Una Dia Mas!

1/27/09
16:14

If you were wondering if I did indeed nap after the last entry, the answer is yes for about two hours.  And if you were curious if I napped again today for two hours, the answer again is yes.  I have to get out of this viscous napping cycle. 

After my second nap yesterday, I showered to revitalize my senses (sounds like a shampoo commercial) and in turn I had a pretty enjoyable night.  After dinner there was a mandatory informational meeting about Spain, which was a bit of a snooze since the speaker basically just read from his notes.  “Spain is a beautiful country (pause, look up at audience).  You will see many pretty sights (don’t forget to breathe). Don’t get these Spaniards confused with Mexicans (pause for pity laugh here).”  You know, things of that nature.  Quite boring. 

Next I went to pub night.  Woo pub night!  Last one before Spain.  Every night students are allowed to buy up to six drinks: two at dinner and four from 9 to 11 pm.  Beer, wine, and wine coolers are offered, no hard alc understandably.  Pub night is held on the top deck next to the pool (or bathtub depending on your outlook).  It gets extremely loud within minutes because everyone converses in EXTREME outdoor voices.  I am sure that watching pub night as an outsider would be quite comical.  A bunch of kids standing in circles, talking very loudly, wildly gesticulating, some dancing awkwardly because there really isn’t any music being played, lots of sexual tension, struggling to keep balance (not because of intoxication but because of the huge swells that have been rolling through the past couple of days).  Comical. I met some new people last night, whom I thoroughly enjoyed. 

Oh that reminds me, a girl who I grew up with at the Hickey household is also on this voyage: Mary Wyatt.  What a small world.  We first saw each other at Señor Frog’s the night before we boarded the ship.   It was exciting.  We talked a lot last night and hopefully we will travel together sometime during this trip.

Another restless night of sleep followed pub night, probably because I napped the entire day.  You would think the incessant rocking back and forth would put me right to sleep, but instead I could only focus on the constant squeaking of my roommate’s bed as we rolled this way and that.

Who needs sleep when Spain comes tomorrow?!  I cannot wait.  I plan to wake up early to see the vague outlines of approaching land and then watch the sunrise.  Sounds fantastic, right?  Oh to be on land.  We have been on the ship for nine days, meaning nine straight days of class.  That is a first for me.  Today, during my Econ class someone spotted a whale.* Everyone immediately stopped paying attention, that is, if they had been initially, which I doubt. The whale was really far away and you could only see splashes and water shoot up from its spout, but it counts.  I kept missing it, but I did finally see its water spout.  I also saw two birds, which is rather exciting since we have literally seen nothing but water for …nine days.

On our first day in Spain I plan to hang out in Cadiz (pronounced Ca-deeth, which I first thought was our professor’s unfortunate lisp).  Hopefully, I will obtain my art supplies there.  Then the next day, a group of us are going to take a bus to Madrid and stay a few nights in a hostel.  I’m basically just playing it by ear.  I’ve never done a trip like that before so we’ll see how it pans out.  After Spain we go straight to Morocco.  No definite plans for Morocco either, but quite excited all the same. 

I will write of my adventures upon my return. 

Until then,
H

*Whenever we see or talk about whales we sing this:

Last night, I sawr a whale
As I recall it was a blue whale

SNL skit anyone? Hilarious, I know