Updates from SAS!

Ahhh I can't believe it is somehow August 10th!!! I realize I have not
updated this on Greece, Italy, Malta, France, or Spain and I'm really
sorry for that! Just know I've been having an INCREDIBLE time and
couldn't be happier!
Schoolwork on ship is nuts and way more demanding than what I was
expecting. I have been so overwhelmed these past couple of days it's
crazy. It's frustrating because I only need two of these courses so
it's hard to be motivated.
Happy belated 21st to my main girl Brit!!! Miss and love you xooxxo.
We only have about two weeks left of Semester At Sea--it's SO CRAZY
how fast this summer has flown by I don't understand! We only have two
ports left, Cadiz Spain and Lisbon Portugal. We arrive to Cadiz
tomorrow.
It's so crazy to me how people are already arriving to UD..I'm sad to
be missing out on the weeks before classes start and syllabus
week..but at the same time I never want to leave Semester At Sea. I'm
happy I get to go straight from England to a couple days home to
unpack/pack, then head straight to UD. I love and miss my friends and
can't wait to be back, but at the same time I never want this global
experience to end.
My phone was stolen in Malta while I was dancing so it's kind of hard
to contact me. The best way is through email at leah.francis.su13@semesteratsea.org
however our email network has been down the majority of the time
while on ship which is frustrating being that we don't get wifi/
internet.
Miss you all, hope all is well! See you all in two weeks :)

Cappadocia Pictures!

Phone STOLEN

I know I am still behind with my updates for some countries, but I
needed to post this in case anyone has been trying to get ahold of me.
Last night in the country of Malta I was dancing at a bar with my
phone zipped in my purse in a pocket on the inside, and somehow
someone managed to unzip it, steal it, and zip it back without me
noticing! I literally got my iphone 5 the day I left for Semester at
Sea a month and a half ago and it's already gone. The worst part is
that I lost most my pictures from Florence, and then all of my
pictures from Rome and Malta. This really is unfortunate but it has
happened to so many people on our program that I can't be too upset.
Things could always be worse. I'm hoping I have insurance, otherwise
I'm going back to my Motorola Razr lolz. To contact me at all, email
me at leah.francis.su13@semesteratsea.org ! I will only have access to
that on ship days and there's only like 8 of those left, but I will be
back in the US in three to four weeks so I can manage! EMAIL ME PLEASE
I miss all of you so much <3

Cappadocia--Best Experience of My Life!!!

Literally though, Cappadocia was INCREDIBLE!!! While my shipmates
spent time in Kusadasi, Turkey (where our ship ported), I hopped on
our field program's bus and headed to our first stop. We went to
Ephesus, which is one of the seven ancient wonders of the world. The
ruins were very cool, but we were extremely rushed since we had two
planes to catch and there was a crazy amount of tourists there. SAS
was courteous enough to give us box lunches which not surprisingly had
a hard boiled egg and one cold chicken wing among other items (no
surprise). We then made it to the airport where we got on our first
plane. This took us to Istanbul, which was kind of cool since we were
otherwise banned from going to Istanbul due to all the riots, but I
can say that I made it there even if it was just at the airport! We
managed to get wifi for a solid half hour in the airport which truly
is a blessing after going without it for so long. I'm not sure if I've
ever mentioned it, but we have no means of communication on the ship
except for emailing (which rarely works) and the cabin phones.
Whenever we get on land and connect to a restaurant or somewhere's
wifi it is the most amazing thing. It's kind of funny after ten
minutes of being on your phone, looking up and realizing that your
entire group is on their phone and no one is talking to each
other...the locals must think Americans are technology obsessed and
antisocial haha but it really is just the best feeling to feel
connected again after a long time without it! Anyways, we got on our
next plane (they both were super fast and about an hour for each one)
where we got another full meal which was great! We finally arrived and
did a bus tour to the hotel. On the way we stopped briefly to look at
the 'fairy chimneys' which are the rock towers that cover the
Cappadocia landscapes. I was truly amazed at the sight. Long ago there
was a volcano that covered the entire terrain with magma and ash. The
wealthy people at the time thought the land was useless, but the poor
people took advantage of this land and sculpted out the giant 'fairy
chimney' rocks to make houses and buildings and their very own city. I
have never seen anything like it before. We then continued on and
arrived at our hotel Dinler. I found out my roommate was a girl named
Sasha and she was really nice! It actually worked out perfectly since
we were so similar! We had an amazing dinner with buffet style food. I
probably gained five pounds alone that night. We then went to a
Whirling Dirvishes show, which was a religious ceremony. I wish I
would have read the brochure before it began because I was extremely
confused during the performance. I realized after I read the brochure
that it was a representation of how the world is always revolving, and
the men twirling represents their revolution through life. It was very
interesting and different. Apparently they have been training since
age six to do this performance, so that's pretty cool! We then went
back to the hotel and ordered a couple of drinks. I wasn't sure what
to get so I asked the bartender to make his any cocktail he wanted. He
told me he would make me a 'love on Cappadocia' drink. I was very
interested when I saw him carving an apple and when he gave us our
drinks I saw that he had carved a heart and a star out of the apple
and put it on the side of our drinks! I had a great night casually
drinking with new friends! Everyone who went on the field program was
very nice and it was easy to make friends with everyone which was
great! I didn't go to bed until 1:30 and had to be up two hours later
at 3:30 am to leave for the hot air balloon ride (AHHHH!)

