KateSP

Well, we’re docked! And I can’t believe the end is already here. We woke up briiiight and early this morning (about 6am) to Claudia, Dean Sean’s mom, singing “Good Morning” over the PA system. It was a great final touch to our last wake-up call (although unusually early). My friends and I had our last breakfast outside as we watched the sunrise and pulled into the channel leading into Norfolk. Seeing land for the first time in 9 days was warming, especially it being our home country, which we haven’t seen in 10 weeks. We all went up to the front of the ship on the top deck to see the Explorer pulling in. During this hour long process, an entire school of dolphin came out to greet us! Gosh, what a treat! They were everywhere. ... read more

Blog Entry: Last Port Ever!: Morocco Sadly, we had 4 days in our last port, Morocco. Our ship docked in Casablanca the morning of the 9th. Myself and 175 other students (about 20% of the student population) signed up for a Semester at Sea trip that lasted the ENTIRE port, all 4 days. I spent a lot of money on this trip, and unfortunately, I regret it. While we did have a lot of fun, the trip itself was extremely deceiving. I booked it right away because of the cool title/description: “Marrakech & Camel Trek through the Sahara.” I mean, c’mon... Camel trekking? In the Sahara?? Sign me up! While we did ride on camels, the rest of the trip was rough. Details: A couple of my friends, Nicole, Becca, Erika, Anthony, and Scott, were also ... read more

Blog Entry: Walk like an Egyptian. Hello Good Friends! Or “Habibi” as the Egyptians say :) I’m finally getting to the chance to blog about our adventures in Egypt. I have been putting it off for more than one reason (the main reason probably being my procrastination tendencies that I thoroughly embrace). So now, Habibi, I would like to share with you 5 of the most intense, memorable, and breathtaking days of my life that happen to take place in Egypt. It’s still hard for me to believe I was actually there... Here goes! We ported on July 30th (Happy Birthday, Burger) in the big city of Alexandria, about 3 hours West of the Nile River. Alexandria is the second biggest city in all of Egypt, the first being Cairo, the city with all of the ... read more

Blog Entry: Turkey Time! “Gobble Gobble” ~ CULTURE SHOCK! It is midnight here on this Thursday night, the night before we can explore Varna, Bulgaria! We only had one day at sea in between Turkey and Bulgaria, which explains why I am not blogging about Turkey until now. Having one day at sea is stressful. In all of 24 hours, we have to write papers, study for tests, take 4 hours of class, plan for the next country, and write blogs! These days go by very quickly... Before the trip, I anticipated these days at sea being days of rest, so to speak, in between the intense traveling at port.... I was seriously mistaken! I originally had 2 papers due today, but luckily, Blake, a girl in my Poly Theory class, persistently emailed our professor complaining ... read more

Blog Entry: An unusual day in the neighborhood. We are officially 8 hours ahead of everyone back home! This makes it especially hard to contact everyone, but I am doing my best to count back 8 hours and predict what everyone is up to at home. The good news is that this is our last hour lost on the trip. From here on out, we will be gaining hours of sleep :) The down side to that is that the trip is close to halfway over!! Already??? Time flies when you're on a boat. I learned today that this is the fastest ship in the world.... I've heard from many sources that this is true... I find it hard to believe, but she is small, and she is fast! I should turn that into "Rumor Ranger". ... read more