So our study abroad program is dwindling. Today we ripped off another
full sheet of our Google Docs itinerary. We have finished 2 sheets and
now there is only one left and about a third on another with our going
home information. After we rip each sheet off, I do my best bagpipe
impression as we say a few words and have a funeral procession to the
trashcan.
Today was out first day in St. Petersburg, Russia! At pre-port they
warned us about everything and there was a bunch of students that were
kind of scared of Russia. Not going to lie it is pretty intimidating
going through immigration, but Russia is not scary at all like everyone
was freaking about. It was not what I expected, but then again I don't
really know what I expected. I did expect colder weather and well it is
warmer here than it was in Spain. It was in the 80s and I was hot
walking around in shorts and a tee. We had a walking tour today for 7
hours and I am pooped. First our bus broke down, so we walked the half
hour to the Hermitage museum. The museum was in the Winter Palace and
other buildings in the main square. There were 5 buildings all together
and it took us about 3 hours to get through it all. I had seen pictures
of the square, but actually being there was like I can't even describe
it. In the museum I am pretty sure my mouth was hung open the entire
time. The ceilings of this place were insane. After the museum it was
linner time. It was like 4 so a lunch/dinner. JoEllen and I each got
something different and split the dishes. I had a blini which is like
the Russian version of a crepe. I got chicken inside and it was so good.
The other dish we split were perogies. My first time having them, I hate
to admit it, but the Italian in me likes gnocchi better. After we walked
along one of the rivers and then saw our first Orthodox church. I could
not get over it. On Saturday or Sunday, we have a tour that will take us
to the same church, but this time inside too. It was such a long day and
now it is almost 9. Tomorrow we have nothing planned but shopping and
getting some WiFi in the terminal. I'm hoping I can get some pictures
uploaded online for everyone to see. I have taken so many pictures so far!
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
I Can See Russia from my House
This is delayed I think. I don't remember forgetting about it, but last
day in Norway (the 21st)! Becca, JoEllen and I headed to the beach. The
beach is called Huk and we heard it was supposedly a nude beach but
luckily it wasn't. There were a lot of naked babies though and it was
weird. I guess the Norwegians aren't as crazy as my mother with sun
protection. We took a ferry across the fjord and walked around a half
hour through some neighborhoods to the beach. It was not like a New
Jersey beach at all! A lot of rocks in the water and coarse sand. No
soft sand like NJ. After we walked in a huge circle basically and found
a cafe for lunch. It was just another relaxing day for us. We took the
ferry back and walked around the city center before making our way back
to the ship. Basically after that I took a shower and fell asleep
because our feet were killing us. On Monday we passed by Sweden on one
side and Denmark on the other side while tanning on the deck. The
weather has been gorgeous. Now we are almost to Russia and we will see
land tomorrow, if I can get through these two midterms.
day in Norway (the 21st)! Becca, JoEllen and I headed to the beach. The
beach is called Huk and we heard it was supposedly a nude beach but
luckily it wasn't. There were a lot of naked babies though and it was
weird. I guess the Norwegians aren't as crazy as my mother with sun
protection. We took a ferry across the fjord and walked around a half
hour through some neighborhoods to the beach. It was not like a New
Jersey beach at all! A lot of rocks in the water and coarse sand. No
soft sand like NJ. After we walked in a huge circle basically and found
a cafe for lunch. It was just another relaxing day for us. We took the
ferry back and walked around the city center before making our way back
to the ship. Basically after that I took a shower and fell asleep
because our feet were killing us. On Monday we passed by Sweden on one
side and Denmark on the other side while tanning on the deck. The
weather has been gorgeous. Now we are almost to Russia and we will see
land tomorrow, if I can get through these two midterms.
Friday, July 18, 2014
No Class, Frozen, and Manholes?
