Erin's Travel Blog

The process of finalizing my application for my semester in Madrid was much different than getting ready for Semester at Sea. Semester at Sea really did so much of the heavy work for me. I guess they had to, since most of my problems were with acquiring my visa, and there were so many visas to get for Semester at Sea. Somehow I managed to get everything together, though there were a few close calls. Now, the day has come for me to leave. My flight leaves Tulsa at 6 am tomorrow, and I am freaking out. I have everything packed (somehow I managed to fit it all into two suitcases), so I'm set. But I have recently come to the shocking realization that I don't speak Spanish. Yes, I've taken it since 8th grade. No, that doesn't mean I speak it. How am I supposed to manage living with a Spanish family, taking classes in Spanish and interning for Spain Glamor? They will expect me to speak Spanish! And rather well, too. I'm terrified.

I've decided I'm not finished talking about Semester at Sea. I guess the point of going is that I'll never be. I keep thinking about it; what I've seen, what I've done, the people I've met, the culture differences. I really thought I would live differently when I came home. But, really, I haven't changed. The only difference is when I think about those people living in Brazil, Namibia, South Africa, India, Viet Nam, China, I feel guilty and cry. My life is the same except for guilt. Why was I given this privilege? Why was I born in America instead of Africa? What did (or will) I do to deserve this life that Daniel from Namibia didn't (or won't)? He wants to be a doctor; he wants to cure AIDs. But I wonder if he can afford to ever go to college. He lives in a house the size of my living room with his three siblings (was four, but one died) and parents. They don't have an indoor bathroom. But he wants to save lives, to save his country. I ...

Day 92 Breakfast was served early this morning: from 0630 to 0800. I was not happy about waking up that early. What made me especially unhappy was that Kelly had heard that we wouldn't be able to get off the boat until noon or later. Luckily, that rumour was wrong. Customs proceedings began a little after 0800, and the ship was cleared by 0900.  While we were waiting for the ship to be cleared, I got to see Kelly's parents for the first time. They called her to say they were standing on the dock off the back of the boat. So we went out there and waved. We were formally introduced as I disembarked with Kelsey. Her brother is really attractive. And her parents were so sweet. They were surprisingly excited to meet us. I was thankful they had invited us to join them for dinner. Kelsey and I let them go about their business, and we set out on our mission for Starbucks and an ATM before heading to the beach. The ATM was easy enough to find, and we just had to follow th...