Akwa’aba to Ghana!

Translation: Welcome to Ghana!

This statement perfectly describes the Ghanaian people- very friendly and excited to welcome everyone into their country. Ghana gained independence from the British about 50 years ago and was the first African colony to do so. English is the common language along with many different village dialects, such as Ga, Asante, and Ewe. Accra is the capital and biggest most-developed city in Ghana. The rest of the country is made up of small/big villages, plains, and mountains. The people have so much spirit in them! They are unbelievably talented at balancing everything on their head. Babies are wrapped on the backside of women in fabric. Pottery is hand-made by village women. Chiefs sit on thrones during village ceremonies. Goats run around wild. Free time is spent dancing and drumming. 69% of the country is Christian and 17% is Muslim. Store names are influenced by Christian titles on almost every sign. The atmosphere is relaxed, fun, and filled with laughter. Oh yeah, and Ghana is tremendously amazing!

My first day, Tuesday, was spent traveling the streets of Tema. Tema is the city where we ported and is a suburb to Accra. My music professor had a friend who offered to show us around and get dresses made. We started by taking fun taxi rides to the market area. Then 20 of us piled in a Tro-Tro, which is a minibus taxi, and went to another smaller market area to look at different fabrics. I found such a beautiful one! We then waited for the tailor to show up… and waited… So then our group worked it out that we could go back to the ship and the tailor would meet us there. So we did and waited… and waited… and still no tailor by 5:30 pm. Needless to say, the tailor never showed up, we all had put off our plans long enough already, and we were ready to do something else. So on the downside, I never got a dress made and I could’ve done other things with that time. On the bright side, I got to see the streets of Tema, learn about Ghanaian time, and now have African fabric to make whatever I want! I then met up with some friends in Accra and we walked the streets checking out the vendors and talking with insistent sellers. We were getting hungry so we asked around to find a Ghanaian restaurant. But we kept getting pointed to American ones! We finally found one that had Lebanese food and settled for it. It turns out that there really aren’t Ghanaian restaurants because they all eat in their homes with their families. The restaurant idea is more European/American, so those are the only types of restaurants that are opened. We had fun and it was great to see the friendly city of Accra!

Wednesday and Thursday were filled with an SAS program called “Cultural Immersion”… and immersed I was! We got up bright and early and traveled 2 hours through beautiful plains with distant mountains. We crossed over the Volta River dam, which feeds the largest man-made lake in the world (it was actually man-made on accident). Our big tour bus squeezed through narrow dirt paths back to the village of Torgorme (To-go-may). As we entered the village, everyone was excitedly waving at us and kids ran towards the arriving bus. We were the center of attention and surely sticking out with our white skin! They led us into a village circle where a ceremony would soon take place. The kids were in awe of us and staring and grabbing our hands. The villagers, school children, elders, chief and his family, and our host families gathered around the village circle as well and the ceremony began. There was drumming and lots of dancing—mostly by the children! A girl read a poem and elders shared prayers. Then they presented each of us one-by-one with our new African Ewe (Eh-vay) name, a small hand-made pot, and a beaded bracelet. They give names according to the day one is born (not just for us, but for everyone in the village) and the family name. Each name has it’s own meaning too. My African name is Ama Kafui (Aem-eh Kaw-fwee), which means “Praise Him”. ☺ We then were presented to our host families. I was paired up with another SASer who is actually from Colombia. Our host mom is in maybe her 50s and has her family right next to her in the village. One of my friends was paired with the Chief! I was very happy with my match—it was authentic representing the norm of the poor in Africa. We then hung out with our own families for the rest of the day, which in our case meant the extended family. Their English was limited so we communicated through actions mostly. The children taught us their dances, which was just so much fun. In return they wanted to learn some of ours, so we taught them some quality dances: The Macarena, Hand-Jive, and the Chicken Dance! Haha. They loooved these! They taught us more of their games, which is how they spend most of their free time. They don’t have computers and video games, so they find fun in outdoor games and dancing. I found a lot of fun in these too ☺ They also really enjoyed having pictures taken of them and then looking at themselves since many of them don’t have mirrors. One girl climbed a palm tree to pick coconuts, then our mother used a machete to cut it open for us to drink! They couldn’t believe we had only ever had coconut water out of a can before! The kids also took us to the Volta River… and they were arguing over who got to hold our hands along the way. The kids just swarmed around us and would pet our arms in amazement. The afternoon had passed and it was now dinnertime.

