tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6321516367164774072024-03-18T22:45:22.948-04:00Come Sail Away With ETaking my education from High Point University to the High Seas, all while opening my eyes to the world and making a difference. Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-68616741898560760002016-01-24T19:49:00.002-05:002016-01-24T19:49:12.202-05:00Thank You<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">It's been
awhile. It's like my blog has been cast out to sea…I am (slowly) taking steps
to recover it from Davy Jones's locker. It is one of my New Year’s Resolutions
to continue this blog. I've had a series of thoughts that will help segue me get
back into my blog. Today it’s the thanks I have for international friends.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"><br />
I have friends from here, American friends. They're great and I love them
dearly. But lately I’ve been thinking how lucky I am to have friends who represent
a wide span of countries across our planet. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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A few months ago, I attended a Thanksgiving dinner open to the Piedmont's
international population so they could experience an American Thanksgiving. I
was joined by people from China, Brazil, South Africa, Australia, Nigeria,
Egypt and far too many additional to keep track of. For the first time in
awhile, I was surrounded with people speaking in SO many languages other than
the ones I knew. When not knowing how to communicate, we realize how vital conversation
(or understanding communication) is to our lives. Without it, you feel
confused, maybe frustrated and left out, leaving you to stand there on the
sidelines…at least that’s how I certainly felt! <span class="apple-converted-space"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">I was invited to a Diwali celebration. How fortunate
am I to have been invited into my Nepalese friend’s home to celebrate this
special holiday with her family and friends? Again, I found myself very
confused while they sang and danced but made up some lyrics in my head I thought
would be fitting for the revelry </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">J</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> She allowed me to borrow one
of her traditional (and beautiful!!) outfits and taught me about their tasty
meal we had that night.</span></span><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> These are a few of the times where I see how wonderful of an
experience it is becoming friends with someone from a different nationality.<span class="apple-converted-space"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">I am grateful for the technology that can bring us
together regardless of the miles between us. Thank you for repeating that word
just one more time because I love the way you say it or your accent is
fantastic. Thank you for staying up when time zones may find us in the midst of
completely different places during our day so we could check in. Thank you for allowing
me to ask questions about anything and everything about your culture....and being
so patient about it! I appreciate you teaching me little words or phrases in your
language so I can practice. You know, for future visits ;) <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Being friends with people all around the world
allows me to share nuances about my country or culture that intrigue them. For
us, these things are second nature and we don’t even think about them! Thank
you for causing me to step back and question why this is in place or why we do
this here. You’ve helped me to see the ways in which I love my country and also
things I would like changed. Thank you for helping me think about these things
because I may never actually take a moment to think about them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">Thank you for being my friend. We may have only met
once or a handful of times during our travels but know you are special to me.
You share your gift of knowledge with me and I wish to do the same for you.
Let’s stay in touch because you never know when life calls for a visit…with
open hearts and open doors </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: Wingdings; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;">J</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: 'Bell MT', serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 107%;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: "Bell MT","serif"; font-size: 16.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-92151144198797761652014-02-17T20:52:00.001-05:002014-02-17T20:52:20.123-05:00The Crossing!!!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eq5xr6sNYV_imSSJpjb139DFiXZ9ecuM7jlMobPGaaSvOLtv69DVq4kSJPsiZJkxMiZIPbkRcyL4w2ASDDfkoHvjo-E51WiWpMrCy4Drb4PFwHhq3bC6C30NVg0r442MHubl9_KDjQQ/s1600/IMG_3881.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eq5xr6sNYV_imSSJpjb139DFiXZ9ecuM7jlMobPGaaSvOLtv69DVq4kSJPsiZJkxMiZIPbkRcyL4w2ASDDfkoHvjo-E51WiWpMrCy4Drb4PFwHhq3bC6C30NVg0r442MHubl9_KDjQQ/s1600/IMG_3881.JPG" height="88" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful view from the back deck, which I miss very much! It never got old :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Well,
we had talked about it since the day we committed to the voyage: the 12-day
trek across the Atlantic Ocean. Many dreaded it, feared about their motion
sickness prone to kick in, whatever, but I was kind of looking forward to it.