Today is a transit day from Bergen to Oslo. Some students decided to
make the transit by themselves or do a field program. A lot of kids
chose to stay off the boat so it was like empty today. There were no
classes on this sea day because half of the students are missing and
frolicking around Norway. JoEllen and Becca and I sat up on deck and
tanned all day. We did some swimming and Becca and I tried to do some
synchronized swimming. We failed at that. It was so nice out and pretty
hot. We are supposed to have really nice weather in Oslo. After we had a
nice sit down dinner. We got served a choice of dinners and the food was
really good. They said they were able to do it because more than half of
the boat was gone and that it was the captain and officers' idea. After
dinner the day got even better and they played Frozen in the Union. We
sang along to everything and it was so hard not to be screaming the
songs out loud. After that we played Heads Up for an hour with two
people we met at dinner, Alyssa and Adam. It's that game where you put
the cell phone on your forehead and everyone else has to act it out for
you guess. Some of our charades were insane and hilarious. Like one that
JoEllen was guessing. I laid on the floor and pretended to be a manhole
cover while Becca moved me and came out of the ground. I'm sure it was
fun for the people walking by to watch because it was a disaster the
stuff we were trying to do. Tomorrow we are in Oslo! Until the 20th and
then we are off to Russia. I'm getting sad already that it is more than
halfway over.
make the transit by themselves or do a field program. A lot of kids
chose to stay off the boat so it was like empty today. There were no
classes on this sea day because half of the students are missing and
frolicking around Norway. JoEllen and Becca and I sat up on deck and
tanned all day. We did some swimming and Becca and I tried to do some
synchronized swimming. We failed at that. It was so nice out and pretty
hot. We are supposed to have really nice weather in Oslo. After we had a
nice sit down dinner. We got served a choice of dinners and the food was
really good. They said they were able to do it because more than half of
the boat was gone and that it was the captain and officers' idea. After
dinner the day got even better and they played Frozen in the Union. We
sang along to everything and it was so hard not to be screaming the
songs out loud. After that we played Heads Up for an hour with two
people we met at dinner, Alyssa and Adam. It's that game where you put
the cell phone on your forehead and everyone else has to act it out for
you guess. Some of our charades were insane and hilarious. Like one that
JoEllen was guessing. I laid on the floor and pretended to be a manhole
cover while Becca moved me and came out of the ground. I'm sure it was
fun for the people walking by to watch because it was a disaster the
stuff we were trying to do. Tomorrow we are in Oslo! Until the 20th and
then we are off to Russia. I'm getting sad already that it is more than
halfway over.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Trolling in Bergen
Norway Norway NORWAY. I LOVE NORWAY. At least Bergen so far. So yesterday we arrived early, yet again, to Bergen. We were allowed to get off of the ship at 6. We made it off after dinner and by 9 I was in love with the city. We walked around the streets of this cute little old town on the water. The entire time all we could say was "is this real?" or "are we in Disney?". Becca, JoEllen, and I (now the 3 musketeers, it's casual) stumbled upon the FlØibanen. It is a tram that pulls you up the mountain. The views were insane, but once we got off we started with the "is this real?" again. The views of the city and the water were incredible. Norway is just so beautiful. I think I took about 300 pictures just then. After we found some cool shops. I bought some trolls. Not the troll dolls like we have, but traditional trolls. They are actually really creepy and ugly. For some reason though I think they are cute and I am obsessed with them. I love the trolls. They are so hideously cute. Oh and also blackcurrant ice cream. That's all I have to say about that.
Today we took a bus to a ferry and a ferry to a train and a train to another train and a train to the bus and the bus to the ship. Literally that was our day and I'm tired. The program was called Norway in a Nutshell and we took transportation sysytems all day through mountains and fjords and it got even prettier. We stopped at waterfalls and sang Frozen all day, at least I did in my head. I again took another like 1000 pictures of the same mountain/ fjord, but they are from different angles so completely different shots. I did not know what to expect with the Scandinavian countries, so I was very surprised with Norway and it is definitely in my top countries list. I would probably come back here one day. Tomorrow we are in transit to Oslo and because some students are traveling off the ship between cities there are no classes! I can't wait to sleep past 7.
Today we took a bus to a ferry and a ferry to a train and a train to another train and a train to the bus and the bus to the ship. Literally that was our day and I'm tired. The program was called Norway in a Nutshell and we took transportation sysytems all day through mountains and fjords and it got even prettier. We stopped at waterfalls and sang Frozen all day, at least I did in my head. I again took another like 1000 pictures of the same mountain/ fjord, but they are from different angles so completely different shots. I did not know what to expect with the Scandinavian countries, so I was very surprised with Norway and it is definitely in my top countries list. I would probably come back here one day. Tomorrow we are in transit to Oslo and because some students are traveling off the ship between cities there are no classes! I can't wait to sleep past 7.
