ADIOS BARCELONA! ITALIA EN 2 DIAS!!!

I got THE BEST NEWS today!!! Since I am a Semester at Sea alumni, I am entitled to a multiple voyage discount of 10%....which means, I just got a HUGE refund!!! :)

Barcelona has been amazing. So much more wonderful than when I came during break when I was student teaching in England. This time, I actually had people with me that wanted to do things other than meet other Americans and get drunk. When I stepped off the ship though, my mental image of what Semester at Sea is all about drastically changed in an instant. When I went previously, the first 7 countries I visited were 3rd world countries. The images of extreme poverty and lack of what we would consider basic needs, like shelter and clean water, forced the entire student body to experience the culture shock and really think about the things we take for granted living in America. Then once we got to the more industrialized ports, like Hong Kong and Osaka, Japan, we were able to experience that country looking through a different “lens” than the one we had before. Barcelona is a great city to visit and I have absolutely had such a great experience here; but, to me…this is not a Semester at Sea port. Or at least, it shouldn’t be the first stop. These past four days for many of the studenve been a “go out and meet other Americans so we can get drunk together” port. Luckily, I have THE BEST ROOMMATE EVER and we have the same ideas about traveling :)

June 27: Melissa and I went on a FDP (faculty directed practicum) - which is basically a field trip – with Ken (our professor) and a few other people. We went to an elementary school and high school in the middle of Barcelona and met with what we would call the superintendent and a whole bunch of teachers. Students ended school on June 23^rd, so we did not get to actually meet students and observe classes. They gave us presentations on their school system and curriculum structure, they gave us tours, and showed us lessons and activities they created for their English language program. Catalan (not Spanish) is the language of instruction in Barcelona. Catalunya is the state Barcelona is in and the people here hold onto their heritage very strongly. A former king of Spain forbid Catalan to be spoken for somewhere close to 40 years… there’s a whole generation of people that never learned it. After the government changed, Catalan became the language of instruction in all of Catalonya’s public schools in order to maintain the language. Students usually learn Spanish and/or Catalan at home, then take Spanish as a second language class in school. English is the most common third language taught in many schools. Wow…we really have some catching up to do in the US.

Students go to school from 9AM – 1PM, then go home for siesta and come back to school from 3PM-5PM. Students attend school from 3yrs old (think about day care savings!) to 18yrs old… compulsory education is from 6yrs old to 16 yrs old. The last two years (from 16yrs-18yrs) students choose to attend vocational training or courses to prepare them for their intended major at university. The majority of schools in Spain are “mixed schools” which means they are run privately but receive public funding, kind of like charter schools, but parents do have to pay some money for their children to attend. Public schools do not cost anything. Only 1% of schools in Spain are completely private. The elementary school teachers were so happy to have us there they prepared breakfast for us, gave us CDs of the students singing songs, and even popped a bottle of champagne :) at 11AM. After the elementary school, we went to the high school. The high school math teacher was pretty incredible. She, along with the school's English teacher created a class for higher level students to take math class in English instead of Catalan. These two teachers have since created ALL the materials to support the program. They basically created 3 textbooks for each of the three levels of math they teach. They are in the process of trying to publish the book so more schools can use it; however, the publishers are telling them “there is no market for that”. Anyway, this math teacher is an extremely hard worker and is really excited to try new things in the classroom, so she and I exchanged emails and I hope to send her some of my students' projects to use with her students. She hopes to do the same for my students, too. How cool is that?

Standing from left to right: Ken Cushner (my AWESOME professor), Jordi ("superintendent"), Erica (SAS student), Carlotta (math teacher-Spain), ME!, Mike & Nancy (husband & anthropology professor on the ship), Gary (other Teacher at Sea)

Front Row: Melissa (my AWESOME roommate!), Teresa (english teacher -Spain)

Tuesday, June 28: we got up early and spent all day hopping on and off one of those double decker city bus tours. I've never done one of those before, but it was sooo worth the money! We saw soooo many amazing characteristics of the city...like the Old Jewish quarter and gothic quarters of the old city, the Olympic port, Gaudi's Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, and 2 other amazing buildings he designed, We went to the top of Montjuic to see the panoramic view of the whole city right before sunset (at 9:30...the days are sooo long here!), and then we ate paella and drank sangria by the water for dinner...around 10:30pm, which happens to be a normal time to eat dinner in Spain.