You see, the voyage thus far had just been stop and go. Go to class for 3 or 4
days, then port 4 or 5 days....which was GREAT! But no routine whatsoever. And
for someone who does not like routines, I think me saying I was longing for
some sort of routine is a BIG deal!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmcPKzWQO5LnaUQqP9supBgIrzUGE7ltZLxceWWtvUzdahJ6tBLOGAYW3qqBEgsTadUKlqhLbSHHP_YouEdPpsxpOnXH15b_D9ZKeg2FMoBpKpxz6c1-nLn0PUErhF8SVC_3S9KagzOE/s1600/IMG_3841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKmcPKzWQO5LnaUQqP9supBgIrzUGE7ltZLxceWWtvUzdahJ6tBLOGAYW3qqBEgsTadUKlqhLbSHHP_YouEdPpsxpOnXH15b_D9ZKeg2FMoBpKpxz6c1-nLn0PUErhF8SVC_3S9KagzOE/s1600/IMG_3841.JPG" height="200" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Halloween!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Someone
said we could go 72 hours without seeing another vessel during the crossing.
Wow, that was really wild! But true though, as we didn't see many ships during
this time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I
think I mentioned our days at sea where known either as an A or B day. This was
so that our course schedule could rotate back and forth. That being said, the
days during the next almost two weeks (really don't remember how many days at
sea) mainly felt like a blur and I literally had no idea of the day of the week
or date.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The
last day in South Africa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu came onboard to talk to our
ship! That was so cool! Here is a quick clip of him talking briefly about the
apartheid. I wish he could have stayed with us longer. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyv9p07T0S75m_Nlne9NDErOp5JQFNz_Bd0taaejBoVyeEtlNyJzvBglc9Ka8BQAZQMPrSonZAEfMEEcd3fbw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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Now
I don't quite remember what the purpose of this was, but we did have a
scientist sail with us from South Africa to Argentina. This was because that
route is not a very common one and this would give him the opportunity to do
more research as we went across. Somehow, by throwing cardboard boxes off the
aft of the ship, this would measure the depth of the sea as well as other
statistics he was looking for. He did this every 70 minutes so would sleep for
an hour and wake up in the middle of the night, throw the boxes and log his
findings in his cabin. Needless to say, by the end of the two weeks, he was
looking a bit exhausted!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Oh,
this just in! I found this on the Semester at Sea website about our scientist guest,
Greg Brusseau:<o:p></o:p></div>
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"Greg
is currently a Research Scientist in the Argo Float Lab at the University of
Washington’s School of Oceanography. Argo Floats are profiling autonomous
underwater drifters that can help measure global climate change along with many
other ocean properties. The lab deploys approximately 125 of these instruments
a year all over the globe. Greg started his career as a technician on the
Bering Sea Integrated Ecosystem Research Program (BSIERP) working on both the
University of Washington’s research vessel Thomas G. Thompson and the United
States Coast Guard Cutter Healy. He also worked as a Research Scientist
for the Oceanic Remote Chemical Analyzer (ORCA) buoy project which monitors
water quality in Washington’s Puget Sound." Again, I don't understand but oh well. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQakv9ffH8MxRm1JAHwT_AbCvVCJGGxmSBMcvTsl9e_aP8VnOJkz2HXpQ1rwrxh-Nbnstr5chGc6Y305rTptglmPjkXV2uvnINvNWJs_Ru36Em0IW3Sd3n313XD7HzKbDa5tZ1ISmYDko/s1600/IMG_3930.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQakv9ffH8MxRm1JAHwT_AbCvVCJGGxmSBMcvTsl9e_aP8VnOJkz2HXpQ1rwrxh-Nbnstr5chGc6Y305rTptglmPjkXV2uvnINvNWJs_Ru36Em0IW3Sd3n313XD7HzKbDa5tZ1ISmYDko/s1600/IMG_3930.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There goes one of the boxes! It is hard to see but they were actually about 6 feet long!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
During
this time, we also held the Sea Olympics, a tradition with Semester at Sea. All
the decks are broken into seas and compete to who will be able to disembark the
ship first once we get to Florida. I am not a fan of these pep rally, overly spirited
days and some events were better than others. Having a day off of classes for
our "field day at sea" was pretty nice though :)<br />
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I
did call my sister from sea on her birthday! That was pretty cool.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There
was also a crew talent show one night and another night, a talent show for the
rest of the shipboard community. The crew talent show was AMAZING! They really
were so talented and put on a great show. I wish they had performed for us
weekly. My friend won front row seats for the show too and asked if I’d like to