Here is when I had my breaking point… Let me explain it to you. Our tour guide had our dinner catered from a local mess hall. The SASers got our food and sat down with our host families. But our families never went up to get food. We asked them if they had eaten yet (by this time it was about 8 pm) and they said no. We asked them if they were going to go get some food here. They said they weren’t allowed. In the meanwhile, the rest of the villagers had gathered around us, some playing the drums and dancing, but most others were standing and watching us eat…. Watching us-- who are traveling the world, who have different clothes to wear tomorrow, who have money to buy a camera, who are having a meal catered to us, who don’t even question if we’ll have our next meal… And they just stood there and watched us engaging in another luxury that we take for granted. When we were about done eating, we asked our families if they wanted the rest of our food. They graciously said yes and took the plates. The nearby kids saw this and ran up wanting some scraps too. We looked up at the food line that was still filled for us to have seconds. And then looked at all the faces around us who hardly get to have firsts, let alone seconds. I just couldn’t take it. One by one, some of us went through the line filling plates and bowls with food and then passed it down to our families. They placed the dishes on the ground and the kids snuck over so they could fill their tiny tummies. We went up for a few more rounds and our families filled a bowl so they could eat tomorrow. At the end of the night I was thankful to see that the leftovers were thrown in a big bowl and laid down for kids. There were so many of them and such little food, that they were like dogs fighting over a bone.

These moments have permanently changed me. I was so disgusted with myself and luxurious lifestyle for quite awhile. I will never take for granted another meal. Instead, I am finding ways that I can help this village have their basic needs met. SAS has already been taking action since we’ve been back on board to donate pens, pencil, paper, and extra currency to Torgorme village so the kids can learn in school. I’m brainstorming ways for once I’m back home to help more of their needs, such as food and clothing. I’ll keep you posted in case anyone is interested.

After dinner we danced with the villagers to the drums. I had a new little friend shyly attach herself to me. She would hardly let go of holding my hand or hugging my leg. She’s such a cutie. By 10 pm we headed to bed. Our home had 2 rooms. We slept in one that had 2 straw mattresses on the ground. I fell asleep that night in a sweet African village listening to the goats and woke up to the anxious roosters. What a wonderful day. What wonderful kids and wonderful families.

I woke up the next day to kids pounding on the door (the door lock was 3 bent nails twisted over the door) and then pushing open the window. They wanted to see how we foreigners slept! And oh were they laughing! I couldn’t understand them but learned later that they were mimicking our sleeping positions. We got ready and then our mom presented us with a long skinny fabric to remember them. Oh, there is no way I could ever forget them! We said our goodbyes, which was rather difficult. In such a short time these people had changed my life. Their simplistic enjoyment in life, their never-ending laughter, their light-heartedness, their constant open arms, their community that looked out for one another… they changed my life. As we left everyone waved goodbye and the kids chased the bus.

We then drove 4 hours on very bumpy roads through more villages and beautiful mountains. It was so bumpy… it was like we were back-roading in a tour bus! It was actually pretty fun, kind of like a free amusement park ride. We soon arrived to Mount Afadjato, the tallest mountain in Ghana. And we hiked it! The natural trail went basically straight up for 950 meters! But oh, the view was AMAZING! We could see plains, more villages, and far Ghanaian mountains on one side… and on the other side were mountains and waterfalls in Togo! So even though I didn’t go to another country, I could see yet another country! The hike down was a bit unnerving due to how steep it was. I sort of felt like George of the Jungle ☺

We continued on our way to Tafi Atome Monkey Sanctuary in the village of Hohoe. We walked to the outskirts of the village to what appeared to be your everyday African woods. We soon learned differently as the branches seemed to be jumping. It was monkeys! Our guide did a monkey call with his mouth and then held up a peeled banana. The monkeys jumped right down to the nearest branch and snatched the banana! More of them gathered and were ready to chow down. We each took a banana, unpeeled it, and held it up to a hunting monkey. They sometimes snatched it small piece by small piece, but the one I fed snatched half of it all at once! My banana was gone in only two snatches! These may have been the coolest monkeys I’ve ever seen. We then drove 4 hours back to the ship. “Cultural Immersion” was my favorite SAS trip yet… It’s immersion into authentic Africa taught me so much that has permanently changed me.

