Thursday, July 30, 2009
Alexandria, Egypt
I actually have access to the internet right now because I am in sitting in the second largest library on Planet Earth. The Biblotheca Alxendria in Alexandria, Egypt. I am in Egypt right now. It is so unbelievably crazy. This city is dirty, polluted, crowded, gritty and I love it. People drive where ever and however they want, people cross the street in the craziest ways and men are walking in the middle of the road pulling a donket with a wagon-full of watermelons. Its amazing. The people are so nice here, but you can definitely see the line between the "haves" and "havenots". We met this cab driver, named Mohamed Ali, I didnt believe him so I made him show me all his identification...he wasnt lying. He is taking us all around the city to see the highlights of Alexandria. So far we have seen the catacombs and the Pillar of some guy named Pompey. But all the touristy stuff does not compare to driving through the streets and seeing what the people who live here see every single day. I love it here. Its a real live, breathing, moving city. New York has nothing on Alexandria. I will never complain about the traffic in Philadelphia, New Jersey or New York ever again. I will never call a city in America dirty ever again and I will never complain about too many people in place again, because this is ridiculoius and from what Im told Cairo is ten times more congested, polluted and rough, so Im sure I'll love Cairo ten times more than I love Alexandria. Im appreciating getting away from the cities that thrive off of nothing but tourism. I cant read any of the signs here, the music is all in Arabic, the people are going to work, children are playing outside, the colorful clothing looks nothing like what we wear in America. I love it. Its so different. Ok well I must go now, Mohamed Ali is waiting for us outside and we're going to the Ancient Lighthouse of Alexandria next. Its not there anymore, they built something on top of where it used to be but it was once one of the 7 ancient wonders in the world. So needless to say, Im excited. More to come... Im going to see THE PYRAMIDS tomorrow. Peace!
Monday, July 27, 2009
Bulgaria....aka Spring Break for Semester at Sea
Ok, this will probably be really short. But Bulgaria was the most random country I have ever been to. This was the first year that semester at sea has travelled to Bulgaria so we were kind of a test run. the only thing there was to do was go to the beach, go to water parks, get massages on the sand, go to thousands and thousands of clubs and beach bars and my favorite...bunjee jumping! i did not have any parts of the bunjee jumping business so dont worry world. but some of my other friends jumped off a freakin bridge with a string attached to thier ankles. all i did while i was here was go to the beach and the movie theatre to see transformers which was amazing!!!!! my favorite thing i did was go to this Bulgarian waterpark called AQUAPOLIS hahahahaha. it was the funniest thing in the whole world. there were a whole bunch of slides and floaty thingys and kiddie pools and it was sooo fun. it was also graces 22nd birthday so we partied like Bulgarian rockstars....if that even exists. I cant really say i would come back here but it was fun while it lasted. i am so super excited that in 2 days i will be in egypt. watching the scenes in transformers when they were in egypt made me scream from excitement. people in the theatre yelled at me in Bulgarian to shut up...i think. i dont really have anything to exciting to tell about bulgaria excpet that its beautiful and the people are a little wierd. they shake thier heads up and down for no and left to right for yes. me and grace had a really akward moment with this one guy in a convenient store because we wanted to know if he sold stamps and he said what we think was no but shook his head yes. we struggled for about 11 minutes then just slowly walked out with place with no stamps. we still dont know if he had them or not. well im pretty much done. egypt is in 2 days. i cant wait.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Istanbul!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 23rd
So I went to Turkey. It was amazing. Istanbul is such a great city. I had no idea that it is the 5th largest city in the WORLD as far as population goes! There are 15 million people there. 15 million. I don’t think there are that many people in Philly. I think I had the best cultural experience in Turkey. My day in Corinth, Greece was nice, but it was only one day. Everyday in Istanbul was a learning experience. I saw things that I have never ever seen in the states, ever. We were in Turkey for a long time in comparison to the other countries. Five whole days. Everywhere else has been four or three and a half. The first day in Istanbul I went to Capali Karsi or the Grand Bazaar. This place had 4000 shops. FOR THOUSANDS SHOPS THAT SELL EVERYTHING FROM HAND MADE SHOES TO SPICES TO JEWELRY TO SILK RUGS TO WATER PIPES TO ANYTHING! Now I really wish I could give you all a super detailed description of the activity in the Grand Bazaar but it is truly, truly something you have to experience for yourself. These people that work in there are grade A, first class, top of the line hustling sales man. I have been talking about my negotiating skills in all these blogs and I really feel that the other four countries have prepared me for the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey on July 18th 2009. I swear that these men, because they were all men, will cut you a deal and bargain with you about anything. I complimented one guy on his fancy shoes and he said, “ You like? I will sell them to you…good price”. I was puzzled. They were on his feet. What would he wear home? Anyway, I learned that the guys in the stores found it insulting if you didn’t price haggle them so I negotiated and bargained and walked away and got chased back and made all types of deals in the Grand Bazaar. It was soooooooooooo much fun. I spent the absolute least amount of money in Turkey and got the most from there than all countries combined. I seriously spent less than $130 in five days and have a bunch of really really really nice quality stuff.
Now the funnier stuff. These Turkish men looooooooooooove women. American, Brittish, Spanish whatever. It does not matter. They have lines and lines and lines for days. Everywhere we walked I heard so many different pick up lines. I will gladly list them:
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Are you one of Charlie’s Angels?
I will be here waiting for you forever.
Your beauty is like the sun shine.
Don’t walk so hard, your stepping on my heart.
There were a bunch more but the scenario that tops the list was this one guy who owned a store that sold teas and spices. He came up to me and asked me where I was from and I pretended that I couldn’t speak English and I spoke Spanish to him. He said “oooh Spanish? Will you marry me? I will give your family 5000 dollars and one of my textile businesses.” At that point I had to cut the Spanish act and ask him was he freakin serious??? He OFFERED TO BUY ME FOR 5000 DOLLARS AND A BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!!! He was extremely serious. So I quickly said no and walked away. Then this other guy asked me to marry him too and I said yes if he would give me three leather pillow cases for 20 Lyra…which is about 15 dollars. I wanted them sooooo badly but they were 15 Lyra each. He agreed to giving me 3 for 20. So I think I’m married now.