join her. That was great because people started lining up 2 hours or so before
it started. Yikes! <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3oDYnQPAL48ZFdedULg5KZToK2zUrPqe8AVfZNc3fC8M3dqbbE-5qAy7NwAI_GjLd_TXJFR9B-0gPNllluyfee_jypyOdFBhagWcaE-cmDfPoMD2QYhafCYoLvSxeWZjWc7pB-hgtFwI/s1600/IMGP0059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3oDYnQPAL48ZFdedULg5KZToK2zUrPqe8AVfZNc3fC8M3dqbbE-5qAy7NwAI_GjLd_TXJFR9B-0gPNllluyfee_jypyOdFBhagWcaE-cmDfPoMD2QYhafCYoLvSxeWZjWc7pB-hgtFwI/s1600/IMGP0059.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Front row seats at the talent show!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmIi4vmXEjraFWtoQ603dlmbaxHF_liQ49PXgKwDsxSLVfVQuDkR5yRvQpZyw8xopMq0osvReNmFDSDkBMPnzcdxXgjzOXI_Vh-_RBIaRiiUltQyCfjG70OrzG5OONit0o5LmmXS6_f8/s1600/IMGP0075.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGmIi4vmXEjraFWtoQ603dlmbaxHF_liQ49PXgKwDsxSLVfVQuDkR5yRvQpZyw8xopMq0osvReNmFDSDkBMPnzcdxXgjzOXI_Vh-_RBIaRiiUltQyCfjG70OrzG5OONit0o5LmmXS6_f8/s1600/IMGP0075.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our awesome waiters who I miss very much!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Sorry
to say I didn’t take many pictures this time around…..stay tuned for touching
down in South America soon!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Peace,
Erin <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> <o:p></o:p></div>
Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-47762473371805344942014-02-09T21:02:00.000-05:002014-02-09T21:02:10.995-05:00South Africa Safari!!! <br />
So I realize it is February....and Semester at Sea has ended. However, I came across this entry from South Africa from the end of October. I am going to try my best to catch up and post a new entry ever SAS Sunday. Thanks for reading along!!<br />
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Hello all from the set of Lion King!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I guess I’ll just straight up say this is entry is from over
a month ago at this point. Finding wifi <i>and</i>
having my computer on me at the same time has been quite a struggle. So I will
continue to tell about my adventures, just in not the most timely fashion.<o:p></o:p></div>
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South Africa was GREAT. I went on safari and had a wonderful
time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first day in port, we explored the city of Cape Town. It
was a modern city and by visiting here, we were given 3 views of the continent
of Africa that were totally different from one another.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We headed up to Table Mountain the first day. We were told
that it was too treacherous to climb up (rough terrain, thieves along the way)
and the wind was too strong for the cable car to bring us up to the top. So,
our taxi drive to the mid-point was all we got (but shhh it still looks pretty
high up!). It was a great view and was definitely a high point of the city.
Next we drifted from shop to market and moseyed along Long Street, the main
street of the city. For lunch, we went to this famous burger joint and had the
most wonderful meal. I had a roasted butternut, pumpkin, carrot and sunflower
seed burger with fresh red onions and a side of guacamole among the many other
sauces they placed on our table. Talk about a vegetarian’s dream! It was
delish. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The next morning, it was time to leave for the safari!
Something funky happened with the iphone clocks during the course of the night
and our phones fell forward an hour. That being said, myself and some of the
other safari-goers almost missed our trip but very luckily, we made it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I reluctantly signed up for a safari through one of Semester
at Sea’s programs. The reason I am not always a fan of these programs is
because I think they are overpriced for what you get and are too touristy.
However, this trip regained my faith in the programs – it was spot on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We headed out of the city to Garden Route Game Lodge. After
a scenic drive, we arrived. Zebra and rhinos literally greeted us as we drove
through the entrance. Incredible! I
pictured log cabins in the bush. However, we were greeted by the cutest little
lodge on an amazing backdrop. Our rooms were (get this!!!) cabanas! The best
way to describe them is if one thinks of a calendar and pictures Tahitian huts
over crystal clear water. The only difference here was that we looked out to
the grasslands and could sometimes see animals from our little chalet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We had several game drives in an open-back car and saw tons
of animals. I was pleasantly surprised how many we saw – lion, elephant,
antelope, springbok, cheetah, ostrich, water buffalo, rhino, giraffe and zebra
are the ones who come to mind. It was unreal to see these animals in the wild.