Friday I attended a Drumming and Dancing workshop at Noyam African Dance Institute. It sits on a hill in the village of Dodowa. 8 teachers and students who make up the program eagerly greeted us. Noyam’s 2 buildings were very simple. They were unfinished concrete structures with one large room made for performances and practices. They showed us the facilities and then soon started teaching us a dance! We also learned a song that would be sung as an intro to the dance. Then it was time to put it all together. The drummers played advanced beats and we performed! I felt like a true African then, now that I could groove to the beat. They made a Ghanaian lunch for us and then we learned another dance in the afternoon. Half the group learned the drum and gonkogui part and the others (and me) learned the dance. We got to perform it all together. Who knew SASers could jam?! They also taught us about the importance of the relationship between drums and dancers. They are interdependent on one another, carefully listening and watching what the other is doing. The drums signal when the new dance frame is to start. The drums watch the dancers to understand the depths of the music. The drums build layers upon layers and normally have a master drummer that cues the others. The dancers use full body movements representing war, laughter, fun, and emotions. Sometimes the rhythm is so advanced you wonder how the dancers even find the beat! I have a 7 min video of our performance and will put it up once I get back home. Friday was a wonderful way to spend the last day in Ghana through drumming and dancing-- the true heart of the united country.

Then back to the ship it was… It was hard leaving Ghana. I felt like my time was well spent and very fulfilling (yet heartbreaking), but I wanted more time! As usual, my friends and I headed to 7th deck as we sailed away from shore. When we were leaving the port workers waved goodbye to us. We yelled, “WE LOVE YOU, GHANA!” and they responded with lots of positive cheers and laughter.

So what’s up now? Well, Saturday was Neptune Day… you may or may not be aware of what that is, but it’s quite a big deal on any ship crossing the equator! And then 6 days of classes until we arrive in South Africa on Saturday. I will update you on my ship time in a few days. Until then, keep taking care and go dance to some rhythm!

ALSO ANOTHER NOTE: See the latest slideshow posted on the Semester at Sea website from Sahara (Morocco)! If you look closely you can see me in a few of the slides! http://www.ise.virginia.edu/video/F09/vid_3.html (Copy and paste this link into the web browser).

Sailing Along the West African Coast

Location: 4 degrees N, 3 degrees W

Hello everyone! 6 days have gone by since we were last in a country and now there are only 16 hours left till we are in another! I’m VERY excited for our time in Ghana! This past week has been filled with classes, work, studying, and a lot of fun happenings.

I have a work scholarship with SAS, which was originally with the Campus Store. However, there were too many of us so some got switched over to other needed ship jobs. So last Tuesday, our first day back on the boat, I started my new job as the Life Long Learners Tech Helper. Life Long Learners are people of all ages who travel with SAS, sit in on or take classes, and explore the countries. Since they are of many different ages, they differ on levels of tech-savyness. I meet with them one-on-one in 2 one-hour sessions a day with whatever help they need on their computers, cameras, or iPods. I am enjoying this job a lot! It’s great to hear their stories and see their enjoyment in learning what we find easy on a computer. And they sure give me some good laughs! And I’d like to share some with you:

I’ve helped a few set up a blog and put up their first post. One lady (who is a hoot) said she’s going to subscribe to mine and then just plagiarize everything. Haha. If you’re reading this, hey Susan!

Another was going through her emails and found one titled, “How to keep your husband pleased when you’re old.” She started reading the first few numbers to me, and you can imagine how they might go... Haha! She was laughing hysterically and I didn’t know whether she or the email was funnier!

After a couple of sessions with another lady, she began to tell me how she wants me to visit her in California after SAS. Aww, how sweet! Then she went on to tell me that when I do, she’ll have her 22-year-old music/theatre major grandson show me around San Francisco. Haha! Then she threw a pitch on him! Haha! So she wants to set me up with her grandson.