So two hours later I woke up, put on my Dayton Flyers (LOVE UD)
sweatshirt, and made a couple signs to bring with me on the hot air
balloon. We left the hotel and went to breakfast which didn't last
long since we were then told that "the first ten people out the door
get to go on the first hot air balloon". I obviously ran out the door
because I was so unbelievable excited. I honestly felt no fear at all
beforehand which I found to be interesting, since I definitely had
fear for jumping off little baby cliffs into the water, yet being
unbelievably high in the air in a basket seemed peaceful (that
probably makes no sense but updating this blog is hard enough so
whatevs). The hot air balloon was the BEST EXPERIENCE OF MY LIFE. If
you are a future SASer and somehow come across my blog, GO ON THE
CAPPADOCIA FIELD PROGRAM AND MAKE SURE TO SPEND THE EXTRA MONEY FOR
THE HOT AIR BALLOON. You will not regret it. No amount of money can
truly capture the sights I saw and the feelings I felt. It was
absolutely beautiful. It was so crazy to think that as I watched the
sun rise in Cappadocia Turkey in a hot air balloon over a beautifully
carved landscape, my friends and family could be watching the same
sunrise just seven hours later (eight hours for my st louis and
chicago friends). Even when I sometimes feel lonely being so
unbelievable far away from home, I remember that we are all seeing the
same sun rise, and the same sun set. And soon enough I will be
reunited with my friends, and will have so many experiences to share
with them. I would do anything to be able to go on that hot air
balloon again, with my loved ones so that they could partake in that
amazing experience as well! It blew my mind at how many hot air
balloons were up there at the same time as us, and the fact that there
were around 15 people in each balloon means that overall there were
hundreds and hundreds of people in the sky with me experiencing the
same awe and amazement as well! Those people could be from all over
the world, yet I am almost positive we probably were all thinking and
feeling the same things and sharing similar excitement.

The hot air balloon was much more stable and smooth than I thought it
was going to be. I was never once nervous about turbulence because it
was nonexistent. I felt extremely safe and the take off and landing
were very smooth. The balloon company treated us to champagne
afterwards and they let me pop the bottle! They then awarded us with
medals for completing the ride which I thought was very cute. Our main
guy Nigel kept mocking me saying "Oh my god!" which was quite
entertaining. He let us smash down the balloon after we were all out
of the basket, and then once the workers folded it up he spun me
around and tossed me into it! The hot air balloon ride was honestly
the highlight of my trip thus far and probably will be a highlight of
my life that I will always remember.

Afterwards we went back to the hotel and got another breakfast there.
We checked out and began our long day. The first place we went to was
by far my favorite of the trip besides the hot air balloon ride. We
went to an underground city which was built for defense purposes in
case anyone ever attacked them, they could strike back by using the
tunnels to catch the intruders off guard. This underground city went
nine stories deep and was INCREDIBLE. I honestly felt like I was a
child again exploring the playscape at McDonald's. We had to duck our
heads and twist our bodies as we made our way through the dark
passages and it was so so so cool! I could have stayed there and
explored for hours.