I talked to so many people about the Muslim culture and why certain things were the way they are, how things used to be and how most of the things we see and hear in America are so wrong. The media is such a powerful tool that seriously abuses its power. I am so very thankful that I had the experience to immerse myself in a culture that is so politically, socially and religiously different than anywhere I have ever been. I met some of the nicest and insightful humans I have ever come in contact with in my entire existence. I went to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque which are breathtakingly beautiful. The architect was so detailed and just gorgeous. When it is time to pray, there is announcement that can be heard anywhere and everywhere in the city. To hear the prayer in the streets or in a store or on the sub is just amazing. Their religion is such a part of their life but there is a definite line between church…well mosque and state. I thought that when it was time to pray that everyone stopped what they were doing to pray but if they are working or shopping or doing something necessary to sustain their way of living they don’t have to stop when the prayer sounds. Only the very very devout Muslims go to the Mosques at the five specific times. I don’t think any of this is making sense. I’m not really explaining this well. But the point I am trying to make is that a lot of people have preconceived notions about Muslim people, especially Muslim people in Turkey. Some of the stereotypes are every woman has to be covered from head to toe, everyone in the country is a strict Muslim, the men are oppressive, you have to be worried about “terrorists”….as if America isn’t the terrorist capitol of the world, and a whole plethora of other stereotypes. But the reality is the Muslim people are extremely tolerant of other peoples’ religions, I saw just as many catholic churches in Istanbul as I did Muslim mosques, women wore whatever they wanted, I saw many openly affectionate relationships all over the city. The women who were covered from head to toe were doing all of the same things that uncovered women were doing, the men were friendly and I rarely got treated badly or felt that I was being disrespected. I never ever once felt unsafe or uncomfortable or scared while being in Turkey. It was amazing. I loved it.
But, while all these things I said are true, there is still the other side of things that make some of these ideas of the Muslim world true. People in turkey are born Muslim, they have no choice, a lot of things that happen in the country happen without the say of the people. I learned while being here what it really means to be free and have freedom. I realized the freedom I have while talking to this old man on the street. He told me that people in Turkey are born with a past. He said that America isn’t burdened by its past because it is so young. While I disagree with him, I completely understand what he means. He is saying that many things that are in place are there because of what has happened in the thousands and thousands of years of religious history and war. I could not imagine what its like to be born with so many things in my life already chosen for me, my religion, my role in society, my husband (in some cases) and so many other things. Youtube, the online site, is banned in the entire country because some random video was made that criticized the Turkish government. That blows my mind. People don’t realize how crucial freedom of speech is, freedom of religion. Just freedom in general. America is the furthest thing from perfect but it does give its people the blessing of freedom. Now I really understand why so many people want to come here. Why they risk death just to get here. To have freedom is worth it to them. But many of us don’t even realize how important our freedom is. Ok I’m done. I’m actually in Bulgaria right now. I will be on the beach soaking up some more Mediterranean sun in a few hours. After Bulgaria I will be in the Motherland…Africa. I cannot wait. Bulgaria is my relaxation country. Egypt and Morocco need my full, undivided attention. Later.
So I went to Turkey. It was amazing. Istanbul is such a great city. I had no idea that it is the 5th largest city in the WORLD as far as population goes! There are 15 million people there. 15 million. I don’t think there are that many people in Philly. I think I had the best cultural experience in Turkey. My day in Corinth, Greece was nice, but it was only one day. Everyday in Istanbul was a learning experience. I saw things that I have never ever seen in the states, ever. We were in Turkey for a long time in comparison to the other countries. Five whole days. Everywhere else has been four or three and a half. The first day in Istanbul I went to Capali Karsi or the Grand Bazaar. This place had 4000 shops. FOR THOUSANDS SHOPS THAT SELL EVERYTHING FROM HAND MADE SHOES TO SPICES TO JEWELRY TO SILK RUGS TO WATER PIPES TO ANYTHING! Now I really wish I could give you all a super detailed description of the activity in the Grand Bazaar but it is truly, truly something you have to experience for yourself. These people that work in there are grade A, first class, top of the line hustling sales man. I have been talking about my negotiating skills in all these blogs and I really feel that the other four countries have prepared me for the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey on July 18th 2009. I swear that these men, because they were all men, will cut you a deal and bargain with you about anything. I complimented one guy on his fancy shoes and he said, “ You like? I will sell them to you…good price”. I was puzzled. They were on his feet. What would he wear home? Anyway, I learned that the guys in the stores found it insulting if you didn’t price haggle them so I negotiated and bargained and walked away and got chased back and made all types of deals in the Grand Bazaar. It was soooooooooooo much fun. I spent the absolute least amount of money in Turkey and got the most from there than all countries combined. I seriously spent less than $130 in five days and have a bunch of really really really nice quality stuff.
Now the funnier stuff. These Turkish men looooooooooooove women. American, Brittish, Spanish whatever. It does not matter. They have lines and lines and lines for days. Everywhere we walked I heard so many different pick up lines. I will gladly list them:
Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?
Are you one of Charlie’s Angels?
I will be here waiting for you forever.
Your beauty is like the sun shine.
Don’t walk so hard, your stepping on my heart.
There were a bunch more but the scenario that tops the list was this one guy who owned a store that sold teas and spices. He came up to me and asked me where I was from and I pretended that I couldn’t speak English and I spoke Spanish to him. He said “oooh Spanish? Will you marry me? I will give your family 5000 dollars and one of my textile businesses.” At that point I had to cut the Spanish act and ask him was he freakin serious??? He OFFERED TO BUY ME FOR 5000 DOLLARS AND A BUSINESS!!!!!!!!!!! He was extremely serious. So I quickly said no and walked away. Then this other guy asked me to marry him too and I said yes if he would give me three leather pillow cases for 20 Lyra…which is about 15 dollars. I wanted them sooooo badly but they were 15 Lyra each. He agreed to giving me 3 for 20. So I think I’m married now.
I talked to so many people about the Muslim culture and why certain things were the way they are, how things used to be and how most of the things we see and hear in America are so wrong. The media is such a powerful tool that seriously abuses its power. I am so very thankful that I had the experience to immerse myself in a culture that is so politically, socially and religiously different than anywhere I have ever been. I met some of the nicest and insightful humans I have ever come in contact with in my entire existence. I went to the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque which are breathtakingly beautiful. The architect was so detailed and just gorgeous. When it is time to pray, there is announcement that can be heard anywhere and everywhere in the city. To hear the prayer in the streets or in a store or on the sub is just amazing. Their religion is such a part of their life but there is a definite line between church…well mosque and state. I thought that when it was time to pray that everyone stopped what they were doing to pray but if they are working or shopping or doing something necessary to sustain their way of living they don’t have to stop when the prayer sounds. Only the very very devout Muslims go to the Mosques at the five specific times. I don’t think any of this is making sense. I’m not really explaining this well. But the point I am trying to make is that a lot of people have preconceived notions about Muslim people, especially Muslim people in Turkey. Some of the stereotypes are every woman has to be covered from head to toe, everyone in the country is a strict Muslim, the men are oppressive, you have to be worried about “terrorists”….as if America isn’t the terrorist capitol of the world, and a whole plethora of other stereotypes. But the reality is the Muslim people are extremely tolerant of other peoples’ religions, I saw just as many catholic churches in Istanbul as I did Muslim mosques, women wore whatever they wanted, I saw many openly affectionate relationships all over the city. The women who were covered from head to toe were doing all of the same things that uncovered women were doing, the men were friendly and I rarely got treated badly or felt that I was being disrespected. I never ever once felt unsafe or uncomfortable or scared while being in Turkey. It was amazing. I loved it.