I am participating in a program called Vicarious Voyage. A group of SAS students gets matched up with a U.S. classroom and the class vicariously lives through our travels to learn about the world. There are about 30 matches with SAS. My group has a 3rd grade class in Virginia! We got a packet from them and each of the 18 students wrote letters to their pen-pals! So I now have 3 new pen-pals ☺ They’re just adorable. One of them said, “My favorite color is pink. And for some reason I like dark blue.” Haha, what a crime ☺

Another SAS program is Shipboard Families. Staff and Life Long Learners can sign up to “adopt kids” and students can sign up to have an “extended family.” I met my new extended/adopted family for the voyage! There are 5 “kids” and our mom/auntie is an RA. She was a SASer 9 years ago! We all hit it off right away and had a game night last night. We’re already planning other things to do together. It’ll be a great shipboard family.

I’m in a club! It’s called Signing at Sea, a group to learn and use sign language! We had our first meeting and learned some general basics to start conversations. I’m so excited to learn another language on this voyage! Quick fact: Sign language is actually not universal. Each country has its own versions. Some signs may be similar, but we have our own, the Spanish have their own, etc. Also, people using sign have their own accents, just like we speak with accents. And lastly, we get to choose how to sign our name. You use the first letter of your name and then choose a gesture that describes something about you. My name is a K by the corner of my mouth because I laugh so much ☺

As we travel along the West African coast there have been quite a few dolphin spottings! Small groups of them will wave jump a little distance out from the ship. It is so neat to see them having fun in their natural environment!

SAS put on a Talent Show! The talent here would impress you! Some of the acts were a Michael Jackson tribute, Tahitian dancing, a comedian, and a man of many different accents.

The best part of the whole week took place two nights ago. A small group of us slept outside on the ship’s deck! It was just amazing. Looking up at thousands of bright stars… hearing the crashing ocean waves… watching heat lightening far off in the distance… talking with quality friends… and even seeing a shooting star! The night was cut short when we were shooed off the deck at 3:30 am because the winds were getting too strong. But that night was amazing and it will definitely be happening again!

This next comment is to all of you who know me quite well… You may be wondering about the ice cream situation here, since it’s a very important part of my life… The ship in fact does not have free ice cream. Whoa! I know I know, no worries, I’m still surviving. It costs about $3 a cup… and I fear of buying my first cup because I’m sure a second, third, fourth will come soon after. My goal is to not buy ice cream on the ship the entire semester. (Although we have had it as dessert 2x so far! You can bet I got it then!) As far as the countries go, I made it one of my goals to try it in each country… to compare ice cream styles of course! I was avoiding telling my SAS friends my craze over it in hopes that it would take my mind off it. Then I found out that my friends are just as obsessed as I am!!! Haha! We might’ve had it everyday in Spain… haha. I did better in Morocco; I only had it once! I guess since I’m so deprived of it on the ship I must make up for it in ports. Right? ☺

Well, it’s been a fun week on the ship and pretty busy (but a fun busy). I’m pumped for Ghana tomorrow, especially after our Dean of Students rapped about it last night. This ship knows how to have good fun! I’ll be very excited to share my Ghanaian adventures with you too! Until then, enjoy the blossoming colors in the trees and the sweet smell of autumn. Bye!

Salaam ou alaikum! Bonjour!

Let me paint Morocco for you: Snake charmers in the town square. Street sweepers using long palm branches. Groups of women walking with only their eyes showing. A mosque highlighting the skyline. Belly dancers shaking their hips. Signs written in both Arabic and French. Five men playing small drums and singing. Friendly yelling in souks (markets) to barter beautifully painted dishes and wool carpets. Mint tea drinking at the end of every meal. Donkeys pulling carts filled with palm branches. Camels crossing sand dunes. Families ducking in the shade of their mud homes. This is Morocco, an independent Muslim colony from France. They speak both Arabic and French and seem more Middle-Eastern than African. 52% of the population is illiterate, with most of those being the older generations. They have the longest standing friendship agreement with the United States and were the first to recognize us as an independent country. They are 97% Muslim and very dedicated to their religion. Morocco is a unique and astounding country.