We went to a market outside of the underground city afterwards where I
bought more souvenirs (I have bought WAY too many already this trip
haha). We then went to Goreme Valley known for the 'Treasures of
Turkey'. Here the rock formations were sculpted out to reveal
religious aspects inside such as murals and graves and other sorts of
things. It was very different, but it was also very hot and we were
hungry. We then shopped some more, and then ate at Hanodas Restaurant
which was actually in a sculpted out rock peak which was so cool! We
had like a four course meal which was pretty good!! We then stopped at
a little village and went into a local shop. The store owner called
himself Crazy Alle and he gave us free postcards. He showed us his
book of poems and told us that he was going to be famous one day. I
then bought a souvenir from him but didn't quite have enough money
which I felt really bad about. On top of that, he then gave me and my
friend free beaded necklaces! His generosity was truly incredible.
Afterwards, we saw more of the Cappadocia landscape. These specific
rock formations resembled a certain part of the male body which we
could not quite get over. We then headed to our last spot, a family
pottery business. We watched the local man spin a beautiful piece of
pottery in a matter of a couple minutes. Then one of our SAS students
had the opportunity to do the same. We then explored the store and saw
absolutely breathtaking pottery, which was all hand made and hand
painted. I caved in and ended up buying a bright orange clock which
was made on the flip side of a plate. We then loaded into the bus and
heading to the first airport. We took this plane to Istanbul, and then
hopped on the last plane back to port. By the time we got back on the
ship it was nearly 1 in the morning. To say I was beyond delirious and
exhausted would be quite the understatement. The official names of the
places we went on this day are Goreme Valley, Urgup Town, Ortahisar,
Derinkuyu underground city, Zelve valley, Pasabag valley, and Avanos
town.

This field program was truly amazing. I met some amazing people on
this trip and wish it could have been longer. I will forever remember
this program and am so thankful for being able to go.

Oh and pictures will follow shortly!

Crete Pictures

Crete!!

Hello! The island of Crete in Greece was added to our itinerary as a
surprise when we learned it was not safe for us to go to Istanbul,
Turkey. So instead, they scheduled for us to go to Crete, Turkey, and
Kusadasi, Turkey. Crete was GREAT! The day before we arrived I was a
little nervous because I didn't have any plans for Crete. So I went to
the field program desk and ended up signing up for a day field program
trip on both Monday and Tuesday, even though I didn't know anyone
doing them. Although it was nerve racking doing it alone, it worked
out really well!

Monday's trip took us to the west side of the island, specifically the
old capital Chania (pronounced hen-ia) and Rethymno. We took a charter
bus and had a tour guide that was a local Cretan. She was extremely
informative and I learned a great amount about Crete and its long
history. One thing that I loved learning about was the Utkas
Mountains. When you looked at these mountains, you saw that the
mountain was actually shaped like Zeus' head laying down. It was
really fascinating once the tour guide pointed out that it was the
profile of a head, I couldn't see it as just mountains anymore. We
also learned that Crete has been passed among different empires over
and over again. They have been taken over by the Greeks, Venitians,
Turks, German, and more. There is evidence still in Crete of all these
different influences that is revealed through their architecture. Fun
Fact: Crete is second in the world for the largest consumers of olive
oil. We listened to Greek music the rest of the bus ride to Chania.
When we arrived, we walked through the markets to get to the harbor.
The harbor was beautiful, it looked straight out of a scene from
Venice. Chania used to be dominated by the Venitians and their
influence is still definitely apparent. We ate lunch on the water and
I ordered a plate of cheese (with feta) and a Greek Horitaki Salad. It
was very delicious and extremely filling. I then bought a bracelet and
necklace in the market on the way back to the bus. I was surprised
that out of the 18 or so people on the trip, there were only four
students including myself. One of the girls named Julia I had actually
had dinner with in London, so it was nice to see a familiar face. We
joined the other two girls for lunch and they were really nice! We
then got back on the bus and went to the next city of Rethymno. We
walked around, saw an Islamic Minaret, which is now just a historical
statue since all of Greece is orthodox. We also went shopping in the
markets and I got two worry beads and a dress. Worry beads are common
in Greece as an item to play with when anxious. We then got back on
the bus and headed back to Iraklion.