But, while all these things I said are true, there is still the other side of things that make some of these ideas of the Muslim world true. People in turkey are born Muslim, they have no choice, a lot of things that happen in the country happen without the say of the people. I learned while being here what it really means to be free and have freedom. I realized the freedom I have while talking to this old man on the street. He told me that people in Turkey are born with a past. He said that America isn’t burdened by its past because it is so young. While I disagree with him, I completely understand what he means. He is saying that many things that are in place are there because of what has happened in the thousands and thousands of years of religious history and war. I could not imagine what its like to be born with so many things in my life already chosen for me, my religion, my role in society, my husband (in some cases) and so many other things. Youtube, the online site, is banned in the entire country because some random video was made that criticized the Turkish government. That blows my mind. People don’t realize how crucial freedom of speech is, freedom of religion. Just freedom in general. America is the furthest thing from perfect but it does give its people the blessing of freedom. Now I really understand why so many people want to come here. Why they risk death just to get here. To have freedom is worth it to them. But many of us don’t even realize how important our freedom is. Ok I’m done. I’m actually in Bulgaria right now. I will be on the beach soaking up some more Mediterranean sun in a few hours. After Bulgaria I will be in the Motherland…Africa. I cannot wait. Bulgaria is my relaxation country. Egypt and Morocco need my full, undivided attention. Later.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Greece!!!!!!!!!!!
July 17th. So people, how is America? The one thing that I have a problem with on this ship is that we have no current events updates. I have no idea what is going on in America. I missed everything about Michael Jackson, I don’t know what is happening in politics or anything. For all I know, America could be gone and no one would know on this ship. So can someone send me something cool that’s going at home. Nscook@semesteratsea.net. Now to the good stuff:
GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECE! Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. This country is gorgeous. The first day in Greece, I went to Athens to see the Acropolis. Honestly, the Acropolis was not that great to see. The experience in itself was remarkable but the whole area was under reconstruction. There was scaffolding everywhere and it was the hottest day of the year in Greece that day. Of course the hottest day of the year would be the day that we decide to go the treeless, shade less waterless Acropolis. But the view from the top of the mountain was gorgeous and literally breathtaking. I saw the first Olympic stadium, the gate of Alexander the Great, the Agean Sea was behind us and all the beautiful homes whose rooftops were literally glistening in the sunlight. It felt like we walked for miles and miles and miles that day to get to all the sites. I think the fact that I have just been to Rome a week and a half before Greece, all the ruins and ancient sites kind of meshed together. I kept calling Athens, Rome and I think my brain was on ancient ruin overdrive. We walked around all the shops and neighborhood markets and we found this amazing, praise worthy establishment located on the corner of Matistraki…..it made GYYYYYYYYYYYROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am obsessed with Gyros. They are the best tasting thing on the planet, next to Gelatto, which, sidebar, Greece had none. I was very sad, needless to say, and the ice cream I did taste was so horrible I threw it away. So if you go to Greece, avoid the ice cream and buy thousands of Gyros. In Greece I realized even more how amazing of a bargainer I am. I talked down every single thing that I bought in Greece that wasn’t a gyro. I paid full price for nothing. I am an amazing negotiator. Thanks Greece for helping me to realize that. Ok so lets talk briefly about the Greek language, not so much the language, which is not thaaaaat hard to grasp, buuuut the LETTERS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD! They still use the Greek letters and language from 4000 years ago. I am not exaggerating. It was so difficult to read. But I worked it out.
The next day I went to Corinth which was honestly the best day I have had at Semester at Sea. It was the most random thing for me to go but I took some advice I got and found my way there. I had to catch the metro to Athens from Pireaus, then from Athens a train to some other place then another hour train to Corinth, then a bus to Ancient Corinth. But it was so worth it. When I got to ancient Corinth it was so peaceful. It was so completely off the beaten path. I did not see any tourists and I definitely didn’t see Semester at Sea people. The only people that I saw when I got to the ancient sites which had the Temple of Apollo and all these artifacts, was one family from Sweden and that’s it. No one was there. I loved it. It was the nicest, most memorable cultural experience I have ever had. I ate at this aaaaaaamazing restaurant and had chicken souvlaki dish. Im not even going to waste my time and try to describe the meal I ate. It was that good. Then I walked around the little shops and just talked to all the people. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to know where I was from and how I liked Greece. Another side bar, very few people that I have had conversations with in Europe think I’m American. Its so funny. Here is a God’s honest list of all the ethnicities I have gotten while being in the Mediterranean: Spanish (from Spain), Swedish, Portuguese, Dominican, Turkish, Moroccan, Canadian…?, South American, and my favorite, Brazilian. I’m leaving something out but these are the ones I can remember. As soon as I finally tell them I’m American they don’t believe me. And the next thing they yell is “BARACK OBAAAMAAA”!!! I think its so cool. But then it hits me that these people all the way on the other side of the ocean know who my president is and I sadly, but honestly, don’t even know what type of governmental structure they have. It is mind blowing. You don’t realize how much of an impact America has in the world until you are outside of it. I am actually embarrassed about my ignorance on a lot of things in the world. We are so focused on ourselves that we neglect the issues of the world unless is has to do with money or some mundane event that has no significance to anything. It is a problem that the Greeks no Barack Obama and I don’t know whether they have a president or a prime minister. Since I’m on the topic of my cultural experiences, which I haven’t really talked about much on my little blog, I have noticed that I get treated very differently in these countries than some of my friends on the ship that are darker skinned or even the ones who have that “All American” blonde hair, blue eyes look. Its very interesting to observe how people change the way they treat others depending on where in the world they think you are from. I, fortunately and unfortunately, get treated way better and have encountered a super lower level of racism, rudeness, or any other negative thing that comes with being a tourist, in comparison to my friends who seem to, visually, fit into a stereotypical box that some of these Europeans have made important. I realize that it is obviously because of the way I look, the color of my skin and my hair and my facial features, that I can “pass” for a lot of things that I am not, but it is crazy how looking a certain way, dressing in certain clothes, being a certain skin color really dictates how a group of people treat you. I have learned that a lot of issues we see in American are just as prevalent over here, if not worse. I talk about social constructs and issues dealing with race, class and gender as well as the global impact of the American culture in the world everyday single day in class so I really don’t want to write too much more about it on here. So I digress. Back to Greece. I went a gorgeous island about an hour off the coast of Pireaus, the water was clear for miles and it was waist deep and the perfect temperature. I didn’t want to leave but unfortunately, we had to. I don’t really know how to describe what I experience while I’ve been here. It is just too much to put into words. Everything is so enlightening. I am learning so much in ways I never thought I could and from people, places and things that I only dreamed and imagined coming in contact with. I loved Greece. I know I will be back, just how I know I’ll be back to all the countries I have visited. I didn’t get to see a lot of the places that I wanted to while in Greece but I honestly don’t even care because that just leaves me with something to look forward to the next time around. I really need to stop writing these blogs so late because I get so tired! I’m actually in Turkey right now. Well in the waters off the coast of Turkey. I am waking up at 5 in the morning…in four hours to watch us pull into Istanbul. I am so completely excited I cant describe it. I am so ready for a change in culture. Tomorrow will be the official shift between the Western world and the “other” world. We will no longer be in Christian dominated society. The things that, while being European, are very much standard ways of living for us Americans, will be completely different in the last four countries of this voyage. I cant wait to truly truly experience something so different than what I’m used to. Greek and Italy and Spain and especially Croatia were so amazing and so beautiful but I am so ready for Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt and Morocco. Im going to sleep now. I have to wake up soon and watch the sunrise over the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey….doesn’t that just sound out of this world????
GREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECE! Beautiful. Beautiful. Beautiful. This country is gorgeous. The first day in Greece, I went to Athens to see the Acropolis. Honestly, the Acropolis was not that great to see. The experience in itself was remarkable but the whole area was under reconstruction. There was scaffolding everywhere and it was the hottest day of the year in Greece that day. Of course the hottest day of the year would be the day that we decide to go the treeless, shade less waterless Acropolis. But the view from the top of the mountain was gorgeous and literally breathtaking. I saw the first Olympic stadium, the gate of Alexander the Great, the Agean Sea was behind us and all the beautiful homes whose rooftops were literally glistening in the sunlight. It felt like we walked for miles and miles and miles that day to get to all the sites. I think the fact that I have just been to Rome a week and a half before Greece, all the ruins and ancient sites kind of meshed together. I kept calling Athens, Rome and I think my brain was on ancient ruin overdrive. We walked around all the shops and neighborhood markets and we found this amazing, praise worthy establishment located on the corner of Matistraki…..it made GYYYYYYYYYYYROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am obsessed with Gyros. They are the best tasting thing on the planet, next to Gelatto, which, sidebar, Greece had none. I was very sad, needless to say, and the ice cream I did taste was so horrible I threw it away. So if you go to Greece, avoid the ice cream and buy thousands of Gyros. In Greece I realized even more how amazing of a bargainer I am. I talked down every single thing that I bought in Greece that wasn’t a gyro. I paid full price for nothing. I am an amazing negotiator. Thanks Greece for helping me to realize that. Ok so lets talk briefly about the Greek language, not so much the language, which is not thaaaaat hard to grasp, buuuut the LETTERS ARE OUT OF THIS WORLD! They still use the Greek letters and language from 4000 years ago. I am not exaggerating. It was so difficult to read. But I worked it out.
The next day I went to Corinth which was honestly the best day I have had at Semester at Sea. It was the most random thing for me to go but I took some advice I got and found my way there. I had to catch the metro to Athens from Pireaus, then from Athens a train to some other place then another hour train to Corinth, then a bus to Ancient Corinth. But it was so worth it. When I got to ancient Corinth it was so peaceful. It was so completely off the beaten path. I did not see any tourists and I definitely didn’t see Semester at Sea people. The only people that I saw when I got to the ancient sites which had the Temple of Apollo and all these artifacts, was one family from Sweden and that’s it. No one was there. I loved it. It was the nicest, most memorable cultural experience I have ever had. I ate at this aaaaaaamazing restaurant and had chicken souvlaki dish. Im not even going to waste my time and try to describe the meal I ate. It was that good. Then I walked around the little shops and just talked to all the people. Everyone was so friendly and wanted to know where I was from and how I liked Greece. Another side bar, very few people that I have had conversations with in Europe think I’m American. Its so funny. Here is a God’s honest list of all the ethnicities I have gotten while being in the Mediterranean: Spanish (from Spain), Swedish, Portuguese, Dominican, Turkish, Moroccan, Canadian…?, South American, and my favorite, Brazilian. I’m leaving something out but these are the ones I can remember. As soon as I finally tell them I’m American they don’t believe me. And the next thing they yell is “BARACK OBAAAMAAA”!!! I think its so cool. But then it hits me that these people all the way on the other side of the ocean know who my president is and I sadly, but honestly, don’t even know what type of governmental structure they have. It is mind blowing. You don’t realize how much of an impact America has in the world until you are outside of it. I am actually embarrassed about my ignorance on a lot of things in the world. We are so focused on ourselves that we neglect the issues of the world unless is has to do with money or some mundane event that has no significance to anything. It is a problem that the Greeks no Barack Obama and I don’t know whether they have a president or a prime minister. Since I’m on the topic of my cultural experiences, which I haven’t really talked about much on my little blog, I have noticed that I get treated very differently in these countries than some of my friends on the ship that are darker skinned or even the ones who have that “All American” blonde hair, blue eyes look. Its very interesting to observe how people change the way they treat others depending on where in the world they think you are from. I, fortunately and unfortunately, get treated way better and have encountered a super lower level of racism, rudeness, or any other negative thing that comes with being a tourist, in comparison to my friends who seem to, visually, fit into a stereotypical box that some of these Europeans have made important. I realize that it is obviously because of the way I look, the color of my skin and my hair and my facial features, that I can “pass” for a lot of things that I am not, but it is crazy how looking a certain way, dressing in certain clothes, being a certain skin color really dictates how a group of people treat you. I have learned that a lot of issues we see in American are just as prevalent over here, if not worse. I talk about social constructs and issues dealing with race, class and gender as well as the global impact of the American culture in the world everyday single day in class so I really don’t want to write too much more about it on here. So I digress. Back to Greece. I went a gorgeous island about an hour off the coast of Pireaus, the water was clear for miles and it was waist deep and the perfect temperature. I didn’t want to leave but unfortunately, we had to. I don’t really know how to describe what I experience while I’ve been here. It is just too much to put into words. Everything is so enlightening. I am learning so much in ways I never thought I could and from people, places and things that I only dreamed and imagined coming in contact with. I loved Greece. I know I will be back, just how I know I’ll be back to all the countries I have visited. I didn’t get to see a lot of the places that I wanted to while in Greece but I honestly don’t even care because that just leaves me with something to look forward to the next time around. I really need to stop writing these blogs so late because I get so tired! I’m actually in Turkey right now. Well in the waters off the coast of Turkey. I am waking up at 5 in the morning…in four hours to watch us pull into Istanbul. I am so completely excited I cant describe it. I am so ready for a change in culture. Tomorrow will be the official shift between the Western world and the “other” world. We will no longer be in Christian dominated society. The things that, while being European, are very much standard ways of living for us Americans, will be completely different in the last four countries of this voyage. I cant wait to truly truly experience something so different than what I’m used to. Greek and Italy and Spain and especially Croatia were so amazing and so beautiful but I am so ready for Turkey, Bulgaria, Egypt and Morocco. Im going to sleep now. I have to wake up soon and watch the sunrise over the Hagia Sofia in Istanbul, Turkey….doesn’t that just sound out of this world????
