I found a way for my blogs to post! Sweet! Anyways.... we're so close to Spain! Tomorow morning we're passing the Azores which is right off the coast! We sped across the Atlantic so fast in order to avoid the storms that the Captain has us going at a painstackingly low speed. A couple of us settled on the idea to go to Sevilla for a couple nights and check the city out. I also have to complete an authentic Andalucian Flamenco night for my music class which should be pretty fun.

 

Here's the rundown on ship life:

 

Believe it or not it is an identical version of a college campus. We have 2 days while at sea. A days and B days. Since I'm work study, I'm also required to work 2 hours a day. Then there is all of the clubs and activities that are offered. The amount they have is pretty shocking, but it's great. I met my "extended family" last night and we sat on their balcony and talked while watching the stars come up over the ocean. It was one of the most peaceful moments of the trip so far. My "mom's" name is Nancy, "dad" is David, and my "brother," Matt, is 12. We're hoping to have dinner sometime in Spain together. David is a professor at the University of Virginia (he said he almost took a job up at Ithaca College!). It's a great experience getting to know both the younger crowd and the older crowd aboard the ship. It was very interesting being able to sit and listen to their stories and share the same experience through different points of view. I'm also working with a child named Alden for reading and writing every other day for an hour. I can't wait to get started with that and give myself something else to do other than reading textbooks. All in all it's basically like being on back at Ithaca.... I overbooked myself and don't get started on homework until 9 or 10pm, but it just makes me feel like I'm at home. There's even the obvious divide between the students that get their work done and those that just don't care. For everyone who thinks I'm on a "cruise" right now, let me be the first to tell you that they're holding us to the U. Virginia standards. I'm completely out of my elements with all of these writing, music, and art classes but it's still fun to learn.

 

The hardest adjustment on the ship is the shift over to millitary time and the fact that for the past 3 days we have had to set our clocks forward and lose an hour of sleep. Whenever I see 8:30 I just assume people mean in the evening. Needless to say I was 12 hours off and my interview was at 8:30 am (oops!). The meal times are limited. 7:30-8:30 for breakfast, 11:30-1:30 lunch, and 5:30-7:30 dinner. They also have a "late night" type deal at 10pm with sandwiches and deserts.

 

I watched the sunset for the first time today off the back of the ship. Apparently if you look at the right time just after the sun goes down below the horizon you can see green flashes. I failed to see those tonight but now I know what to look for. One minute the sun was in the sky and the next minute the firey orange ball was sinking into the ocean by the second. Absolutely spectacular. Tomorrow they're doing a star gazing up on deck 7 so I think they turn of all the lights in order to be surrounded by complete darkness. Hopefully I'll be able to get another post in before we reach Spain! Viva Espana!

 

:)