I was so lucky to be able to go this trip and could not have been happier that
I signed up just 72 hours beforehand.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nvcbcz8XDqOWaJ8T-lXpsvtiTuQwzJrLicblmNSlD6Dr_6B2BiL5wnZb_L3MEexuTVRE2Aa11J_FK39C55ZxGx9JpwPnMvIrA0TqOEHFskeNpPOlX5c32oTX-MGrTstvvwmxNscgTiQ/s1600/DSC_0571.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1nvcbcz8XDqOWaJ8T-lXpsvtiTuQwzJrLicblmNSlD6Dr_6B2BiL5wnZb_L3MEexuTVRE2Aa11J_FK39C55ZxGx9JpwPnMvIrA0TqOEHFskeNpPOlX5c32oTX-MGrTstvvwmxNscgTiQ/s1600/DSC_0571.JPG" height="132" width="200" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnO184GUVueSmgoGiyxel3zdwLxQKwO7Mw-UIKxY42GkiGaH2xnoUPru7H2V6xIY69WM9wRwnDMlFR-oxfEKrUQLU8W0iap5jYbMHnxrUuC-cqX752f5w6dTn78jg57AUA7Stsds_xY1A/s1600/IMGP7625.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnO184GUVueSmgoGiyxel3zdwLxQKwO7Mw-UIKxY42GkiGaH2xnoUPru7H2V6xIY69WM9wRwnDMlFR-oxfEKrUQLU8W0iap5jYbMHnxrUuC-cqX752f5w6dTn78jg57AUA7Stsds_xY1A/s1600/IMGP7625.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQbF54GPzPjYMeF1T0QBf8c1x9C4RbA7Vtjb9UmjWrlOjggRitvJEiMBrBRJl6C_dcQD9tQAeCDp8f22emm9B0GpMYlan_FZLAu2JubEfdewgL9KYLU-v-sIhLEpoWoVgmEoTgDC6F5s/s1600/IMGP7747.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQbF54GPzPjYMeF1T0QBf8c1x9C4RbA7Vtjb9UmjWrlOjggRitvJEiMBrBRJl6C_dcQD9tQAeCDp8f22emm9B0GpMYlan_FZLAu2JubEfdewgL9KYLU-v-sIhLEpoWoVgmEoTgDC6F5s/s1600/IMGP7747.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQjrHQ3RtnXB6vg_wI-paQ9hrOszt_WR122hIa8jIdZ_1MzBDp1I8YnS8AaZZE0SakkKMd2ez76YGjgaqQ4nfLGNaklm-W19luwDpVLXEWRS0QSxuaOJhjc1FArdU-myAL6yDnKZC1Kw/s1600/IMGP7852.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNQjrHQ3RtnXB6vg_wI-paQ9hrOszt_WR122hIa8jIdZ_1MzBDp1I8YnS8AaZZE0SakkKMd2ez76YGjgaqQ4nfLGNaklm-W19luwDpVLXEWRS0QSxuaOJhjc1FArdU-myAL6yDnKZC1Kw/s1600/IMGP7852.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a>The food was also wonderful at our lodge. After each drive,
they gave us drinks to have fireside. After the sun went down, it got
incredibly cold on the drives! We were provided with blankets with windbreaker
material on the outside to wrap up in while on the trucks because that is how
cold it got. I laughed the first time they put them in the car for us (because
the sun was still out and we were sweltering) but soon after, I was very
grateful! The hot chocolate they provided us with after each drive was the best
I’ve ever had and a nice touch. For dinner, there were plenty of interesting
options from the grill (springbok – those cute little deer-like animals we had
seen earlier that day and ostrich) and vegetarian ones as well. I took
advantage of trying all the new foods I could. I had one South African dessert
in particular that was amazing. It was traditional Malva pudding and the best
little cake I had had in a while. I also tried South African cream soda – it
was GREEN which really toyed with my head!!!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9-A7N4ps2h2Yg3h-1IZBVISaHeRWvPLOYhFU4NCmVTgAG474VMtrXuTBGPB-MP6FSduZynpCczDVu9HhXOiJj3qaCrOEHzdK9pxxiehZL1fKIdeeU3wb1LEB4YDCbzVQqIjNheShaOo/s1600/DSC_0457.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9-A7N4ps2h2Yg3h-1IZBVISaHeRWvPLOYhFU4NCmVTgAG474VMtrXuTBGPB-MP6FSduZynpCczDVu9HhXOiJj3qaCrOEHzdK9pxxiehZL1fKIdeeU3wb1LEB4YDCbzVQqIjNheShaOo/s1600/DSC_0457.JPG" height="132" width="200" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghp_Er1ooSwjEWa0gMbiLZyGYJnlSIK2iyjBETBlXUqAKA9e2nSnjrSU883qToml0FP8rhG_WQdVGGtpCdIOuvsxlOp3uFP-5Y2_Z13ZBPKhZqCN2Lk_BaJpZ2G6QBFDXifjWeRG2UBMs/s1600/DSC_0461.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghp_Er1ooSwjEWa0gMbiLZyGYJnlSIK2iyjBETBlXUqAKA9e2nSnjrSU883qToml0FP8rhG_WQdVGGtpCdIOuvsxlOp3uFP-5Y2_Z13ZBPKhZqCN2Lk_BaJpZ2G6QBFDXifjWeRG2UBMs/s1600/DSC_0461.JPG" height="211" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The restaurant at the lodge</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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After a couple of great days at the lodge, our group was