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Olympics!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 12th !!!! Today was another awesome day!!! It was our Summer 2009 Sea OLYMPICS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Every floor has different halls called “Seas”. These seas consist of the Baltic, Aegean, Mediterranean, Yellow, Adriatic, Red, Bering, Arabian and my sea, the best Sea THE CARRIBEAN SEA!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were the Pirates of the Caribbean….cute right…I know. Every team had to wear a specific color for their sea and our color was orange. Not y favorite, but I made it work. We made up a chant, we had posters, people painted their faces, we had a mascot ( a girl down the hall dressed up as the most amazing pirate ever in life, I gave her my huge hoop earring which was the icing on the cake). The Olympics had 10 ridiculous events where each sea had to compete against each other to gain points. The events were synchronized swimming, Pictionary, paper boat racing in the pool, tug of war, jeopardy, lip sync competition, dodge ball tourney, relay race and Sea Makeover.
I was a proud member of the Silver Medal Winning Synchronized Swimming team. There were six of us in the little pool and we reenacted the theme song to Captain Planet. Do you remember that song?
“Captain planet, he’s our hero. Gonna take pollution down to zero. He’s our powers magnified. And he’s fighting on the planets side. We are planeteers and you can be one too. Cuz saving our planet s the thing to do. Looting and polluting is not the way. Here what captain planet has to say!!! Blah Blah Blah…THE POWER IS YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I was water of course. It was golden. I have videos, but there are too embarrassing to show, so don’t ask. We lost by 6 points. I was very upset but the other team did back flips into the pool and carried some guy above the water in a yellow banana float, so I guess we really couldn’t compete with that. I also was a proud member of the jeopardy team. Which was a joke. We didn’t win. Lets not talk about that….but my shining moment! The LIP SYN COMPETETION! I was none other than Scary Spice from the Spice Girls. I made my hair as big and curly as I could possibly get it. I was no longer Nexus…I transformed into Scary Spice. Me and 4 other girls performed the most amazing rendition of the Spice Girls Classic “If You Wanna Be My Lover”. I was the best one. The judges even said so. There is also video of that. But you will never see it! Overall my team came in 2nd place out of all the teams so I was very happy! We should have won , but unfortunately we got disqualified from the boat racing competition because our team member’s elbow hit the water as he was being held by the ankles over the pool blowing his boat across the water with a straw. I love Semester At Sea. I really really really love it. I played fake Olympics on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean in July on whatever day of the week it is. I seriously have no idea what day it is. I know the actual date but I have no clue if its Monday or Friday. It doesn’t really matter either. I like not knowing. I t shows me how unimportant some things really are.
Tomorrow I will be in Greece. I wrote a list one time of the top 20 places I wanted to go to before I die and Greece was top five. For some reason I never ever thought I would actually make it here. But in a few hours, 7 to be exact I will be in Athens, Greece. Its unreal. This whole trip is a dream. It has to be. Its too incredible to be real. Tonight the moon was red. RED. And it looked like it was sitting on top of the water. I was literally looking at a red moon at eye level. I didn’t have to look up to see the moon. It was right in front of my face. I don’t know what was going on but it was mesmerizing. I seriously stopped in my tracks and just stared at the red moon. At first I didn’t think it was real, but the people with me were staring at it too so it had to be. I also saw a shooting star tonight for the first time in my life. I’ve always missed them or saw the very last sparkle of one, but tonight, next to a red moon, I saw a shooting star. Needless to say I made a wish. I really need to go to sleep. I never sleep here. Its horrible. But there is always something going on, something to talk about, something to look at. I just cant get to sleep at a decent time. Its 2:26 in the morning right now, its only 7:26pm yesterday for you all. It is so weird. I’m in the future to whoever is reading this hahaha. The past was fun, enjoy it while you’re there. Trust me, I will have some more stories as soon as I get back from beautiful, beautiful Greece. Peace to the Middle East and a bottle of hair grease.
I was a proud member of the Silver Medal Winning Synchronized Swimming team. There were six of us in the little pool and we reenacted the theme song to Captain Planet. Do you remember that song?
“Captain planet, he’s our hero. Gonna take pollution down to zero. He’s our powers magnified. And he’s fighting on the planets side. We are planeteers and you can be one too. Cuz saving our planet s the thing to do. Looting and polluting is not the way. Here what captain planet has to say!!! Blah Blah Blah…THE POWER IS YOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
I was water of course. It was golden. I have videos, but there are too embarrassing to show, so don’t ask. We lost by 6 points. I was very upset but the other team did back flips into the pool and carried some guy above the water in a yellow banana float, so I guess we really couldn’t compete with that. I also was a proud member of the jeopardy team. Which was a joke. We didn’t win. Lets not talk about that….but my shining moment! The LIP SYN COMPETETION! I was none other than Scary Spice from the Spice Girls. I made my hair as big and curly as I could possibly get it. I was no longer Nexus…I transformed into Scary Spice. Me and 4 other girls performed the most amazing rendition of the Spice Girls Classic “If You Wanna Be My Lover”. I was the best one. The judges even said so. There is also video of that. But you will never see it! Overall my team came in 2nd place out of all the teams so I was very happy! We should have won , but unfortunately we got disqualified from the boat racing competition because our team member’s elbow hit the water as he was being held by the ankles over the pool blowing his boat across the water with a straw. I love Semester At Sea. I really really really love it. I played fake Olympics on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean in July on whatever day of the week it is. I seriously have no idea what day it is. I know the actual date but I have no clue if its Monday or Friday. It doesn’t really matter either. I like not knowing. I t shows me how unimportant some things really are.
