Puerto Rico

Well…Puerto Rico was so much more fun than I had anticipated.

Day 1: We pulled into the city early morning on Saturday, walked outside, watched us port and felt the warm humid air. There was a long long line to get out of the ship, but I finally did at about 10 am. We then stepped off the ship and explored San Juan, taking pictures along the way. Our first stop was the Castillo San Cristobal, which is an old fort and the largest Spanish fortification in the New World. We went into one of the dungeons that still had markings on the walls where a captain was imprisoned. It was really cool to see and had an amazing view of all of San Juan from the top of the hill. After making a long walk to the fort, we then were hungry for some food. Trying to use the little Spanish we knew we found this amazing restaurant called el Jibareta. It was authentic Puerto Rican food and sooo good! I ordered the oven chicken with rice and beans. It was fantastic and such a cute little place. After lunch we walked around some more and found a small beach where we hung out and put our feet in the Atlantic. The water was crystal clear and beautiful! On our way back to the ship we saw this MASSIVE iguana, and took some pics, as it was just walking next to the sidewalk, then up a tree. Kinda random, but cool. After dinner on the ship we then cleaned up and went out to a cock fight. It was an experience, watching Puerto Rican locals betting on there vicious trained chickens. They were throwing down some big bucks too! Ryan and Paige betted a few dollars on one, the Rocky Balboa of the chickens, but Azul (blue) ended up dieing, even though he put up a good fight…haha.

Day 2: The second day was quite an interesting day as nothing went right for us, it is a long story but we ended up just walking the cobblestone streets, observing the colorful homes and shopping. After shopping, we eat at the “Taco Maker”, if you thought Taco Bell is bad, the Taco Maker beats it. Haha…but hey it was cheap and a funny story! After that we then walked back to the boat, and grabbed dinner on the ship. So really, it was kind of a pointless day but we did see a lot of the beautiful city!

Day 3: The last day we swam in the carribean for the rest of the day and tanned on the beach. Ryan, Paige and I then went and grabbed some shrimp at the local snack bar, which was again yummy. After that we headed back to the ship early to make sure we got back in time. Then later that night, we blew the horn and are now headed for Salvador, Brazil! So exciting!

Life Aboard Ship

So, it is my second day at sea…and the ship is great! It took a long time to get on the ship, since we were just waiting in line with our heavy bags for hours in the humid heat of the Bahamas, but I kept thinking that I’m going to be setting sail soon and it will be worth the wait! Once I got on the ship and finished all the paperwork, I headed to my room. It was actually much bigger than I had anticipated! Our shower especially is much roomier than I had thought, and the beds are pretty comfortable, as I had such a great nights sleep last night! My roommate is Paige Hawkins, an old childhood friend so we have been getting along great and meeting our fellow shipmates. Everyone on the boat so far seem like great people and Ryan’s roommate seems like a nice funny guy (so he got a good roommate mom, since I knew you were worried).

The ship itself is pretty big, and the fastest cruise ship in the world! Isn’t that awesome? But, right now we don’t seem to be going too fast but have already hit some rough waters, but not too bad, and I haven’t felt sick yet, just swaying back and forth as I walk down the hallway haha. But, the ship is pretty big, with a basketball court, workout rooms, a spa, pool, and the food isn’t too bad, actually pretty cool, and the sunsets on the ship have been beautiful!!! (you would love them dad!)

And basically, the past two days haven’t been too busy just A LOT of different meeting on safety, and lifeboat drills, but tomorrow we start classes in the morning with Global Studies being the first class in the morning…then the next day we will be in Puerto Rico!

Bahamas

So…the Bahamas was pretty much GORGEOUS! I never thought in a million years that I would go to paradise island which is where the Atlantis (not the real one haha) resides. It is absolutely beautiful! Ryan’s family and I had a safe flight from LA to Florida then to the Bahamas but got in late around 10:00pm. We then were exhausted, found our rooms which were really nice and headed to sleep. We then got up in the morning for breakfast and ryan and I searched the island. It was fantastic! There were aquariums, pools, and waterslides around almost every corner of the resort. Ryan and I swam down the floaty river by the massive waterslides, it took forever but was waaay fun. After that we just explored the island, took some pictures, swam in the Caribbean and the beautiful pools. After that, Ryan and I met up with his parents around the port area where the Semester at Sea ship was docked. They actually got a tour of the ship with many other parents. Once we met up we then took a taxi to an ethnic bahama restaurant called seafood haven. We were told to order conch (as in the conch shell). I was a little afraid to order it so I instead ordered some great grilled shrimp but Ryan and his mother were brave enough to order it, and I had a taste. It actually wasn’t too bad, it was scrumdiddlyumsious!

And finally, tomorrow I board the MV Explorer for an adventure of a liftetime! Can’t wait!

An Adventure of a Lifetime

This will be my home and campus for the next 100 days starting January 23rd in the Bahamas.
I will be taking classes on the ship for the whole semester while stopping at each port to travel around the world!

The ports that we are stopping at are:

• Nassau, Bahamas
• San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Salvador, Brazil
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Port Louis, Mauritius
• Chennai, India
• Penang, Malaysia
• Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
• Hong Kong
• Shanghai, China
• Kobe, Japan
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• Miami, Florida

I don't know what to expect! But I do know that I will keep you all updated on my adventure!
It is truely going to be an experience of a Lifetime, and I am so thankful for my parents who are willing to pay and allow me to go. Thank you Mom and Dad! Seriously, you two are wonderful and I love you so much!