After 10 full days at sea we have finally spotted land! Last night we stood on the top deck for an hour, waiting to see the first glimpse of land. We passed through the Straights of Gibraltar and managed to make out a small strip of Africa through a large fog bank. In a few days I will post some pictures (I need to get off of the ship's internet to do that.)
I can officially say that I've completed 1/6 of my voyage, as well as 1/3 of my academic semester on this ship... and only after 9 days!! Unlike UO, we had class every day at sea with no weekends or block schedules. I had an architecture midterm on my ninth day of class! Although it is a rigorous study and class schedule, it is fully preparing us for the ports we are entering and allows us to have days off from class while at the ports. My architecture class has been studying a large variety of building that are mainly in Spain, Italy and Turkey. I visited some of the buildings in the past few years, so I really enjoyed learning the history of the building, as well as, the structural elements. It has given me a new appreciation for the ancient buildings I will be seeing again! The class has made me most excited to see the unique work of Antoni Gaudi (if you don't know his work, Google it!)
I am also in a Travel Writing class with a wonderful professor who has provided us with great readings from a large variety of sources. My favorite reading has been Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad, where Twain travels a similar route to the one that I'm on now. A few differences between Twain's voyage and mine is that his ship had three types of organs for the ship chapel and it took them over a month to cross the Atlantic. We have two pianos and a large variety of instruments and slowly crossed the Atlantic in ten days. My third class is Global Studies and it is taught by a hilarious Canadian professor who really brings history to life.
We all were going a bit crazy with the constant class schedule, so we had 110th Sea Olymics. Each hall is a sea (my hall is the Adriatic Sea) and your sea compete in a different events. I decided to dive head first into the Sea Olympics and for the first time since 6th grade, I participated in a group dance performance- my team placed third! We won first in a hilarious synchronize swimming contest, second in a volleyball competition and third in a crossword race, which I participated in too. It was great getting to know my hall better! Although we have had fun bonding, after midterms and essays packed into a tight schedule, I think it is safe to say that we are ready to embrace Barcelona with open arms! I'm excited to walk for miles, see new things and architecture and try new foods (we have potatoes, pasta and bread every day.)
Tomorrow I will official enter Spain and hopefully thrive in the Pickpocket Capital of the World! Adios!
Hi Tori,
ReplyDeleteI am amazed at the length of your class periods and the amount of reading, study, papers, and tests you have already done. You certainly are going to cherish every minute that you are off the ship! Grandpa and I spent a week on the on the Costa Del Sol and visited the towns of Ronda, Granada where Alhambra is located with its great Moorish palace, Gibralter where we took a ferry over to Morocco and Tangier. You are visiting Barcelona which is way north. I got out my Rick Steved book on Spain and Portugal so I could see and read about some if the sights you will be walking to. I hope your sea legs will quickly adjust to land and that you have a chance to see all the things that you learned about in class. Local eating should be great so stop often to enjoy it. Loved your Sea Olympic team activity, sounded like lots of fun.
When you get home you will see my freshly painted house exterior. I sat on the deck today and just enjoyed looking at the house instead of the trees! It was 78 degrees and pure blue sky and sunshine! Hope you day is like that, too.
Lots of love, Grandma