Tomorrow I will be in Greece. I wrote a list one time of the top 20 places I wanted to go to before I die and Greece was top five. For some reason I never ever thought I would actually make it here. But in a few hours, 7 to be exact I will be in Athens, Greece. Its unreal. This whole trip is a dream. It has to be. Its too incredible to be real. Tonight the moon was red. RED. And it looked like it was sitting on top of the water. I was literally looking at a red moon at eye level. I didn’t have to look up to see the moon. It was right in front of my face. I don’t know what was going on but it was mesmerizing. I seriously stopped in my tracks and just stared at the red moon. At first I didn’t think it was real, but the people with me were staring at it too so it had to be. I also saw a shooting star tonight for the first time in my life. I’ve always missed them or saw the very last sparkle of one, but tonight, next to a red moon, I saw a shooting star. Needless to say I made a wish. I really need to go to sleep. I never sleep here. Its horrible. But there is always something going on, something to talk about, something to look at. I just cant get to sleep at a decent time. Its 2:26 in the morning right now, its only 7:26pm yesterday for you all. It is so weird. I’m in the future to whoever is reading this hahaha. The past was fun, enjoy it while you’re there. Trust me, I will have some more stories as soon as I get back from beautiful, beautiful Greece. Peace to the Middle East and a bottle of hair grease.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Croatia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
July 10th, 2009 11:12 pm my time so….5:12 pm your time….DOBER DAN!!! That means hello in Croatian. Now, I know that I said Spain was great. I remember vaguely saying I was in love with Italy. But seriously, all jokes aside, I am infatuated with Croatia. This is the nicest place I have ever been to in my whole existence. I know that I say that a lot but this place is incredible. It is absolutely gorgeous. A lot of people don’t even know where Croatia is and I hope it stays that way so tourists (Americans) don’t come here and destroy the place. I have been on the most beautiful beaches in the world. These are some of the nicest, most laid back people alive and the scenery here is ridiculous. There are tree covered, sand less beaches, mountains, grass, forests, hills, ocean, everything, all that pretty stuff we see on the discovery channel and on the cover of Travel Magazine . I can not explain it. It’s just gorgeous here. And the best part of all of this is……………….for every 1 US Dollar you get 5 Croatian Dollars called Kunas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Soooooooooooooooooo clearly we were all ballin out here in Croatia! I felt like a millionaire. But I think I only spent maybe 100 dollars the entire time here because everything is so ridiculously inexpensive!
The first day we got to Dubrovnik, I had a tour of the City Walls. This place is located in the “Old Town” of Dubrovnik, which is amazing! The walls are built all around the border of the town and you can see all the coral colored rooftops of people’s houses and all the walls overlook the crystal blue Adriatic Sea. After the city walls tour we just walked around the town. There were so many markets and events going on and everyone is so nice and helpful and they speak English which is cool too. This blog writing thing is hard. Im trying to tell a story but I really just want to list all the amazing things I did while I was in the best country in the world…aka Croatia….
I went to the Island of Lopud which has most beautiful beach and scenery alive or in existence or whatever. Its about 40 minutes off the coast of Dubrovnik. The water is clear as a bathtub. Oh fyi it is ridiculously hot here. Like 1000000 degrees.
I went to a Croatian festival where I saw a Croatian Opera, a Croatian play and traditional folklore dancing. This was all an accident of course. We kind of just stumbled into it.
Semester at Sea as an entity is banned from a club called East West which is located right on the beach, because we, excluding myself, so I should say they, destroyed the place from dancing all over all the furniture and everything. That was probably the most ridiculous night of my life. That’s another story in itself. Maybe some other time.
I went to another island that had no sand, just huge rocks to lay on in the middle of the Adriatic Sea that is full of wild peacocks everywhere which was sooooo incredible. I jumped off the rocks in to the sea which was so much fun. But the weird part was we were next to the part of the beach that was, unbeknownst to me J a nudist beach….in more detail, an elderly nudist beach, so there were some moments where if I looked in the wrong spot at the right time I had a problem. But that island was amazing. It was called Lokrum. I loved it.
I went cliff diving off a 45 foot cliff in the sea on the side of a restaurant that had the most amazing view in the whole wide world. It took me about 56008349839274 hours to finally do it but I did it and it was amazing!!!! Grace is going to be mad, but I don’t think she will read this anytime soon so I’m going to tell everyone this story which is the funniest thing ever….the day of our City Walls tour, Grace, my roommate here and at school, for those of you who don’t know who my little Gracefurd is, jumped off the cliff too but a much higher one and she thought she was soooo cool that she decided to jump off the cliff in her clothes because she didn’t have her bathing suit, soooo this genius jumped off and when she hit the water she sat down into it and split her shorts right up the middle and her butt was hanging out for the rest of the day hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This was after our city walls tour so we all had to walk back on the bus to go back home…well back to the ship which is now home and everyone saw her polka dot underwear!! It was hilarious!!!! I love her!!!
Anyway, we met Dhani Jones who used to play for the New York Giants but now he has a show on the travel channel where he goes to all these random countries and tries all their sports and dare devil type stuff and he’s kind of my new best friend now and me and my friends are more than likely going to be on the Croatian episode on the Travel Channel jumping off the cliff because he was filming when we got there and the camera man filmed each of our jumps. So……look out for that. Hahahhahaha I love life!!! Croatia is amazing! Please whoever is reading this… try to visit. It’s the best place ever. I don’t feel like writing anymore. Oh but wait. I made a vow that I will never eat ice cream ever again in the United States of America. I know this is a shocker to most. BUT IM SERIOUS. After this trip, ice cream will never be the same. I don’t want to disappoint myself by eating that crap we call ice cream. So, world, I will never ever ever eat ice cream in the US of A again. Thanks. This has been a public service announcement.
I know that im leaving out a lot of stuff but there just so much that happened and too much to write and I’m the fastest typer in the world…so this is all I can do.
Hvala vam e dovidenja! (Thank you and goodnight in Croatian, don’t worry about pronouncing it)
Monday, July 6, 2009
Italia
July 5th 2009!!! Bonjourno!!!!!! Happy Belated Birthday America! Ok everyone I have soooo many stories to tell about Italia! Which is my new favorite country. I haven’t had anytime to write on this thing and I don’t even know where to begin. But here goes my attempt to tell you about the best five days of my life!