very sad to leave. It was just so nice to get away and relax for a little bit
at this wonderful place. Reluctantly, we headed back to Cape Town and said
goodbye to our animal friends. Words and pictures can’t do justice to the
wonderful time spent there but it was truly amazing and I would return to the
lodge in a heartbeat if I had the chance. I would love a family vacation
there!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_92pOJpls_Vx3QpqWDCHzyoQ0E4F4-N8dec3UYxmusi2N0KxXOI_voxQX0PBTB6eg4reBYNvZAGNYMW0OVuA05a2UZvvWx0q7t-FHv2JefJpU3UEDFK_abSbHKDv0LigoCXL0oaBRP7Q/s1600/DSC_0682.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_92pOJpls_Vx3QpqWDCHzyoQ0E4F4-N8dec3UYxmusi2N0KxXOI_voxQX0PBTB6eg4reBYNvZAGNYMW0OVuA05a2UZvvWx0q7t-FHv2JefJpU3UEDFK_abSbHKDv0LigoCXL0oaBRP7Q/s1600/DSC_0682.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCXHF8-LyN_vShrcSEgV-AQMxSm2xazA8i3An8IcD3eMu9OleNIuCcczsD-cNJ8Bt4nfuYcMaRGNbAT6Np8ZNB4RzlpF2qi-YVqvv8hQf1UxnvYGsMnxFGpugJCNY_sze8h_GIBjYGPQ/s1600/DSC_0650.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVCXHF8-LyN_vShrcSEgV-AQMxSm2xazA8i3An8IcD3eMu9OleNIuCcczsD-cNJ8Bt4nfuYcMaRGNbAT6Np8ZNB4RzlpF2qi-YVqvv8hQf1UxnvYGsMnxFGpugJCNY_sze8h_GIBjYGPQ/s1600/DSC_0650.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heading off to the bush!!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF21yNr1BYs-shd60xq8no_wKXkTgCNMllUIe0tXamjDG_DL0db6b8iWSKqCKoqKOWcZDzhzQFexxi01QKGn2rG1Oha0yDFlTJAFWp51AxjAVyJx-b9RVUoXo03Nsg_lJywsnSl7C7UvU/s1600/DSC_0861.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF21yNr1BYs-shd60xq8no_wKXkTgCNMllUIe0tXamjDG_DL0db6b8iWSKqCKoqKOWcZDzhzQFexxi01QKGn2rG1Oha0yDFlTJAFWp51AxjAVyJx-b9RVUoXo03Nsg_lJywsnSl7C7UvU/s1600/DSC_0861.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I may move here one day.....</td></tr>
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The last day in Cape Town was met with cold weather and
rain. Not knowing this, I wore a skirt and sandals to the botanical gardens
thinking we’d have a nice day looking at the foliage. Wrong. Not only was I
drenched and freezing (how could the weather be so different here from the
safari?!) I didn’t realize how much walking and hilly terrain would be at the
botanical gardens. Oh well. The beauty of the flowers couldn’t be taken away,
even with all the rain. We had lunch at the African restaurant within the
gardens and (continuing on my trend of trying new foods!) I had a traditional
African (and meat-free) meal which was amazing. I just wish my stomach had been
bigger to finish it all! I had pap and sheba (maize meal with a traditional
tomato and onion gravy) and African spinach (braised with sweet potato and
onions and spiced with cumin). There were blankets on all the chairs so this
was definitely my kind of place! I wrapped myself up in that and asked if they
could put the fireplace on. They said there was no wood, I told them I would
happily fetch some, instead our waiter just sold us on some tea, which was fine
because it ended up being delicious rooibos tea. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We didn’t have much time that day because Archbishop Desmond
Tutu would be talking to us on the ship that day! So we may a stop at the mall
around the corner of the ship to shop in the craft market that was located
within the mall. I was able to get some wonderful things and can’t wait to show
people. We rushed back to the ship to see a long line which took a bit longer
than anticipated though we did get to see the last bit of the archbishop’s
address. It was cool having someone who is so important in South Africa to come