I ended up going out with the two girls I met earlier that day. Their
names are Andrea and Dana, and we were joined by two of their friends
Laney and Kassy. We took two cabs to a local hotel where more of their
friends were staying. I got a bottle of wine called Greca Terra at the
market for only 2.90 euros, so only like $4.50 US and it was good! It
tasted just like Barefoot. We had a lot of fun meeting new people and
hanging out in the hotel, and then we went to a nearby bar called
Senses. I got a few drinks there where I kept requesting them to put
monkeys in my drinks haha. It was a really cool atmosphere and I had a
lot of fun! We then took a taxi back to the ship to sleep since I had
an 8 am fireld program the next day and needed to be back. The ship is
pretty strict about students coming back after drinking so I was
questioned a bit while the guard decided whether or not I should spend
time in the 'Drunk Tank'. Thankfully, he realized I did not need it
and let me go. You do not want to go in the Drunk Tank because it's
basically an observation room and they charge you $100 every hour
you're in there. You aren't released until your BAC goes to 0 I
believe. And then you have to deal with consequences like having an
SAS hearing and what not and getting dock time (you have to wait on
ship at the next port instead of getting off). I had a ton of fun
Monday night and am so happy I decided to go out! My southside friends
would be proud of me for scolding someone who told me they were from
Chicago and I asked them where, and they said an hour away. No no no
not today! Hehe miss you gelsters. Anyways so it was a great night!
Almost got thrown in the 'drunk tank' since I came back to sleep on
the ship that night. The 'drunk tank' is when the ship security is
worried about your alcohol intoxication level, so they put you in the
observation room until they think you're sober and fine you $100 for
every hour you're in there. The security asked me what day of the week
it was, which of course I didn't know since no one on the ship knows
that even sober! Our ship is special in the aspect that we have class
days on ship and then port days, but these are not set days of the
week like monday through friday. It changes every week so no one is
ever aware of the day of the week! Luckily I got away with a warning,
but I wouldn't doubt if I get thrown in there at some point lolzies.

Tuesday I woke up bright and early for another field program. This one
again only had three students, where everyone else was a professor,
spouse, child, or lifelong learner. I didn't quite hit it off with the
other two students like the previous day but that was okay. First we
went to Gortus, which was the capital of island during the Roman
occupation. We saw the ancient forum and amphitheatre, St. Titus
Basilica, and saw the Doric Law Code carved into stone. It was very
hot and I was hungry, and it can best be described as a lot of rocks
and stones everywhere. I didn't realize the field trip I had signed up
for was focused on ruins, which isn't exactly a great interest of
mine. Next, we went to Festos (Phaestos), which is the second major
Minoan archaeological site of the island. It is situated on a hill
overlooking the Messara plain. The ruins of the palace here were
destroyed by fire and earthquake and were rebuilt shortly after. While
the remaining architecture was interesting, my main interest was in
the surrounding views. I was completely awed. Most of the amazing
views I have seen so far all have some source of water involved.This
landscape however, was of the mountains and I loved it. The wind was
blowing and it was just so peaceful being elevated above these
magnificent views. Afterwards we went to Malata Beach which was
beautiful. It had more markets, and the beach had rock cliffs which we
climbed and jumped off of. I wish I could say I jumped off a ten or
twenty foot one, but no mine was about three feet haha. I'm all about
taking risks and trying new things, but not when I don't know the area
and how deep the water is. We ate lunch where the students I was with
went around and asked everyone what we were passionate about. One girl
said she was obsessed with chemistry, another one said horse back
riding. To be honest, I don't have a hobby like that that I am
obsessed with. Instead, I told them I'm literally obsessed with my
school UD and passionate about my life and friends there. I am SO SO
SO in love with my school and friends it's unreal. I feel very lucky
for this because I know that's not the case for everyone. While it's a
little nerve racking that say teaching wasn't what came to mind for
what my passion is will be an issue I deal with later haha. I just
never want to leave UD! But anyways, we had a great time and then
headed back on the bus to the ship.

We had till 2100 before dock time so I managed to go to an internet
cafe and FINALLY uploaded London pictures to facebook. I still have to
upload Morocco, Antalya Turkey, Crete, Cappadocia Turkey, Athens,
Santorini, Florence, Rome, plus pictures while on the MV Explorer. I
feel so behind with everything, but I'll eventually catch up!

