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!