onboard and talk to us!<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKfXsjDAGnj6cuC4i0wusavkMyzPA8785paQ7SwjO5xKjPtXSweXyN2VI2kPNJrLWwtcCgTvRUQCAJhVDXoVa2Y3DetFPVUzlDV9SZ97C0_ynL39SSXaR5XftbUa7j76VJOqEVDyjPP8/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyKfXsjDAGnj6cuC4i0wusavkMyzPA8785paQ7SwjO5xKjPtXSweXyN2VI2kPNJrLWwtcCgTvRUQCAJhVDXoVa2Y3DetFPVUzlDV9SZ97C0_ynL39SSXaR5XftbUa7j76VJOqEVDyjPP8/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wonderfully modern lodge!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7xGToOXGHujZZ_62mGiwxxzaKn9qQJhKu9jhCLolHS1QUbf8j14TGla_gqbpSxSbHiXLji_CsdZf5hDZevzTIpdYfFdy-YvGP-3kUEj2iovCKliaifYBPVwAS_o8kVH2lNt9-4VJ9qs/s1600/DSC_0096.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI7xGToOXGHujZZ_62mGiwxxzaKn9qQJhKu9jhCLolHS1QUbf8j14TGla_gqbpSxSbHiXLji_CsdZf5hDZevzTIpdYfFdy-YvGP-3kUEj2iovCKliaifYBPVwAS_o8kVH2lNt9-4VJ9qs/s1600/DSC_0096.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from our deck</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvurcMjBzfoWZ5kH4APgHCCmDzr5Cm2VGL54zi9wCjjN6tUBonFgAV-nNwlQwnTDWI2bhyphenhyphenOgbsJSob3beFklbjDO6xBlXafp209thWx-xdwkxdrTQ7_OMIkK1ANXqYR8Sc1P5ENgdsYvo/s1600/DSC_0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvurcMjBzfoWZ5kH4APgHCCmDzr5Cm2VGL54zi9wCjjN6tUBonFgAV-nNwlQwnTDWI2bhyphenhyphenOgbsJSob3beFklbjDO6xBlXafp209thWx-xdwkxdrTQ7_OMIkK1ANXqYR8Sc1P5ENgdsYvo/s1600/DSC_0261.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Heating up after the drive - that hot chocolate WAS SO GOOD!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVVw7ATIDZGTVZLQjJa148JDmZ5ikSJzphDtCoodPCs9MfhGEp1hgiU9mvPncanfifYJmJ6P6Hl6rRI-1w1sbRJVAGgKD3w5F4d04mJKGH3PaxH14PMDE9QPTzFyI7LfHIUo4dys8iP8/s1600/DSC_0350.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEVVw7ATIDZGTVZLQjJa148JDmZ5ikSJzphDtCoodPCs9MfhGEp1hgiU9mvPncanfifYJmJ6P6Hl6rRI-1w1sbRJVAGgKD3w5F4d04mJKGH3PaxH14PMDE9QPTzFyI7LfHIUo4dys8iP8/s1600/DSC_0350.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It is so beautiful in South Africa :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWQ6TdcKYaUSZE7DsvFJXeFZcmcKPQ2mI8A6T-SoUnl0GzbK8NZs2pPkwP7SbHqGIPjgpW7PfoQFfgZzPU3DyrXEGsKT8ng9OhcyQu_ajiYrcpAd2Xil6t_Ij7KECeI8NCIyD6S8WHgw/s1600/DSC_0403.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUWQ6TdcKYaUSZE7DsvFJXeFZcmcKPQ2mI8A6T-SoUnl0GzbK8NZs2pPkwP7SbHqGIPjgpW7PfoQFfgZzPU3DyrXEGsKT8ng9OhcyQu_ajiYrcpAd2Xil6t_Ij7KECeI8NCIyD6S8WHgw/s1600/DSC_0403.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We really were this close!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBUuI90o1lvyN2g_IopiE7AuvdDeEM73ARIIeO_35Rn7QPe7NV17bZXKcwDOmvYsCjbcmwOS3RLSKcrqO_YgBDV1MNLcEuAQLI2go6Rf0kHcEB6_bXXHe8vciM5sCTVe0llEwlldSBvc/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUBUuI90o1lvyN2g_IopiE7AuvdDeEM73ARIIeO_35Rn7QPe7NV17bZXKcwDOmvYsCjbcmwOS3RLSKcrqO_YgBDV1MNLcEuAQLI2go6Rf0kHcEB6_bXXHe8vciM5sCTVe0llEwlldSBvc/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Flowers at the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeuUJ28VnrfatFzjjmV0ZwGrFjogEXzabmraFilfw9N6_nKtS9ykj2BVmEjZXL6UFxLCt5eDcUXJuE3U-S19T3xAucKVavwpM8sSmPVr_O_9jCbNnqr5TO6N_xjU2YxV755-x5_YU05Q/s1600/DSC_0677.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGeuUJ28VnrfatFzjjmV0ZwGrFjogEXzabmraFilfw9N6_nKtS9ykj2BVmEjZXL6UFxLCt5eDcUXJuE3U-S19T3xAucKVavwpM8sSmPVr_O_9jCbNnqr5TO6N_xjU2YxV755-x5_YU05Q/s1600/DSC_0677.JPG" height="320" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Typical me - can't decide which juice to drink. Not typical me with trying an omelet....and enjoying it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aww ostrich mom and babies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mufasa!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxVQTVQjUmADDA8tMF_1ZdpVPWK8qVrjD7p_cdSaTTMy80Aa2aQTd4EtvA8g7GVD-1OPi7cS9N3Nu04B3Y3vm0VAvUoUL71iXvuvZVzYCUCkE72LVRLShkFt_71jA85KDrNRHzlboCxM/s1600/IMGP7763.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuxVQTVQjUmADDA8tMF_1ZdpVPWK8qVrjD7p_cdSaTTMy80Aa2aQTd4EtvA8g7GVD-1OPi7cS9N3Nu04B3Y3vm0VAvUoUL71iXvuvZVzYCUCkE72LVRLShkFt_71jA85KDrNRHzlboCxM/s1600/IMGP7763.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Love this view. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A spider nest!!!</td></tr>