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
"Hold On I'm Drying My Underwear"
So I decided that it would fun to tell everyone about what it is like to live on a ship for 10 weeks (and answering the questions I got asked a lot before I left). I LOVE MY SHIP HOME
Laundry:
We leave laundry outside of our doors in plastic bags that they give us. We mark off how many of each type of clothing we have on our laundry sheets. Our laundry is only done on days that we are at sea and we usually get the bag back the same day. JoEllen and I wear our sweatshirts and jeans as much as we can and then we literally stuff them in the bags and usually break the sides open. It costs 6 dollars a bag, so we try and save money that could be used in port. For the rest of our clothes we mostly resort to sink washing and hanging them on the line in the shower. Tonight I wanted to shower and I had to wait for JoEllen to finish blow drying her underwear. Yes that happens.
Cabin Life:
Our cabins are small but not too bad at all. We have plenty of room for all of our clothes and the beds are comfy. When we are at sea our drawers and doors close for us, which is pretty nice. The one thing that stinks in the room literally is the boat gets this really bad weird smell sometimes and it stinks up the halls and rooms. The best way I can explain taking a shower while at sea is to imagine showering in a coat closet during an earthquake. It is small and the curtain will sway in and stick to you while you basically are stumbling back and forth from the rocking.
That Education Part?:
So yea part of studying abroad involves studying although it looks like we just travel and lay around. We all take 3 classes and only go during time at sea. So we have 3 days in a row this week and the previous week we only had 1 day. Mine are all in a row from 8 to 12. Our "classrooms" are just closed off sitting areas on the ship. So my one class is basically held in a sitting area with tables and chairs and a huge couch along the back. So we lounge on a couch during class and try to not fall asleep.They have fold out walls that pull out and close the space off to make it a class during sea. Contrary to the elementary school belief that teachers sleep under their desks and live at the school, they are out and about with us. I have been on tons of excursions with teachers and their office hours are basically "if you see me at lunch or dinner come talk to me". They are all really cool and want to help. I have been on deck tanning and reading when my Econ teacher has come out and started tanning a few chairs away. It is weird, but you get used it.
Communicating:
I can send postcards! I sent some in Portugal so 6 countries ago and they have still not arrived sooo. I try to get WiFi in port when I can to send pictures and texts through What's app. Then I have my horrible international cell that HATES ME. Literally it never works for me and I want to throw it overboard. Lastly I have what JoEllen and I call snail mail. It is our on-board email that I use to update blogs and talk back home. It works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. It usually doesn't work in our cabins, but if you right outside the door it will work.
Food:
Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30, lunch from 11:30-1:30, dinner from 5:30-7:30, and late night snack at 10-10:30. They also have a pool bar and a snack bar where you can buy food at basically anytime. The food is not that bad and I wasn't expecting high quality. The problem and why I am always hungry is because there is the same thing everyday. The 3 P's - Pasta, Potatoes, and Pork. Basically we stuff our faces when in port and go food shopping.Our famous line after eating is "thank god that's over".
Laundry:
We leave laundry outside of our doors in plastic bags that they give us. We mark off how many of each type of clothing we have on our laundry sheets. Our laundry is only done on days that we are at sea and we usually get the bag back the same day. JoEllen and I wear our sweatshirts and jeans as much as we can and then we literally stuff them in the bags and usually break the sides open. It costs 6 dollars a bag, so we try and save money that could be used in port. For the rest of our clothes we mostly resort to sink washing and hanging them on the line in the shower. Tonight I wanted to shower and I had to wait for JoEllen to finish blow drying her underwear. Yes that happens.
Cabin Life:
Our cabins are small but not too bad at all. We have plenty of room for all of our clothes and the beds are comfy. When we are at sea our drawers and doors close for us, which is pretty nice. The one thing that stinks in the room literally is the boat gets this really bad weird smell sometimes and it stinks up the halls and rooms. The best way I can explain taking a shower while at sea is to imagine showering in a coat closet during an earthquake. It is small and the curtain will sway in and stick to you while you basically are stumbling back and forth from the rocking.