Wednesday July 10th was my beautiful big's 22nd birthday and if you're
reading this Riley, I love you so much and miss you like crazy!!!! I
can't wait to catch up on all our crazy hammy times from this summer
once we're back at UD and reunited. LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

As for everyone else, I really miss you all. I have pictures hanging
in my cabin here of all my friends and sometimes I get sad when I look
at them, but then I remember how lucky I am to have SO MANY wonderful
people in my life, and that I will be seeing you all shortly :)

PS now it's July 26th and I realized this would not post because the
pictures took up too much data, so I am just now posting it! I will do
a separate post with photos from Crete and then also catch up on
Cappadocia, Athens, Santorini, Florence, and Rome.

Coffee Mishap

So I realize I am many ports behind for updates and I have been trying
to post through our email network, but it keeps bouncing back saying I
have exceeded the data or something so I am trying to figure it out.

Anyways, it is July 20th, C16 and I had to post this before I forgot!
This trip has turned me into a hugeee coffee addict. As I was going
for my second cup today, I was extremely let down when no coffee came
out of the faucet. My friend Kelsey hit the 'brew' button thinking
that would solve the problem. The coffee started pouring which was
good, except that there was no coffee pot to catch the coffee! We
booked it out of there dying of laughter and tried to find a worker.
By the time we saw one we went back toward the coffee machine and the
workers were already covering the dining hall floor with towels! Once
again, we booked it out of there haha it was literally soooo funny I'm
cracking up in class thinking about it.

We arrive in Italy tomorrow! I will send my updates on Crete,
Cappadocia, and Greece (Athens and Santorini) as soon as possible!
Miss and love you all!

Sea Olympics & Antalya, Turkey!

Hi! I'm not even sure when I posted in here last; I'll try to stay
more on top of it in the future! I remember trying to send one post on
Sea Olympics, but I'm not sure if that one ever sent. So quick recap
on Sea Olympics before Turkey:
Every voyage SAS hosts Sea Olympics, in which each hall represents a
certain sea (I was the Red Sea) and they have a day full of Olympic
games. You can gain points for your team through activities such as
your cheer, banner, pull ups, push ups, knockout, rock paper scissors,
musical chairs, backwards spelling bee, synchronized swimming, the
relay, and lip synch. I participated in the music chairs but didn't win!

Truly Amazing

Currently studying for my Marine Bio exam which is tomorrow and this is my beautiful view. I found this amazing spot where I can listen to the waves crash against the ship and watch the sunset. I'm amazed no one else has discovered it! Sometimes you just need some time to be alone and appreciate everything going on around you. Even though I'm far away from home and in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, I am constantly thinking of all the people back home that I am lucky enough to have in my life. I'm truly so blessed to be able to have this incredible journey this summer and am so appreciative. I can't wait to learn about various different cultures, while at the same time learn more about who I am, and who I want to be.

July 1st!

Can't believe it's already July...that means we're half way done with
2013 which is by no means okay! Senior year is going to be so hard
knowing it's my last year at Dayton..I can't even think about it.
Today in my Law and Society class we had a speaker from Istanbul
Turkey tell us about her home country and all about the riots
currently happening over there. It was very interesting to learn from
an inside source what is going on in Istanbul and why essentially it
was deemed unsafe for us to travel there. It makes me appreciate the
US so much for all our freedom.
On another note, we are OVER the food on this ship. It's the same
thing everyday. For dinner tonight I literally ate peppers, tomatoes,
cubed cheese, and soup. Not to mention there are rumors going around
about worms and cockroaches in the pasta and veggies. NO THANKS.
I have a bio test tomorrow so I will be spending the rest of the night
studying. Only about 36 hours until we reach Antalya, Turkey!!!

The best part about taking classes on a ship...

is that you get to lay out and get tan on your breaks! I have a break
from 0915-1045, and from 1200-1355 so I've been going up to deck 7 to
lay out! I started the book A Bend in the Road by Nicholas Sparks, and
am actually almost done with it! Nothing makes me happier than reading
a good book while laying out, especially when I am surrounded by the
ocean! Classes have been slightly boring since all I do is take notes
in all of them on my computer, so it's nice to have a little break
from it. And I am ghostly pale right now, so I am hoping to get a
little color before arriving to Turkey on Wednesday!

P.S. tomorrow is Sea Olympics and Taco Night, woooo!!!!

Straight of Gibraltar

We are officially through the Straight of Gibraltar! Yesterday we
passed through the Straight and were able to see some amazing scenery!
There were very high mountains/rocks and we were very close to land.
We used this time to refuel the ship which took a very large ship to
do. The waves were very rough and rocky but I'm doing okay! We are now
through the straight and entering into the Mediterranean sea. Turkey
here we come!!!