We pulled into Italy on July 1st into a port/city called CIVITAVECCHIA!! Now lets try to pronounce this: SIV-IT-TA-VEK-EE-YA…take a second to practice….ok moving on….as soon as we got there I got off the shipped and hopped on the first train to ROMA!!!!!! Omg I love Rome, I seriously seriously seriously love Rome! We took an hour train ride, that was probably the most crowded train I have ever been on in my whole life, I stood the whole time, but it was worth it. When we got to Rome, I was immediately in love. There were so many different types of people and food and shops and everyone was dressed soooooooo nice!!! I loooooooooooooooooove Italian fashion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well, not everyone was dressed so nice, I saw some ridiculous outfits hahahaha, but overall it was so nice to look at all that Rome had to offer.
Because my roommate and I are the least organized people alive, we didn’t have a hotel or hostel booked before we got to Rome, so we kinda figured we would just wander around until we found one. Soooo, we just started to walk, with aaaall our stuff on our backs. The streets of Rome are amazing. Its so strange to see modern shops and stores and restaurants intertwined with ancient ruins that I have read about and seen pictures of in all the stupid history books I’ve had to read. Of course, or first stop was food. We had some extremely good pizza at this little hole in the wall place and then…..my favorite thing in the entire universe……GELATO. THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING EVER INVENTED. ITS BETTER THAN THE LIGHT BULB, THE AIR PLANE, SLICED BREAD, EVERYTHING! Its Italian ice cream, but I swear it has to be made with special ingredients from God. I ate so much gelato in Rome its actually embarrassing. This stuff come in every single color, flavor, size, smell, everything. Omg I love that stuff. After that we walked towards the Colosseum. I almost passed out when I saw it. You don’t even realize that these ancient ruins will just pop up out of no where. I was literally walking down a street that had stores selling flags and shoes and all these random things, then I turn the corner and BAM! The freakin Colosseum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im still in shock that I saw it. I know so many people that have seen it while on vacation or something but its soooo different to study these places in such detail, take test on the information, dissect the history behind the structures, learn who built it, who was in power while it was built, how much it cost, why it was destroyed, then go see it. I cant put it into words, but its just incredible. The place is huuuugue. I can only imagine how immaculate it was before it was destroyed. We walked around the whole area around the colosseum and saw all the ruins and palaces in the area. It was crazy. People literally lived in apartments across the street from the colosseum. There view out their window EVERY SINGLE DAY is the Colosseum… I thought I was cool because I live on Broad Street in Philly….guess that’s out the window. We went the Roman Forum which is still sp preserved. It started raining and it was so cool to be stuck under a 3000 year old ruin while it pouring down rain. After we left there, when the rain stopped, the most dreadful thing in the world happened. MY CAMERA DIED. It just died on me. Shut off and did not turn back on. At all. I could have cried in the middle of the piazza. But luckily I had my phone so I got some shots on there. We walked all around Rome, we saw the gorgeous Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, all this cool stuff.
After about 12 hours of being homeless we finally found this run down, beat up hotel called Hotel Michigan. I walk in and the guy just looks at me and says nothing. So I look at him for a little and then the phone rings and he answers it. So I stand there while he has a wonderful conversation for about 7 minutes, clearly any other time I would have left the building, but my feet were throbbing, I was exhausted and everyone was half a second from passing out on the couches in the lobby. So finally he gets off the phone and says “Prego?’ I think that means what do you want, thank you, hello, goodbye, your welcome and something else in Italian because they say it for everything. So I responded, “ Can I sleep here?!” I was irritated by that point, like why else would I be standing at the desk at 1 in the morning. Anyway, he tells us the price for 4 people for one night in a double room. He said 100 euros, I said can I see the room…he said….ok…so we followed him back to the room. He opened the door and I almost burst out laughing. I asked him again the price for the room and he said 100 euros….i said….how about 80? He said……ok. Hahaha. I think he was drunk but whatever. So let me tell you about this room. The window faced a wall. Not one piece of furniture matched. There were three beds in the room all hard as rock. HARD AS ROCK. The closet door was hanging off the hinges and the best part………….the BATHROOM! The shower was nothing more than a hose with a shower head attached to the end with a drain on the floor. There was no tub or curtain and the shower was 5 inches from the shower so you could use the bathroom and shower all at the same time is that’s what your into. There was a fan in there that turned on when you turned on the light and it sounded like 1000 old men snoring. Needless to say this room was amazing. We had the best sleep ever and laughed so hard our stomachs hurt.
The next day grace and I left our other two friends while they went to see the leaning tower of Pisa. We went off to the Vatican. I really cant put into words how beautiful the Vatican is. I really really cant describe it. The art I saw was magnificent. The architect of each room was spectacular. Skipping all that stuff…let me get to my favorite part. The SISTINE CHAPEL. OMG IT WAS GORGEOUS BREATHTAKING AMAZING SPECTACULAR STUPENDOUS SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOIOUS ADAKJDHKAJSHDKJASKHASKJFHAKSFAK! I was in shock. The room was huge every inch of the place was covered in beauty from floor to ceiling. I cant believe a human created such magnificence. I almost got arrested by Vatican Police because I was taking pictures but I sweet talked my way out of the whole jail in a foreign country thing. I advise everyone to try to go to Rome before they die, at least once. After seeing all that cool stuff we went to St. Peters Basilica. The largest church in the entire world. It was ridiculous. Every inch of this place had an angel or a saint or a picture or some type of ornate detail. I think I could literally spend weeks inside that place in order to see everything in there. Gorgeous. The nuns were singing when I walked in and I almost cried. It sounded so beautiful and it echoed throughout the entire church. I really wanted to see the pope but we were too late for mass. As we were we leaving, we walked to the main doors in the lobby area and the sky started turning all grey and it started thundering and lightening. I really think it was the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. Then all of a sudden it started pouring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like hard core rain. But the sun was still peeking through the clouds. Then, the most magnificent sight I could have possibly seen happened while I was standing at the door. It started hailing! The hail was the size of baseballs. It was ……I cant describe it. It was just amazing. All of Saint Peters Square cleared out. There wasn’t one single person to be seen. It was amazing. I watched a hail storm in St Peters Basilica in July. It was unreal. I cant really write anymore…it has taken me almost 3 days to write this. I’ve been really busy. But ill try to stay on top of this blog thing a little better…im getting complaints. Ill be in Croatia tomorrow. They are known for having the most beautiful beaches in the world. So im pumped.
Omg omg omg I almost forgot to tell you about CAPRI! The most gorgeous island I’ve ever been to. I feel like everything is the most something I’ve ever seen or been to or heard or whatever. But its ok. I loved Capri. It was beautiful. I’m moving there when I become a millionaire. And I will be a millionaire. Basically Italy rocked. Bye everyone. More after Croatia.