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I learned that South Africa has been taken off next fall’s
voyage because of rising fuel costs and the expense it would be to sail there.
That’s a real same because it was awesome and definitely one of my favorite
ports hand down. Next up, 12 days at sea to reach South America. Wow, can you
believe we’re already done with Africa? No worries though, I know I will be
back to the continent soon <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-44820771648970775662013-12-23T22:44:00.001-05:002013-12-23T22:46:08.631-05:00It’s Gonna Take a Lot to Take me Away From You…… <div class="MsoNormal">
My exact thoughts about our next two African ports. Toto was
spot on when they wrote that song haha but first things first, here is a brief
slice of the amazing times I had in Ghana.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Over the summer, I learned about homestays in a village in
the middle of the country that past Semester at Sea students had done. I looked
into it and booked it. Turns out, this was the only trip I had planned for the
whole voyage – and most certainly the experience and port I was most looking
forward to.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of my new friends from the Senase Village and host family. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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It’s hard to use words to describe our time there. I just
LOVED it. The village was maybe 10 hours (you lose track after awhile!) away
from our port. Yes it was far but time may not be indicative of the actual distance
travelled, as some roads are not paved and traffic is plentiful. The ride was
still a blast though. Especially near the toll booths, many people carry things
on their heads to sell. They walk up to the window and you can just buy things
through there. Like a personal drive-thru haha - and by “things”, I really do
mean any and everything. Windshield wipers, bobble head dogs, fried foods,
hats, car decals, it really varied quite a bit! We did buy some plantain chips
off of a young girl’s head which were delicious! <o:p></o:p></div>
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When we arrived in the village, it was pitch black dark
outside and a downpour. This was kind of cool though because the next morning
we would wake up and get to see where we were. We were told the children would
not go to sleep until we arrived. So some of them were waiting where our bus
would arrive and were jumping up and down when they saw us pull up. I was just
as excited as them!!! We also learned that this would be the first time some of
the children saw white people. One little child actually cried in the coming
days upon seeing us. That was really remarkable to me. We lugged our stuff in,
didn’t even worry about getting drenched (because it was inevitable!) and found
our way to Fred, the organizer of the trip’s house. Dinner time! I asked Fred’s
mom if I could help serve everyone since they had been prepping for us all day
and they were more than happy to give me the reins! I had no idea what I was
serving/what I ate but it was delicious and warmed us up. They passed out
sealed bags of water, only to realize that was the purified water we would
drink the next couple of days. I actually think this “sachet” water is the best
tasting water I’ve had of my life! You just hold the bag and bite into the
corner to open and sip up! It was fantastic and about 7-8 US cents per serving,
a cost that for some, was too high for many of the Ghanaians we met. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My bedroom actually had a bed, along with a refrigerator and
desktop computer. We kept the windows open but it got very stuffy at night. I
woke up to pounding rain during the middle of the night and even took a video
because I had never heard rain that loud!!! It was awesome. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We were up and eating breakfast by 7 AM. I learned that once