Rooftop of La Pedrera - one of Gaudi's apartment buildings

Wednesday, June 29: Got up early again. Got in a cab and had a great convo with our cab driver in Spanish…he was so excited that when we pulled up to another cab, he rolled down my window and yelled “Ella es de America y habla espanol!” Got to the train station and took a train to Montserrat, a geologically unique mountain range about an hour outside of Barcelona with an ancient monastery located atop one of the giant rock formations. According to legend, the monastery was built around a black Madonna statue by monks. We heard the line to go inside the monastery to see and touch the Madonna was ridiculously long…because of that and the fact that we were more interested in the mountains than the monastery, we opted to take the cable car up to the monastery to say we saw the outside and then further hike up to the highest point in the Montserrat mountain range. I’m so glad that Melissa and I have such similar interests :) Our friend, Shametrice came with, too. I think she overcame her fear of heights that day :) Came back, went to dinner with a big group and had paella and sangria again. Got some free champagne and shots to go into a bar where we stayed for 3 or 4 songs before we were completely exhausted and headed back to the ship. Spoke with my taxi cab driver the whole way back in Spanish :)

Me and Melissa on our way up to the highest point on the Montserrat Mtn. Range

Thursday, June 30: Even though Melissa, Shametrice, Sarah, and I came back early last night, lots of people were out until 6am because there was some techno concert called Kaskade at a bar called Opium. Lots of drama going on with the undergrads…I was eating breakfast on the ship’s deck at 8:30 this morning and saw three girls walking back to the ship still dressed in their skin tight skirts and high heels looking like hell while being escorted by the DEAN. I would love to know that story…and if I find out more, I will certainly let you all know, too.

Today was a relaxed day. We went out around 11, did a little shopping, ate tapas, did some more shopping and strolling, then came back to the ship by 3:30. Laid out in the sun…fell asleep in the sun. Got really tan. Met everyone for dinner to discuss our adventures in Spain. Looked at pictures. Typed my blog. Now, its time for bed.

Love you guys!

BARCELONA TOMORROW!!!!

I submitted the final draft of the first three chapters of my thesis today!!! :) Yippie! Only 2 more chapters to go and I'm done! I still can't believe my little bro beat me to a master's degree. Jorda, you are a brat! Lol....just kidding, I'm so proud of you :)

Tomorrow morning, we will wake up in Barcelona. I will be going to an elementary school, high school, and a school for students with autism tomorrow. I'm interested to learn how public school is organized and regulated in Spain. Did you know that in Barcelona and the surrounding areas, the official language is Catalan, not Spanish? But almost everyone speaks or at least understands Spanish and a little bit of English, too.

Today I watched the most beautiful sunset I've seen in a while. The Mediterranean waters are so still and the sun was so big and bright...I can't even describe how peaceful it was. I'll post a picture as soon as I can get it to load.

We found out today that our interport lecturer, David Geis, (who I've gotten to know on a personal level by playing silly games & poker with him and his wife Janna every night since the voyage began), was 'knighted' by the King of Spain for his devotion to the Spanish culture in 2007. Check him out at http://www.virginia.edu/uvatoday/newsRelease.php?id=3421

Anyhoo....its time for bed. Its after 1AM here and I want to wake up at 630 to watch the ship dock in Barcelona.

Goodnight!!!!