My Time in Morocco!

Hi! It's Thursday, June 27th and I just spent the past few days in
Casablanca and Marrakech Morocco.

We arrived in our first port of Morocco on Sunday morning. Kelly,
Kelsey, and I set off to spend the day in Casablanca checking out the
sites. First, we went to the fish market for our marine biology class.
It was slightly uncomfortable because it was just us three girls (no
guys came with us) and the fish market was all men so everyone was
staring. We quickly left that area grabbed a cab, and went to the
Hussan II Mosque which is the second largest mosque in the world. It
was absolutely breathtaking; I've never seen such detailed tiling in
the architecture.

Unlike Other Study Abroad Programs

While some students are currently studying in the library for an exam,
I am currently on Deck 7 of the MV Explorer 'studying' aka tanning and
looking out at the beautiful ocean. Everywhere I look is water; I
can't see land anywhere! It's so weird to think that this time
tomorrow we will be in AFRICA! My quiz went well this morning in
Marine Bio and I finished my essay for Law and Society so the rest of
the day will consist of relaxing, hanging out, a pre port meeting
tonight, and packing for Morocco!!!

Struggles

So earlier it was reported that the toilets toward the front of the
ship weren't working....and it just happened to our toilet! it started
overflowing and we didn't know what to do! Guess we'll see what
Crisbon has to say in the morning.....

MV Explorer Stats!

Life Aboard the MV Explorer!

Hi!! So I'm still in catch up mode for my blog so I apologize and I will try to stay on schedule in the future. Here's a recap to the best of my memory of the past five days on the MV Explorer!

 Monday, June 17^th: The day we left for the ship! I managed to make it to the lobby of the hotel with my now FIVE bags all in one trip! We missed the first shuttle so while we waited for the second one, we made friends with some SAS people and ordered drinks in the lobby. My wine was very good! We then took a shuttle to the port in Southampton where we BOARDED THE MV EXPLORER!!! My excitement at that point was absolutely unreal. My cabin was much nicer than what I was expecting and I had no problems unpacking; we even had an extra drawer of space! We had a lifeboat emergency drill at 16:00 (everything is in military time) and then we left shore at 17:00 (5 pm).  We then ate our first dinner on the ship and had a sea floor type meeting at night. My floor is called the 'Red Sea'.

Tuesday, June 18^th: Orientation Day. From 09:00-12:00 and 14:00-16:00 we had orientation meetings in the Union. They told us important info on procedures and academics and staying out of trouble and what not, but it was a very tiring day. The main news I remember learning about was the status on our trip to Istanbul. As many of you know, the citizens of Istanbul have been protesting their government for the extreme way the police treated their citizens while they were engaging in non-violent protests. Unfortunately we will not be going to Istanbul as planned due to all the riots currently going on. Semester at Sea deemed it to be too dangerous to bring five hundred something American students there, which I completely understand, but am still a bit disappointed about since I was looking forward to this city a great deal. Instead, after Antalya Turkey, we will be going to the Greek island of Crete for a couple of days! And then we will travel back to Turkey to the city of Kusadasi. I had originally had a field lab for Law and Society in Istanbul, but it has been rescheduled to take place in Athens. Also, the field program I was looking forward to most (Cappadocia hot air balloon) was based out of Istanbul, but I believe they are still trying to make it work and will just have us fly from Kusadasi to Cappadocia instead. I am HOPING we will still be able to go because I am SO excited for this trip! Main points to take away from orientation: We are on a SHIP, not a boat, we live in a CABIN, not a room, and they are called DECKS, not floors. So then after orientation we ate dinner, which always consists of pasta, salad, some meat, and potatoes. I would be fine eating just the salad, however they only offer two salad dressings and they are very unusual! To be honest, I am already kind of tired of the food because it's the same thing everyday.  We then attempted to get our email set up and then went to another sea meeting.