That Education Part?:
So yea part of studying abroad involves studying although it looks like we just travel and lay around. We all take 3 classes and only go during time at sea. So we have 3 days in a row this week and the previous week we only had 1 day. Mine are all in a row from 8 to 12. Our "classrooms" are just closed off sitting areas on the ship. So my one class is basically held in a sitting area with tables and chairs and a huge couch along the back. So we lounge on a couch during class and try to not fall asleep.They have fold out walls that pull out and close the space off to make it a class during sea. Contrary to the elementary school belief that teachers sleep under their desks and live at the school, they are out and about with us. I have been on tons of excursions with teachers and their office hours are basically "if you see me at lunch or dinner come talk to me". They are all really cool and want to help. I have been on deck tanning and reading when my Econ teacher has come out and started tanning a few chairs away. It is weird, but you get used it.
Communicating:
I can send postcards! I sent some in Portugal so 6 countries ago and they have still not arrived sooo. I try to get WiFi in port when I can to send pictures and texts through What's app. Then I have my horrible international cell that HATES ME. Literally it never works for me and I want to throw it overboard. Lastly I have what JoEllen and I call snail mail. It is our on-board email that I use to update blogs and talk back home. It works sometimes and sometimes it doesn't. It usually doesn't work in our cabins, but if you right outside the door it will work.
Food:
Breakfast is from 7:30-8:30, lunch from 11:30-1:30, dinner from 5:30-7:30, and late night snack at 10-10:30. They also have a pool bar and a snack bar where you can buy food at basically anytime. The food is not that bad and I wasn't expecting high quality. The problem and why I am always hungry is because there is the same thing everyday. The 3 P's - Pasta, Potatoes, and Pork. Basically we stuff our faces when in port and go food shopping.Our famous line after eating is "thank god that's over".
Monday, July 14, 2014
Reflecting and Scones?
Its reflecting time! I was going to group the countries in more than 2,
but Scotland and Ireland were my favorites so far. Here are my country
reflections and croissant ratings.
Glasgow, Scotland:
Scotland was so amazing. It was extremely green and had sheep
everywhere, I wanted to take one home with me. The city was clean and
old. It had such nice architecture and buildings. The people were
amazing. They were so incredibly nice, I just wanted to hug them all.
They were all so nice and honestly cared and wanted to talk to you and
help. I loved Scotland and way more than I thought I would. I did not
know what to expect going in and I fell in love with it. I feel bad
saying this, but I think I might have liked it a little more than
Ireland. It was just beautiful everywhere, even taking the train was
nice. We had some cool programs, did shopping, and got drinks. The food
was good and it was just an overall fun country and good time. I was
pretty close to crying when we had to leave this country. This one
definitley gave me the "wow this study abroad thing is really
happeneing" feeling. When we left, bagpipers played as we left. It was
an amazing experience that I won't forget. Croissant rating: 2.5
Dublin and Galway, Ireland:
Ireland! The country I was most excited about. I loved every second of
this country. It is very close in ranking with Scotland. The only thing
that puts it lower is the weather. We got lucky with the weather in
Scotland, but not here. It was raining on and off and that hindered our
Cliffs of Moher experience. I have never seen so many cows before and it
was also so green and beautiful. The landscapes and views were amazing
along with all of the sites that I went to see. The people here were
also so nice and hospitable. The drinks were great and so was the food.
There was so much to see and do here and it was so much fun and I fell
in love with the country. I expected to like it, but not as much as I
did. I will definitely be making a point to return to Ireland some day.
Croissant rating: WE DIDN'T FIND ONE. So I had a scone, which I can't
rate. It was my first scone ever and I didn't like it that much.
but Scotland and Ireland were my favorites so far. Here are my country
reflections and croissant ratings.
Glasgow, Scotland:
Scotland was so amazing. It was extremely green and had sheep
everywhere, I wanted to take one home with me. The city was clean and
old. It had such nice architecture and buildings. The people were
amazing. They were so incredibly nice, I just wanted to hug them all.
