Adios!

**Note: Pictures Posted at the bottom of Post***

There was not a cloud in the sky and we were going to the beach! Paradise or just lucky? The girls went shopping in the morning. OF COURSE! And us boys and Rachel got some lunch on the boat and then headed to the shore around 12:30. Nicole and her friend Joe were also along for the ride. Along the way we happened to catch a Spanish wedding which was neat but not anything drastically different. I was wearing my first ever pair of flip flops today and I have to say…they weren’t that bad and came in handy when I had to walk across the burning sand.

“A bird pooped on me today,” Erika tells us as we are sitting on the beach. That girl is the main source of comedy for us. We love it!

I can’t express how freaking cool it was to be swimming in the warm, turquoise ocean while in Spain. It is beyond surreal. I feel as if I’m in a movie. I don’t even like beaches and I had a blast. Later on, me, Kate and Erika sat down for dinner and we discussed how Spain has just flew by. We definitely took everything in, did all we could do, ate all we could eat and still had leisure time in between. But this trip has already turned into something so good that it hurts! Do you know that feeling? It is a place of great appreciation for everything you have and the recognition that you are special to have it, but it is also a catch 22 in that you feel as if this is it! This is the peak of your existence as Kate so kindly put it. Well right then and there we agreed that we wouldn’t allow that. We discussed the possibility of making a strong effort to travel each year. If our friendships are long lasting then we will do it together, even if that means traveling to everyone’s home town. In the United States alone we come from so many different cultures that I’m sure we would all have something to share. I live in New York City, Rachel in Washington D.C., Kate in Chicago, Shannon and Bo are from Colorado, Becca and Kevin both live in Minnesota, and with all those places we are sure to have some great years ahead of us. This will not be the last.

We have to be on the boat two hours before we depart. So we depart at 8:00pm meaning we have to be on the boat at 6:00pm. If you are late you are punished with dock time, meaning: depending on how late you are you have to stay on the boat for a certain amount of time once we arrive in the next port, thus limiting your time in that country. Also sobriety is a desired state on the boat. Semester at Sea does not want students to be reckless drinkers and then bring that atmosphere into a comfortable and safe environment, let alone a learning one. Well as me and Lindsay were walking to the boat we bumped into two Semester at Sea Students who were more than noticeably drunk. Drunk to the point where one of them couldn’t even stand. It was about 5:30 and we told them that they needed to make their way over to the boat. It was about 20 minutes later that these two stumble to the gate. It was a funny sight to see and yet a sad one. I don’t understand how maturity levels fluctuate. What makes someone do the right thing? I still don’t know what happen to them, except that they are on the boat.

For each country we have a guest speaker who boards the ship and then gets off at the next port. When I got back to my room there was an invitation for me on the table. I opened it and I’m invited to a breakfast with Congresswoman Sanchez of California who is now our guest speaker on the way to Italy. I knew automatically why I was invited to such an event and it is because of my demographic, which is not only discriminatory but just plain ignorant. I am of course happy to attend, I have lobbied in Washington D.C. before and am very interested in politics as well as any special event, but this is a huge issue. I understand they want the Congresswoman to be speaking to a demographic that appeals to her issues but isn’t the point of a politician to serve all? How do they know what living situation I am in? I could live in Suburbia (which I do) and a white person could grow up in Mexico with much more culture than I even want. Kate was interested in attending the breakfast and I have all intentions on asking the Dean if that is possible. We need to start progressing forward and stop seeing people as a demographic but as individuals.

On a lighter note, I was able to call my mom today! Yay! At a nominal fee of 0.15 cents a minute I was able to talk to her for 6 minutes. It was so nice to talk to her, but I had no idea what day it was. I asked if she was at work but it is Saturday. We talked about the surreal death of Michael Jackson, which has definitely stirred a strong reaction over here as well as in the US. I always thought he was amazingly talented and only he could do what he does. During a discussion tonight on the boat someone said that he was primarily known as an alleged Pedophile, but people need to sometimes notice people for the good they’ve done instead of the bad, just as I don’t look at Bill Clinton as a cheating man, I look at him as an influential president in our country’s history.

Well taking in the good and the bad, I leave Spain with all its goodness. The laughs, the food, the late nights, the late talks, the immeasurable amount of walking, the bottomless pit of ice cream, the sunny blue skies, the breath taking culture and the historical value of this place shall never be forgotten. (How can I? I’ve written a manuscript!)

Today’s Expenses:

Phone Call to Mom……..1.50 Euros……..$2.17 Dollars
Ice Cream………………2.00 Euros……..$2.90 Dollars
Internet…………………2.00 Euros……..$2.90..Dollars

Total…………………. 5.50 Euros………$7.98 Dollars

Tonight we all sat around and watched the movie Devil’s Wears Prada as we watched the boat pull out of the port of Cadiz, Spain. I think it will always be a bittersweet moment. We treasure our time in one country and look forward to the next.

Italy is next. Stay Tuned.


Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Michael-Anthony

P.S. That’s All.