2 DAYS TO BARCELONA!

Today we crossed through the Strait of Gibraltar. Unfortunately, it was very hazy out today....but, I still got to see the vague outline of Africa (Morocco) to our south at the same moment I could see Europe (Spain) to our north :) How cool is that? We are now sailing in the Mediterranean Sea. Tomorrow is our last day of class before we dock in Barcelona. Tomorrow is Sunday, isn't it? I know its weird...but we have class basically every day we are on the ship (even on the weekends). So, its very easy to lose track of what day it is. I think today is Saturday, but I'm not quite sure.

I started reading a book called "A Year in the World" today while I was sitting out on the deck in the beautiful Atlantic Ocean. The same woman that wrote 'Under the Tuscan Sun' wrote this book when her and her husband quit their jobs and decided to take a year and travel the Mediterranean together. I didn't get very far in the book...because I hung onto so many of her thoughts for longer than I would normally would. One of the quotes that stuck with me for some time is: "Will I be lucky enough to show pieces of this great world to my grandchild? I'm longing to hold his hand when he first steps into a gondola."

Off to bed. I miss you guys!

Lucy, I'm so glad you enjoyed a week away at the beach! Wish I could have been there with you guys! I hope Dustin and Nick weren't too ridiculous for you to deal with by yourself....lol

3 DAYS TO BARCELONA!

The seas were really rough today. People were throwing up all day. I guess I don't get motionsickness anymore. I haven't been affected at all...well, except for occasionally walking into the walls.

The last two nights a bunch of us grad students got together with some of the faculty and life long learners to play "Ham Chunk". The game is so much fun and I can't wait to come home and teach you all :) But for now, you'll just have to speculate why it has such a weird name.

Today I met with my "extended family" for the voyage. Semester at Sea organizes this for people who want to make connections with others on the ship. Its usually one or two grad students, faculty, or lifelong learners paired with 5-6 undergrads. Families meet every now and then for dinner or 'game night' to catch up. I guess I am the "auntie" I have four nieces. Its nice.

My professor is trying to recruit me to do my doctorate at Kent State next year.......its definitely something to think about. What do you guys think?

5 DAYS TO BARCELONA!

I've been too busy to post for the past couple of days. Getting into a routine on the ship is really hard! One thing I have gotten into the habit of is working out in the mornings. There isn't a whole lot of gym equipment but the "lifelong learners" have priority from 5-8AM, so Melissa and I have been going between 6:30 & 7. I use the elliptical but yesterday, I was brave and decided to try the treadmill. HA! That was interesting. Running in place on the 'conveyor belt' proved ineffective when the ship was rocking back and forth. I don't know if I'll be treadmilling it again during the voyage....maybe when we are docked in port.

Today, I went on a tour of the "bridge" which is where the ship's controls are. The ship is on autopilot for most of the voyage...the captain only needs to control the ship during port arrival and departure. There are 3 crew officers whose job is just to stand near the front window of the bridge and look for things out in the ocean. They rotate every four hours. Can you imagine staring at the horizon for four hours straight? I can't. At night time, unless the moon is full and bright, they can only see what's in front of the ship with the radar. But the radar doesn't detect whales....poor whales. Since the ship was on autopilot, I got to put on the captain's hat and sit at the controls to take a picture :)

Last night, a bunch of us graduate students checked out 'Taboo' from the Student Life Desk & played in the Glazer Lounge (the bar area reserved only for Faculty, Staff, and Lifelong Learners). What fun! I had some really good sangria and I am really enjoying the fact that am not lumped in with the undergraduate crowd. It is nice to be viewed as peers of the faculty and staff. It has opened the opportunity for me to converse with all kinds of people on this trip.

But, I am starting to miss being at home and having the ability to talk with my friends and family. Sometimes, it is nice to be disconnected from the rest of the world, but I am just wishing I knew what was going on at home...so tell me what I'm missing! What have you all been up to?

7 DAYS TO BARCELONA

Today was overwhelming...I'm going to bed early (we have to set our clocks ahead an hour, too)

Sooooo much to do ... why do I always take on more than I should?

8 DAYS TO BARCELONA!

Today was our first day of classes.