My first walk on Moroccan ground was the short distance to load the buses for a 4-day trip. 200 SASers filled 4 buses and we took off. Our first sights of Morocco came as we drove through the streets of Casablanca. We all experienced a culture shock, as we had been in its neighbor Spain 2 days before and they shared hardly any similarities. Casablanca was much more conservative, dirtier, and poorer. We drove through the country, which looked similar to the US but dryer, until we arrived at Marrakech, the most populated city in Morocco. It is neat to get out of the port city because it isn’t fair to base the whole country off of one city. Marrekech showed us this, as it had more painted mud buildings and was cleaned up a bit more than Casablanca. When we arrived 3 hours later we had a very nice Moroccan lunch. This is where we split from the cultural norms… It is Ramadan for the Muslims, in which they fast from both food and drink all day and then break it when the sun goes down. We were still fed, but just not being seen in the public eye. We learned that Moroccan food is one of the top 5 cultural foods in the world! And it was good, especially all the bread they gave us ☺. We then had time to spend in the souks (markets) in Jemaa el Fna Square. This is when I first spotted the snake charmers, which is just quite interesting. We couldn’t get too close though otherwise they’d trick you into paying 200 dirham, which is about $25. We walked through the souks taking in the all the different items they were trying to sell: beautiful dishes, tea sets, mini wood and leather camels, rugs and carpets (which they’re known for), clothing, etc. Then we felt a sprinkle… and another drop or two… then it started DOWN-POURING! The irony in this is that it rains 20-25 days of the year in Morocco, and we were lucky enough to experience one of them! The souks quickly took cover and shooed the shelter-seekers out of their shops. We ran through the flooding (and a little poopy) streets, which I honestly hold as a very fun memory. We later were taken to our hotel and had time to clean up our dirty feet and change for our night excursion.

Our evening was spent Chez Ali, a tourist-dependent show that modeled the traditional Moroccan folklore. It was… interesting. Sometimes it is hard to get past very touristy attractions because it just doesn’t seem authentic. But I had to remind myself that all tourist attractions develop out of truths. There was a very large arena that was surrounded by tented restaurants and groups of singing and dancing Moroccans. Many of them came into each tent as we ate dinner and performed a little more. Then there was the real show afterwards: in the arena there was a flame thrower, belly dancer, racing horses with white-dressed men that shut off guns, camel riding, and horse tamers/dancers. At the end they had “Aladdin and Jasmin” float across on a flying carpet and then an explosion of fireworks. So mostly everything was authentically driven except the very ending. Again, it was very neat to see this spectacle, but it just seemed to be a circus for tourists.

The next day we woke up early and started out on an 8-hour bus ride to head to the Sahara area. Much of the journey was spent driving through the High Atlas Mountains… how beautiful!!! As our buses drove on narrow streets on the sides of the mountains, we looked out and saw these barren clay-like high mountains. WOW! We also passed through the Mid Atlas Mountains, saw a Palm-tree-filled oasis, and many many small mud villages. We passed through Zagora… and then there was another great site: 100 camels approaching with nomads. We were then dropped off at the side of the road in the Sub-Sahara region. Ha! We all excitedly grabbed our things for the night and rushed over to the camels. Since we had such a large group, we walked for half of it and rode for the other half. And then I rode a camel! I RODE A CAMEL! (Sorry, it’s just a bit surreal for me yet ☺) This was just such an awesome experience, camel trekking with many of my new friends through the Sahara Desert. The getting up and going down was a little rocky for the camel, but very fun I might add. The ride itself was bumpy, but again, completely awesome! The nomads guided us to camp and we arrived at near sun-down. Camp had 25 tents for the students, 2 large tents to eat in, and then a really awesome bathroom (awesome as in zipped up stalls to a hole in the ground, but that’s a lot nicer than what I expected!). A friend and I went and watched the sunset on the top of a hill/dune with mountains surrounding me. It was an amazing site… I just want to keep that picture in my head forever! We ate dinner once the nomads could break Ramadan and then some of us went out to hunt for scorpions! We found one and it glowed in the black light. A few of us then went to go lay out on the dunes under the stars that were miraculously bright. Then something hilarious happened. Some nomads saw us and directed us towards a quality start-grazing spot. I was looking forward to them joining us so I could hear about their nomadic lives. But then I realized that wasn’t exactly what they were looking forward too… One beside me whispered asking my name, then laid down beside me but faced me instead of the stars, and then asked if I wanted a massage *eyebrow raise*! Oh wowsers! We soon got out of that situation and had quite a few laughs. We didn’t want to forget the star-gazing because nomads hit on us, so we just went and found another spot where some other SASers were. Ha, wow, what an experience! The view was so beautiful. With no lights for miles and miles the stars just shone so brightly. As it got colder and later we headed to sleep in our cozy little nomadic tents for the night.