They were all so nice and honestly cared and wanted to talk to you and
help. I loved Scotland and way more than I thought I would. I did not
know what to expect going in and I fell in love with it. I feel bad
saying this, but I think I might have liked it a little more than
Ireland. It was just beautiful everywhere, even taking the train was
nice. We had some cool programs, did shopping, and got drinks. The food
was good and it was just an overall fun country and good time. I was
pretty close to crying when we had to leave this country. This one
definitley gave me the "wow this study abroad thing is really
happeneing" feeling. When we left, bagpipers played as we left. It was
an amazing experience that I won't forget. Croissant rating: 2.5
Dublin and Galway, Ireland:
Ireland! The country I was most excited about. I loved every second of
this country. It is very close in ranking with Scotland. The only thing
that puts it lower is the weather. We got lucky with the weather in
Scotland, but not here. It was raining on and off and that hindered our
Cliffs of Moher experience. I have never seen so many cows before and it
was also so green and beautiful. The landscapes and views were amazing
along with all of the sites that I went to see. The people here were
also so nice and hospitable. The drinks were great and so was the food.
There was so much to see and do here and it was so much fun and I fell
in love with the country. I expected to like it, but not as much as I
did. I will definitely be making a point to return to Ireland some day.
Croissant rating: WE DIDN'T FIND ONE. So I had a scone, which I can't
rate. It was my first scone ever and I didn't like it that much.
Would You Like Fries with That, Ireland?
Here is day 3 and 4! I love you Ireland and your insane amounts of cows!
Day Three:
The next day we woke up and got on the bus again at 9am. We headed a few
minutes to the cliffs for the ultimate disappointment. It was raining,
Ireland weather was doing its thing and there was zero visibility. We
walked up to the cliffs and could hear the birds and water, but we saw
nothing but fog and more fog. You could barely see maybe a car length in
front of you. So although I did actually make it to the Cliffs of Moher,
I did not see anything. I don't know if that counts. But don't worry I
took pictures of me and the fog. After our tour guide turned to plan B,
which involved more driving and stopping in hour intervals. We stopped
at some weird limestone thing and the whole ground was covered in
boulders. It was pretty cool, but still hard to see far away. This trip
kind of was a let down. I was most excited about the cliffs and
basically saw nothing. The few hundred dollar trip consisted of sleeping
on the bus and wondering when our next meal was. Kind of a bummer, but
at least I got my napping in. Not much you can do with this weather.
After we got back we decided to go out into Dublin around 8. We did some
damage at the first bar. Like over 20 euro for two drinks. But, my
parents did say "don't be cheap, if you see something you really like
buy it" so I did. I made my own blackcurrant juice concoction, so good.
We headed around to Temple Bar, which is always packed and a lot of fun.
Then I found another store where I was able to replace the broken
Guinness mug from day one. It took a few drinks to get me to suggest
going to Burger King. We were starving and bars stop serving food at
like 8 or 9. That would never work in the U.S. Anyway I had my first and
last Whopper in 21 years and the night just got funnier and funnier. We
were so tired and probably should not have had that last drink. At one
point I kept saying that I could no longer feed myself. It's tiring work
lifting your arm. Good thing we have it on video. On the shuttle ride,
JoEllen kept calling the foot rest a foot schoochie and we started
discussing the show Extreme Cheapskates. Within 5 minutes she managed to
rename it to Extreme Sheepscapes and Extreme Cheesesteaks. I'm pretty
sure everyone on the bus hated us because we could not stop obnoxiously
laughing.