I am taking 2 courses for grad credit: (1) Integrating Global Perspectives into the K-12 Curriculum and (2) Intercultural Communication

and I am auditing 3 additional courses: (1) Internationalization of Higher Education (2) Global Studies, and (3) Brush-up Spanish

The Spanish class is only for the 8 days leading up to Barcelona...and my Spanish is definitely not as advanced as a lot of the students in the class, but since I am not taking it for credit, its just a good learning experience for me.

I'm really excited about the two courses I am actually taking for credit. Like I said in an earlier post, the professor for these courses is a very well published professor of intercultural education, Ken Cushner. I've already bounced some ideas off him, he is going to be a great mentor and he is already recruiting me to pursue my doctorate at his home university, Kent State :) I don't want to move back to the cold though.....

I have started a student group called "Future Teachers" on the ship...I am hoping that a bunch of the undergraduates studying education decide to take part. Since I eventually want to teach future educators, I am hoping this will be a good experience for me. I think I'll end up organizing a partnership between the "Future Teacher" group and those in charge of the dependent children on the ship.

Thanks for those of you who are commenting on my posts!! Its keeping me motivated to keep up with this blog :)

9 DAYS TO BARCELONA

Today was a long day of meetings/orientation. The weather was absolutely beautiful outside, but unfortunately, I didn’t even get to go out on the deck until dinnertime (aside from the 20 minutes I used the outdoor gym equip in the early AM). I’m realizing how much I’ve grown up I am and how much difference there is between the life experience of a college graduate and an undergrad who just finished freshman year. We had several discussions today about why we shouldn’t waste this whole experience away by drinking and partying the whole time. The ship limits alcohol consumption to beer and wine only and I heard so many complaints and people whining that the classes are going to take away most of our time to enjoy being on the ship. We met with our book groups this evening to discuss the reading that was assigned to us weeks ago. 3 out of the 20 or so of us actually participated in the conversation. Its kind of frustrating. But I’m also thinking about my behavior when I sailed in 2004. Was I this naïve? Was I more concerned with the partying than the life experience? I hate to admit it, but I think so. I wonder if the undergrads will come away from this voyage with completely new perspective on life, like I did. Will this itinerary make the experience any more or less “life changing”? I don’t know…but its interesting to think about.

EMBARKATION DAY!!!!!!

SAS Funfact1: The students and faculty on this voyage represent 280 universities.
SAS Funfact2: 74% of the students on the voyage are female…theres A LOT of estrogen here!

This morning, we had a meeting with the other “lifelong learners” on the voyage. The Teachers at Sea program participants are considered part of this particular group…I guess for lack of belonging to any other group. The ‘lifelong learners’ are mainly retired couples who want to see the world but do so in an academic environment. They are actually a wonderful part of the shipboard community…its just a bit strange to be considered part of their “group”. A lot of them have had amazing life experiences that they are eager to share with us…one of the ladies, Gladys, is 82 years old and this is her 23^rd time sailing with Semester at Sea! Could you imagine?!?!
Anyway, I realized that one of the couples (who happen to be celebrating their 48^th anniversary today) was on the same voyage I was on in Spring ’04! It was so wonderful to see two familiar faces J

After my meeting, I got to get off the ship to spend my last few hours in the Bahamas with Dustin. We finally got to go to this restaurant, Ichiban, that we’ve been trying to go to for days…and lunch was delicious, but I was really sad L The music in the restaurant didn’t help much, either…sappy love songs… I am so glad I was able to spend a wonderful week in the Bahamas with Dustin before leaving (THANKS MOM!!!) And thank you Dustin for sneaking a t-shirt that smells like your cologne in my suitcase. That was the best surprise ever!

Melissa (my roommate), Gary (the other Teacher at Sea), and I then got to eat lunch with our Teachers at Sea professor, Dr. Ken Cushner. I AM SO EXCITED TO WORK WITH HIM! He’s done everything I would love to accomplish in my career. He’s very easy to talk to and he is all about shaping our coursework to what we are interested in. Which is awesome because (1)I can work my SAS courses into my Drexel master’s thesis and (2) there are 25 children on board the ship who need someone to help them make sense of this whole experience. The children range from 4-17 and they are mostly children of professors and staff members. Melissa and I are thinking of helping put their program together!