Wednesday, June 19^th: Happy 21^st Birthday to my friend Dom from UD!!! Today was the first day of classes. I have marine bio from 08:00-09:15, Architecture of the Mediterranean from 10:45-12:00, and then Law and Society from 13:55-15:10. Marine Bio was very interesting and I really enjoy my professor. Architecture is in the Union, where the rockiness of the boat is UNREAL. Halfway through class I wasn't feeling great so I left for my cabin, took a 15-minute nap, and then came back for the end of class. Law and Society seemed like it would be very interesting. I received a lot of reading homework for all three classes, but that's expected when you are taking 9 credits worth of classes in a matter of 20 days. I believe I took three naps this day as the seasickness was starting to kick in. Meals are kind of difficult because the two dining halls are only open during certain hours. Breakfast is from 07:00-08:30, lunch is from 11:30-13:30, and dinner is from 17:30-19:30. Being that I have an 8 am class, if I want breakfast I must get it before my class, which is a little difficult. The nice thing is that my classroom is literally 30 seconds away from the dining hall. I think my favorite thing out of what we've been served so far is the fish. I'm trying to stay away from the pasta and potatoes since I'll be feasting in the ports on the exotic cuisine, but it is a little difficult when that is all there really is to eat. The campus store opened today and I bought a blanket (the ship has been really cold at night), a postcard of the MV Explorer to hang in my room, a long sleeved shirt which has all the countries and their flags that we will be going to on it, a pink SAS sweatshirt, a SAS blue t shirt, and a little SAS bear. Everything was basically sold out by the end of the day so I'm glad I got this stuff when I did. At night, Shannon, Kelly, Kelsey and I just hung out in our cabin attempting to do homework. The sea sickness was so extreme at that point that I couldn't stand on the floor without running for the bathroom or back to sitting on my bed. I then showered (very difficult without a door on a rocking ship) and then went to bed. I've been lucky in the aspect that once I lay down to go to sleep, I sleep through the night without waking.

Thursday, June 20^th: This morning I only had time for coffee before Marine Bio. After class I went back to the dining hall to work on this blog and get some more coffee. However, being that it is not eating hours, they took away the coffee mugs! I then asked the coffee bar if I could have just a cup (they charge for their coffee) and they denied me so then I bought a tumbler from the campus store (overpriced of course) and used it to get my coffee fix. This tumbler will come in handy though because it's 16 ounces compared to the itty bitty size coffee mugs they give you at meal times. I know I will use it every day I'm on the ship for coffee, and will also have it as a souvenir after my time at Semester at Sea. I'm currently in the dining hall facing the ocean as I type this rocking up and down. It's so crazy to me that there is no land around us anywhere; all I can see is ocean. It truly is beautiful.  I always feel so at peace when looking out at the water, it makes me really grateful for this opportunity. I spent the rest of the day in my classes, napping, and having a movie night with the girls.

Friday, June 21^st: Another normal day at sea, except that for the first time since we've been here THE SUN CAME OUT! We've been in sweatpants and sweatshirts (although some girls take time to get dressed up and wear dresses….HA)_ since Monday since it's been so cloudy and chilly! After Marine Bio and Architecture, we actually brought our laptops outside and worked in the sun; it was so nice!!! I noticed everyone gather to the starboard side of the ship so I went over to see what the commotion was. At first I didn't see anything, but then I spotted it! There was a whale moving through the water! I captured a picture of him blowing water through his blowhole! This was super exciting for me because it was the first animal I've seen in the ocean so far. It just confirmed for me how awesome of an opportunity Semester at Sea is, and how it is unlike any other study abroad program out there...it's way better! I then went to my Law and Society class where we were honored to have the US Ambassador speak to us. It was such an incredible opportunity to have someone so unbelievably important talk to us about the 9/11 attack and international affairs. We learned all about how the government responded to the 9/11 attacks and how they went to their alternate location with no windows everyday at 6am all the way until Christmas, where they decided to move the work day back to 6:30 am. I was in shock that someone so important took the time to board the MV Explorer from London to Morocco to share her expertise and intelligence with us and I am extremely appreciative of this opportunity! The rest of the day I have planned for dinner at 1800, Staying Healthy and Safe in Country meeting 1900-2000, Cultural Pre-Port meeting 2000-2100, and then drinks on the 7^th deck until 2300. Unfortunately even though tomorrow is Saturday, I still have classes and my first Marine Bio quiz at 0800 and an essay due in my Law and Society course. So I'm off to take care off those now, but I'll update tomorrow before I arrive in Morocco on Sunday morning! Miss you all! Feel free to email me at leah.francis.su13@semesteratsea.org !!! Oh and here's some pictures from my cabin and the ship!