Day Four :( :
Last day in Ireland! Why is this happening? This whole leaving the
countries is not cool Semester at Sea, not cool. Today was Newgrange! We
got up for our 7:30am trip and boarded the struggle bus, we were
driving. Newgrange was amazing. It is a 5,000 year old tomb and it was
so insane. We could not take pictures inside so I got a post card with
an inside picture of it on it. I still can't get over it. Newgrange is
set up so that on the Winter solstice the sun shines through the opening
and into the back chamber. It is so ridiculous to me that they charted
the sun and built the tomb perfectly. The inside was crazy. I don't know
a word to describe it. It is so old and the amount of work and
engineering that went into it is amazing. In 5,000 years it has never
had any rain come in or had any part of it collapse. I loved it. After
we went to a hill called Tara. It was really pretty and had gorgeous
views of the country. Just green and more green everywhere. It was a
really cool day. I really don't like history, but I love it when it
involves ruins and old structures that can barely be explained. After
the tour we went into Dublin and of course got some ice cream before
boarding the shuttle to the ship. When we got back we saw that a cruise
ship had joined us in the port. It is the Ruby Princess and literally
makes our boat look like a canoe next to it. It is now 9pm and we left
Ireland an hour ago. So sad. Now we are on our way to Norway and my
email is still not working, so hopefully I can get this up soon. 3 days
at sea and then we lose an hour and become 6 hours ahead!
Day Three:
The next day we woke up and got on the bus again at 9am. We headed a few
minutes to the cliffs for the ultimate disappointment. It was raining,
Ireland weather was doing its thing and there was zero visibility. We
walked up to the cliffs and could hear the birds and water, but we saw
nothing but fog and more fog. You could barely see maybe a car length in
front of you. So although I did actually make it to the Cliffs of Moher,
I did not see anything. I don't know if that counts. But don't worry I
took pictures of me and the fog. After our tour guide turned to plan B,
which involved more driving and stopping in hour intervals. We stopped
at some weird limestone thing and the whole ground was covered in
boulders. It was pretty cool, but still hard to see far away. This trip
kind of was a let down. I was most excited about the cliffs and
basically saw nothing. The few hundred dollar trip consisted of sleeping
on the bus and wondering when our next meal was. Kind of a bummer, but
at least I got my napping in. Not much you can do with this weather.
After we got back we decided to go out into Dublin around 8. We did some
damage at the first bar. Like over 20 euro for two drinks. But, my
parents did say "don't be cheap, if you see something you really like
buy it" so I did. I made my own blackcurrant juice concoction, so good.
We headed around to Temple Bar, which is always packed and a lot of fun.
Then I found another store where I was able to replace the broken
Guinness mug from day one. It took a few drinks to get me to suggest
going to Burger King. We were starving and bars stop serving food at
like 8 or 9. That would never work in the U.S. Anyway I had my first and
last Whopper in 21 years and the night just got funnier and funnier. We
were so tired and probably should not have had that last drink. At one
point I kept saying that I could no longer feed myself. It's tiring work
lifting your arm. Good thing we have it on video. On the shuttle ride,
JoEllen kept calling the foot rest a foot schoochie and we started
discussing the show Extreme Cheapskates. Within 5 minutes she managed to
rename it to Extreme Sheepscapes and Extreme Cheesesteaks. I'm pretty
sure everyone on the bus hated us because we could not stop obnoxiously
laughing.
Day Four :( :
Last day in Ireland! Why is this happening? This whole leaving the
countries is not cool Semester at Sea, not cool. Today was Newgrange! We
got up for our 7:30am trip and boarded the struggle bus, we were
driving. Newgrange was amazing. It is a 5,000 year old tomb and it was
so insane. We could not take pictures inside so I got a post card with
an inside picture of it on it. I still can't get over it. Newgrange is
set up so that on the Winter solstice the sun shines through the opening
and into the back chamber. It is so ridiculous to me that they charted
the sun and built the tomb perfectly. The inside was crazy. I don't know
a word to describe it. It is so old and the amount of work and
engineering that went into it is amazing. In 5,000 years it has never
had any rain come in or had any part of it collapse. I loved it. After
we went to a hill called Tara. It was really pretty and had gorgeous
views of the country. Just green and more green everywhere. It was a
really cool day. I really don't like history, but I love it when it
involves ruins and old structures that can barely be explained. After
the tour we went into Dublin and of course got some ice cream before
boarding the shuttle to the ship. When we got back we saw that a cruise
ship had joined us in the port. It is the Ruby Princess and literally
makes our boat look like a canoe next to it. It is now 9pm and we left
Ireland an hour ago. So sad. Now we are on our way to Norway and my
email is still not working, so hopefully I can get this up soon. 3 days
at sea and then we lose an hour and become 6 hours ahead!
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