The next morning we woke up early, ate breakfast, and then headed back out on the camels. We did some walking then riding, and it was still surreal to me. I was just gleaming up on that camel! Eventually we arrived back to the highway, loaded the buses, and said goodbye to our camels and nomad friends. It was then an 8-hour bus ride back to Marrakech through the High Atlas Mountains. The view was still quite breathtaking! When we arrived we were on our own for the night. A group of us walked the streets and then found a local pizzeria to dine in. We walked around a bit more, but not for too long because the streets aren’t safe for foreigners or girls at night. And I was 2 of those. So instead our group bonded over card-playing at the hotel.

The next day a group of us walked 45 min to the souks for a little more bartering, a supermarket, and a taxi ride. Soon it was time to meet the large group for the ride back to Casablanca. As much as I enjoyed the trip, it was nice to have some time to see the port city as well.

The last day started with a presentation called “I Love Hip Hop in Morocco.” We had watched a movie with the same title during pre-port. For this presentation a rising hip-hop female artist, Fati, came in to talk with us. This rising genre caused a lot of tension in Morocco. However, the artists pursued it because it was a way for them to express themselves. They compared it often to American hip-hop since that’s how they were inspired, but they don’t have the freedom of speech for the lyrics like we do. In addition, Fati is also female, which was looked down upon for quite sometime since women aren’t seen as equals in Morocco. She pushed through though and is now admired by many and inspired many others. The music itself is quite neat- they take an American rhythm and add a Moroccan (Arabic) melody line or vice versa. I think it sounds even better than our hip-hop music! It was a very neat presentation.

The last few hours before boarding time was spent walking the streets of Casablanca to get a better feel for what it was like. We went to the souks and saw the Mosque in the distance. It was definitely not enough time there, and I’m finding it’ll be that way in each country. I would’ve loved to see more of Casablanca, talk with more Moroccans, seen the Mosque, and gone to an orphanage or school. I’m quickly learning what I need to do in each country to make sure I feel my time was fulfilled. It was late evening when the ship disembarked and as usual my friends and I went to the top of the ship to watch the city lights fall away in the distance.

Now we are sailing back in the Atlantic paralleling the West African coast at 20 degrees North and 18 degrees West. We have 6 days of classes and then arrive in Ghana on Tuesday! I’ve already had a pretty exciting time back on the ship, but I will fill you in on those in another post ☺

As always, I hope everything is going well with each of you! I’m constantly reminded how thankful I am for all the support I have back at home! Thank you and have a good week ☺

Hola, amigos!

I had such a wonderful time in Spain! Although I accomplished a lot in 4 days, it was surely not enough time! I don’t think I’ll be ready to leave any of the countries we port in!