Oh yea…and I’ll be learning a new language during the voyage…Esperanto. Look it up…its pretty interesting. J

ONE DAY TO EMBARKATION

I BEAT DUSTIN AT PINGPONG TODAY!!!!!!! Those of you who have played pingpong with Dustin or just know how freaking competitive he is can understand my joy in posting my victory......

I guess I can say that today was "embarkation day" because I got to board the ship for a few hours, unpack, meet my roommate, and get Dustin onboard so he could see where I'll be living for the next two months. But...I'm not actually staying on the ship tonight. So...tomorrow's the REAL DEAL

I took a cab from the ship with an undergraduate work-study student named Jess. She's from New Jersey. Speaking with her helped remind me that not all undergraduate students are immature alcoholics who care more about drinking and hooking up than they do about exploring the world. (case in point: later in the evening, we saw a SAS student in a drunken coma get rushed to the hospital to start her "voyage" in the back of a Bahamian ambulance)

So I found out that I am NOT the only Teacher at Sea this summer :) Wooo hooo! The idea of being the only student in the education classes made me kind of nervous. There are two other teachers onboard. One is my roommate, Melissa, who teaches 2nd grade in Montgomery County, MD. The other, Gary, I haven't met yet, but apparently he has been teaching and traveling for a while, so I bet we will learn a lot just from our interactions with him.

TWO DAYS TO EMBARKATION

Today, we walked down to the port and I SAW MY SHIP!!!! The awesome news is that since I'm a grad student, I get to board a day early so tomorrow around 2pm, I will get to see where I'm living for the next two months :)

When I went on SAS last time, it was on a different ship. Actually, my voyage in Spring '04 was the last voyage on the SS Universe Explorer :( The new ship's name is the MV Explorer.

On the walk to the bus stop today I got to speak with a bunch of middle school students who were celebrating their graduation. They were so eager to tell me about their school and very interested to learn the similarities and differences between middle schools in the US and in the Bahamas.

I also got advice (from the students and a few other people I met and talk to throughout the day) to move to the Bahamas to become a teacher here. Because tourism is so lucrative, there is no income tax and the education budget is not effected by the recession. Apparently, the Ministry of Education is trying to attract foreign teachers to move to the Bahamas and they also pay for housing. I'm kind of interested....but, my goal is to work in a Spanish speaking country so I can become fluent. English is the primary and very dominant language in the Bahamas due to British colonization. Either way, I plan to go to the prime minister's office tomorrow morning to get some more information on the job opportunities here for teachers.

We went to a Pirate Museum today in downtown Nassau. Pirate Fun Fact: Blackbeard died at age 38 which was considered "old age" for pirates...since the average life expectancy was 25. Laura...I may have picked up a surprise for you at the pirate museum :)

THREE DAYS TO EMBARKATION

THREE DAYS TO EMBARKATION:

I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend some time with Dustin in the Bahamas before leaving for 2 months.

Today we explored Nassau, first by hiking along the shoreline where we adopted a semi-stray dog we nicknamed "Jobin". We were lucky to have Jobin around because he seemed to know all the secret pathways around the

obstacles in our way.

Later in the day, we rented a jet-ski which turned

out to be more fun than I expected. Full throttle on a jet-ski is so much more exciting and less scary than full throttle on the back of Dustin's R1. I even got to drive :) We explored a ship wreck and passed by the Atlantis, and rounded up the jet ski adventure by jetting through the waves produced by a Catamaran...which ended with us capsizing the jetski...hahahaaaa. Good thing we are both okay :)

Now we are off to dinner. I really hope once I am on the ship I can include photos in my blog posts. But I heard that might not be possible. So...don't get to attached to the photos...you might have to use your imagination....