Rabat we listened to a professor talk about urbanization in different Moroccan cities. After his lecture the professor took us on a tour of the city! That was a lot of fun because we got to see many of the major landmarks. He also took us to this restaurant that used to be a house. The food was amazing!!! After that we came back to Casablanca and I went out to explore the city for about an hour with my roommate.

The next morning I got up with a big group of people and took a train to Marrakech. This city is a 3 hour train ride south of Casablanca and it is HOT. When we stepped off the train at noon it was 104 degrees outside!! My big group broke into a few smaller groups to make it easier to travel in and then we went and found our Riad. This place was gorgeous. It was located on a side street off of the giant central square. The square is lined with markets and restaurants and so are all the side streets. We were able to drop off our stuff and then we ran to meet out camel guy,

Our camel guy drove us about 45 minutes outside of the city to this desert area with only a few huts. There were a group of 10 of us so we each got a camel. The guides took us on a camel trek for about an hour and 45 minutes and then we stopped at one of the huts to have tea. Afterwards we trekked back to where we started. It was so AWESOME to ride the camels!!! It was very hot, but they gave us this cover to wear to protect us from the sun.

For the rest of the evening we walked around the square and went out to eat. Once the sun went down the square was absolutley mobbed with people. I kid you not there had to be about 30,000 people there. We decided to head back to the Riad for the night. The next morning we finished up shopping and then we headed back on the train to Casablanca.

These past few days have been incredible and I still have one more day in Morocco to go. Tomorrow I will be gone all day on a service visit. I am going to a neighborhood to do some charity work. 

Got to give a shout out to my parents who videotaped the Blackhawks receiving the Stanley Cup last night!!! Go Hawks!! Even from thousands of miles away I'm still proud of my 2013 Stanley Cup Champs!!!! 

Talk to you all soon,

Kelly

Fwd: Life at Sea

Hi everyone! I am starting to get into a nice routine here on the MV Explorer. I am taking three classes so I am pretty busy throughout the day. I am usually getting up with my roommate around 7:15am every morning and we go to breakfast and then to work out. The cardio room on the ship is SUPER small so everyone has to go sign up for the equipment the night before around 5pm. You are only allowed to stay on a machine for 30 minutes, but this works out for me because I have a class at 9:20am. After class I usually hang out on deck for a little bit and then I go down to read with my reading buddy at 11am. There are several kids of faculty members on board so I signed up to do a bunch of activities with them. My reading buddy is named Hannah and she is going into Kindergarten in the fall.

After reading with Hannah I grab some lunch and then I go to class at 12:30pm. After class i will usually just do homework in one of the lounges and then I have my third class at 3:20.

My day after that is usually up in the air. My roommate Julia and I have been spending a lot of time together. So we will either do some studying or do one of the activities the ship offers. Within the next few days we have meetings about being safe in Morocco and the other countries we are traveling to.

We will be docked in Morocco for 4 days and I am busy all 4 of these days. The first day I will be going on a Field Lab with one of my classes. Every class has one Field Lab in one of the countries, so my class will be going to a lecture and to get a tour of the city of Rabat. The next day I am jumping on a train with a few other people from the ship to go to Marrakech to stay in a hostel for the night and ride a camel. I will travel back to the ship on the 3rd day and on the 4th day I am going on a service visit. We are going to a local village to do some gardening and painting work. I am really looking forward to this visit because it gives me a chance to interact with the locals and hopefully hang out with some of the kids too!!!

Well that is all for now. I will report back after Morocco with a lot of stories for you!!

Love,
Kelly

Fwd: I Made It!!

Begin forwarded message:

Well everyone I made it to the ship! It has been a crazy past few days, but it has been very exciting.

I got into London on Sunday at 10am (London time). I got on the bus to my hotel and then quickly discovered I was on the wrong bus. So I got a nice tour of the hotels around Heathrow Airport. I rode the bus back to the airport and then got on the right bus. I made it to the hotel and met the three girls I was staying with. We dropped off our stuff and headed straight to the Tube (subway) station. We took the Tube to Westminster!! We saw Big Ben, Parliament, Buckingham Palace, and the London Eye. There was a ton of walking around and we had basically not slept for 24 hours so we crashed as soon as we got back to the hotel.

The next morning we boarded buses to go to the ship. We got there around 2:30pm. It was really awesome to meet all of the people aboard. My roommate is from Virginia and she is super cool. So the past few days have basically been meeting people and going through orientation meetings.

We found out yesterday that there is going to be a change in our itinerary. We are skipping Istanbul, Turkey because there have recently been a lot of violent protests there and Semester at Sea does not feel like it is a safe environment. So we will be going to Crete, Greece and Kusadasi, Turkey. So these new ports should be very exciting!!

Our first port of call is Morocco on June 23rd. I have a Field Lab (trip with my professor) on the first day and the next two days I will be traveling with a group of other students to Marrakech to ride a camel!!!! And then I will be doing a service visit on the last day! I will try to post some pictures soon!!!

Talk to you soon,
Kelly

Counting Down the Days!!!!

Well it is almost here! I leave in 5 days for London and the ship leaves in 6 days. If you have talked to me at all in the past 10 years I am sure you have heard me talk about Semester at Sea. This has been one of my biggest dreams and I cannot believe it is actually happening. I still have so much packing to do, but I am ready for Saturday to come so I can get on the plane. I will try to update this blog every few days to keep everyone posted on my adventures. 

Here is my basic itinerary: 

Southampton, England

Casablanca, Morocco

Antalya, Turkey

Istanbul, Turkey

Athens, Greece

Livorno, Italy

Civitavecchia, Italy

Valetta, Malta

Marseille, France

Barcelona, Spain

Cadiz, Spain

Lisbon, Portugal

I cannot thank my parents enough for supporting me throughout this whole process, I could not have done this without you guys. I also want to thank all of my friends and family who have supported me and listened to my constant talk about this trip. 

My next post will be aboard the MV Explorer on my way to Morocco!!

Love,

Kelly