On Saturday, I looked out my porthole in the dark only to see a flashing light coming from a lighthouse. LAND! What a marvelous sight this was! The pier with light was most likely Portugal! I went up to eat breakfast with my friends and excitedly watched land grow nearer with the sun rising behind it. We decided that this would become a tradition for every port! After the ship got cleared, we were able to finally walk our first steps on stable ground again! I then ventured around Cadiz (pronounced Cahw-deeth) with some friends. It was too early in the morning for the city to be alive yet. Spain runs on quite a different time frame than us. Their days start at about 10 am, they Siesta (meaning lunch and nap) from 2-5 pm, go back to work from 5-9 pm, then have dinner and go out until very late into the night. We made our way through the narrow alleyways that were filled with a variety of shops, stores, and zipping mopeds. We then walked the perimeters of the city bordering water. Cadiz is shaped like an arm with a hand. The old city is the hand and the new is the arm. We walked the “fingers” along the coastline that have beaches and 2 old castles. Spain definitely felt European, with the architecture of buildings to the flavor of ice cream. But it has this Spanish flair to it! That evening I enjoyed a very special “Flamenco Night”. A group of about 150 SAS students were taken to a Spanish farm in which we had our very own performance! It started in an arena with 2 female dancers who danced to a horse (I found this seducing horses to be very interesting). There was also a horse-taming spectacle and an amateur bloodless bullfight. We then moved inside of a restaurant where some of the best flamenco performers in the land were dancing right in front of us! The music sounded from a guitarist, female singer, and the clapping and stomping of the dancers. There were 3 females and 1 male dancing. Oh, I just can’t even describe to you how amazing it was! They were SOOO talented! I would love to learn it, but, wow, do they move quickly! They’ve got rhythm in their soles and hands and know how to shake! It was most definitely a very impressive first day in Spain!

On Sunday, I took a trip to the Grazalema Mountains. We drove through white villages on the way, which are towns dedicated to pure whiteness in every structure. They’re such a beautiful site! The mountains were another amazing site! Our stick-shift tour bus had quite an adventure weaving in and out of the tiny roads (and rolling backwards…), but eventually we made it to our drop off point, thankfully, safely. We hiked for 4 hours in the Reserve portion of the mountains that are only permissable with a guide. The horizon seemed to be so far in the distance showing many many miles of rural Spain. What an amazing site and hike!

That evening a group of us went to find a nice little outdoor café for dinner at the normal time of 10:30 pm. It was enjoyed with background music of street performers and a non-English-speaking waiter (the way it ought to be! Good thing I took 2 years of Spanish in HS!). We all ordered differing dishes and tasted one another’s. There were 11 of us so we had quite the food selection! We didn’t know what one of the dishes was and the texture caught us off guard, so we went and looked it up later… It was fish ovaries!!! I can’t say it was terrible, but I also can’t say I’d ever order it again! The night was topped off with a beautiful walk along the sandy Cadiz beaches.

On Monday, my friends and I wanted to take an independent trip to Seville (Suh-vee-ya), which is a bigger city than Cadiz. We got up early to catch a 2-hour train ride to the city. We saw the impressive Plaza de Espana, beautiful gardens filled with palm trees and fountains, and tried helado (surprise surprise, that’s Spanish ice cream ☺). We then toured the Cathedral de Seville, which is the largest cathedral in Europe! And, boy, that was obvious. It had such ornate structures and so many rooms filled with treasures (literal gold), sculptures, and paintings. We then journeyed through the Real Alcazar, which was the King’s palace. This “home” was the biggest mansion I’ve ever seen! Not only were their so many rooms, but the garden was humongous too! It even included a tree maze! It was a wonderful day spent in Seville with quickly growing friendships.

Tuesday, my final day, was spent exploring Cadiz more. By then I felt as if I knew it pretty well! We went to the “mercado” (market) to see all the fresh seafood, meat, fruit, and cheese being sold. The three of us also bought some Churros. We thought that ½ a kilo would be about right, but soon learned that was way more than we expected or could even eat! It made for some good laughs as we sought out other SASers to get rid of our excess breakfast! As soon as I felt comfortable in Cadiz, Spain, it was time to go already. It’s amazing how quickly one can feel at home in a new country.

SAS staff let us go onto deck 8 for disembarkation! This means it was VERY windy! But yet sooo much fun. You’d never guess that wind can sort of be a “toy” to play with! We watched Spain fall away in the distance as the sun began to set. It was hard to imagine that we had really just spent time there when it now seems more like a dream.