We pulled into Italy on July 1st into a port/city called CIVITAVECCHIA!! Now lets try to pronounce this: SIV-IT-TA-VEK-EE-YA…take a second to practice….ok moving on….as soon as we got there I got off the shipped and hopped on the first train to ROMA!!!!!! Omg I love Rome, I seriously seriously seriously love Rome! We took an hour train ride, that was probably the most crowded train I have ever been on in my whole life, I stood the whole time, but it was worth it. When we got to Rome, I was immediately in love. There were so many different types of people and food and shops and everyone was dressed soooooooo nice!!! I loooooooooooooooooove Italian fashion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! well, not everyone was dressed so nice, I saw some ridiculous outfits hahahaha, but overall it was so nice to look at all that Rome had to offer.
Because my roommate and I are the least organized people alive, we didn’t have a hotel or hostel booked before we got to Rome, so we kinda figured we would just wander around until we found one. Soooo, we just started to walk, with aaaall our stuff on our backs. The streets of Rome are amazing. Its so strange to see modern shops and stores and restaurants intertwined with ancient ruins that I have read about and seen pictures of in all the stupid history books I’ve had to read. Of course, or first stop was food. We had some extremely good pizza at this little hole in the wall place and then…..my favorite thing in the entire universe……GELATO. THIS IS MY FAVORITE THING EVER INVENTED. ITS BETTER THAN THE LIGHT BULB, THE AIR PLANE, SLICED BREAD, EVERYTHING! Its Italian ice cream, but I swear it has to be made with special ingredients from God. I ate so much gelato in Rome its actually embarrassing. This stuff come in every single color, flavor, size, smell, everything. Omg I love that stuff. After that we walked towards the Colosseum. I almost passed out when I saw it. You don’t even realize that these ancient ruins will just pop up out of no where. I was literally walking down a street that had stores selling flags and shoes and all these random things, then I turn the corner and BAM! The freakin Colosseum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im still in shock that I saw it. I know so many people that have seen it while on vacation or something but its soooo different to study these places in such detail, take test on the information, dissect the history behind the structures, learn who built it, who was in power while it was built, how much it cost, why it was destroyed, then go see it. I cant put it into words, but its just incredible. The place is huuuugue. I can only imagine how immaculate it was before it was destroyed. We walked around the whole area around the colosseum and saw all the ruins and palaces in the area. It was crazy. People literally lived in apartments across the street from the colosseum. There view out their window EVERY SINGLE DAY is the Colosseum… I thought I was cool because I live on Broad Street in Philly….guess that’s out the window. We went the Roman Forum which is still sp preserved. It started raining and it was so cool to be stuck under a 3000 year old ruin while it pouring down rain. After we left there, when the rain stopped, the most dreadful thing in the world happened. MY CAMERA DIED. It just died on me. Shut off and did not turn back on. At all. I could have cried in the middle of the piazza. But luckily I had my phone so I got some shots on there. We walked all around Rome, we saw the gorgeous Trevi Fountain, the Spanish Steps, all this cool stuff.
After about 12 hours of being homeless we finally found this run down, beat up hotel called Hotel Michigan. I walk in and the guy just looks at me and says nothing. So I look at him for a little and then the phone rings and he answers it. So I stand there while he has a wonderful conversation for about 7 minutes, clearly any other time I would have left the building, but my feet were throbbing, I was exhausted and everyone was half a second from passing out on the couches in the lobby. So finally he gets off the phone and says “Prego?’ I think that means what do you want, thank you, hello, goodbye, your welcome and something else in Italian because they say it for everything. So I responded, “ Can I sleep here?!” I was irritated by that point, like why else would I be standing at the desk at 1 in the morning. Anyway, he tells us the price for 4 people for one night in a double room. He said 100 euros, I said can I see the room…he said….ok…so we followed him back to the room. He opened the door and I almost burst out laughing. I asked him again the price for the room and he said 100 euros….i said….how about 80? He said……ok. Hahaha. I think he was drunk but whatever. So let me tell you about this room. The window faced a wall. Not one piece of furniture matched. There were three beds in the room all hard as rock. HARD AS ROCK. The closet door was hanging off the hinges and the best part………….the BATHROOM! The shower was nothing more than a hose with a shower head attached to the end with a drain on the floor. There was no tub or curtain and the shower was 5 inches from the shower so you could use the bathroom and shower all at the same time is that’s what your into. There was a fan in there that turned on when you turned on the light and it sounded like 1000 old men snoring. Needless to say this room was amazing. We had the best sleep ever and laughed so hard our stomachs hurt.
The next day grace and I left our other two friends while they went to see the leaning tower of Pisa. We went off to the Vatican. I really cant put into words how beautiful the Vatican is. I really really cant describe it. The art I saw was magnificent. The architect of each room was spectacular. Skipping all that stuff…let me get to my favorite part. The SISTINE CHAPEL. OMG IT WAS GORGEOUS BREATHTAKING AMAZING SPECTACULAR STUPENDOUS SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPEALIDOIOUS ADAKJDHKAJSHDKJASKHASKJFHAKSFAK! I was in shock. The room was huge every inch of the place was covered in beauty from floor to ceiling. I cant believe a human created such magnificence. I almost got arrested by Vatican Police because I was taking pictures but I sweet talked my way out of the whole jail in a foreign country thing. I advise everyone to try to go to Rome before they die, at least once. After seeing all that cool stuff we went to St. Peters Basilica. The largest church in the entire world. It was ridiculous. Every inch of this place had an angel or a saint or a picture or some type of ornate detail. I think I could literally spend weeks inside that place in order to see everything in there. Gorgeous. The nuns were singing when I walked in and I almost cried. It sounded so beautiful and it echoed throughout the entire church. I really wanted to see the pope but we were too late for mass. As we were we leaving, we walked to the main doors in the lobby area and the sky started turning all grey and it started thundering and lightening. I really think it was the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard. Then all of a sudden it started pouring!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Like hard core rain. But the sun was still peeking through the clouds. Then, the most magnificent sight I could have possibly seen happened while I was standing at the door. It started hailing! The hail was the size of baseballs. It was ……I cant describe it. It was just amazing. All of Saint Peters Square cleared out. There wasn’t one single person to be seen. It was amazing. I watched a hail storm in St Peters Basilica in July. It was unreal. I cant really write anymore…it has taken me almost 3 days to write this. I’ve been really busy. But ill try to stay on top of this blog thing a little better…im getting complaints. Ill be in Croatia tomorrow. They are known for having the most beautiful beaches in the world. So im pumped.
Omg omg omg I almost forgot to tell you about CAPRI! The most gorgeous island I’ve ever been to. I feel like everything is the most something I’ve ever seen or been to or heard or whatever. But its ok. I loved Capri. It was beautiful. I’m moving there when I become a millionaire. And I will be a millionaire. Basically Italy rocked. Bye everyone. More after Croatia.
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