Today has been dedicated towards orienting for Morocco. We port there tomorrow morning! And you guessed it, my friends and I are getting up early to watch the sun rise as we approach it. Today we also had quite an amazing view! We took a pit stop at Gibraltar to fuel up the ship’s 4 tanks. Have you ever heard of this country? Look it up! It’s basically a country on a huge rock! It’s quite a beautiful site and was actually a trip for some of the SASers. For lunch and dinner we had the neatest surroundings in close proximity: the 3 countries of Gibraltar, Spain, and Morocco; the 2 continents of Europe and Africa; and the 2 bodies of water of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean! I just can’t even tell you how breathtaking this was! And there we were eating dinner as if it is just normal to be nestled between 2 continents, 3 countries, and 2 bodies of water! That is a site I will forever remember.

After losing 6 hours this past week, we gain 2 tonight! It is much needed because I’ve had so much to catch up on today amidst getting ready for Morocco! I leave tomorrow morning for a 4 day trip to Marrakech and a camel trek in the Saraha ☺ HOW AWESOME! Spain one day, Morocco the next… I just can’t believe this is reality for me right now, but I’m loving it oh so very much! I hope things are going well for each of you! I will update you in a few days!

Buenas noches! Y Dios te bendiga!

Kelsey :)

Espana Es Manana!

Hello everyone! After 8 days of sailing across the Atlantic Ocean, we are finally very close to Spain!

As of 11:00 pm on Friday night we are currently located at 36 degrees N and 9 degrees W, which is just right of the coast of Portugal. We have not spotted land yet… it is a rather humid day which limits the distance we can see, but we have seen a couple of ships (our signs of life!) proving to us that we are very close! We have had 2 intense meetings on Spain the past couple of days- about its culture, do’s and don’ts, safety, and other basics. We learned that if we wear white socks with sandals some places won’t let us in, and that even if you are a vegetarian you must try their ham! We port at 8 am tomorrow morning (Spain-time that is) and our adventures begin! I, and everyone else on the ship, am VERY excited!!!

We just finished our 6th day of classes. I’m truly enjoying them! It is so neat to have “homework” that involves digging around in other cultures. How many teachers have sent their students off to another country to really learn the things they teach in class?! I’m such a visual and do learner, that this is truly a great way for me to learn. For classes I will be studying the music and family/marriage life in each country, along with disabled children’s home and stopping-hunger projects… all for class! Yet these are all things I would want to study anyway! It is just too good to be true!

I’ve learned a few additional things this week:

1- The Atlantic Ocean is HUGE! It’s just so hard to fathom! When you travel for 8 days on the one of the fastest ships though, it sure helps me visualize its vastness! It’s neat to travel by ship instead of plane because it really makes the earth, water, and continents seem connected. I’ll admit though, I’m ready to walk on land! That leads into my next point…
2- We’re all walking like we’ve had a few too many drinks! These Spaniards are going to wonder what’s wrong with us! We’re all walking pretty funnily, running into each other and into walls, tripping over our own feet… it’s sure been funny to watch and try to get used to!
3- This ship once felt huge but now it seems so small! Everything takes place on 2 floors and students live on 2. It takes me about 1 ½ minutes to walk to class and about 2 minutes to get to the dining hall. And I thought Bluffton was a small campus ☺

I’ve also had the privilege of meeting lots of new people! I’ve been blessed to get closer to a few others that share similar values with me. As you can imagine, this makes the voyage even better as we’re traveling at sea and in port. Tomorrow we are getting up early to watch the sun rise as we pull into the port of Cadiz, Spain. It’s time for my eyes to start widening… I’m ready for discomfort to be my comfort… It’s time for ESPANA!

Embarkation Day Slideshow!

Hello All! This is Kelsey's sister, Denise, reporting for her tonight. So I have to tell you all a funny story. The other day our parents went to look at the SAS website to see if there was any new information up about the current SAS voyage. They clicked on the "Embarkation Day" slide show in hopes that they would maybe see Kelsey in a few pictures, and all of a sudden, her voice is on their computer! So here is the website to watch the slide show and see pictures of check-in at Halifax, Nova Scotia!

http://www.ise.virginia.edu/video/F09/vid_1.html

Click here to see more up-to date information on the voyage!

Kelsey will be landing in Spain on September 5! I'm sure we'll be hearing more from her in the near future!

Bon Voyage!