the sun starts to wake for the day, you do too, especially because it is
completely dark by 6 PM. Roosters roaming around helped to wake us! We had a
crème of wheat-type hot cereal and sweet bread for breakfast. Oh my, the bread
was GOOD. It was soft and velvety like pound cake and had a slightly sweet
flavor that was just wonderful. I wish I could have brought some of it home
with me!!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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By 8 AM, the village was buzzing and we had a few minutes to
explore our new surroundings. My friend and I walked over to the neighbor’s
house to say hi (our presence got many stares) and the teen boy raises rabbits.
We got to see some of the bunnies which were so cute! His mother then brought
out a teeny tiny puppy dog! I loved all these animals. Oh, there was also a
wild dog who stayed in the room next to our bedroom who had had puppies earlier
that week. So cool! I learned she lived in the kitchen of the home…..<o:p></o:p></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is a young lady performing a dance for us....she could move it!</td></tr>
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Our first full day in the village was a packed one. We met
the village elders which is a really big deal in many African societies. We
presented them with our donations and they were so thrilled. The money we paid
to go on this homestay is given to the schools around the village, our host
family and wherever else the village elders see fit for their community. From
there, it was time to visit some schools. My mom mailed a package of goods that
didn’t fit in my luggage and we were both THRILLED it made it!!! Yay! There
were generous donations from her friends at TD bank with school supplies, as
well as some trinkets I had gathered from my room and tons of stickers from my
Aunt Lisa. A. I did not think we would see as many kids as we did and B. I did
not foresee the craziness that would ensue with having these things. Within the
box, there were pencils, sharpeners and eraser caps I hoped to be able to give
each child. However, due to the massive quantity of the school children, I only
gave them one piece each. I felt really bad about doing this (because what is a
sharpener without a pencil) but I wanted to try my best so that everyone could
get something. I was attacked when passing stuff out and one of my young host
brothers had to pull me away to help me out. I was laughing but terrified at
the same time. Their teachers ran out of the classrooms and had to beat them
off of me with sticks. I really could not believe it was real life. They also
learned I had candy, or toffee in Twi (the local language) and would just try
to grab it out of my bag. It was really crazy and wonderful. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day, we performed a dance we learned for the
schoolchildren. We had matching costumes and everything! Didn’t mean we were
good though haha! It was hard saying goodbye to them – they were so
enthusiastic and full of life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The last day in Ghana, my music class went to the University
of Ghana to learn drumming and dancing. I *really* had a leg up on people –
lol. The university was really big and cool to see. We saw a baboon across from
the campus on a leash hooked onto a tree haha oh the Ghanaian sights! <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are direct flights from NYC to Accra (the main city,
though 11 or so hours away from the village I stayed!) and I really hope to
return in the future. It’s really hard to grasp the fantastic-ness that I found
in Ghana. I met so many wonderful people and loved everything about it that I
hope to return and spend some more time there in the future. Thanks for helping
to make it happen to everyone at Can Do Land Tours! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjloEUXX2zNaEx28k6Z3RPHXX6oMm_DdriQshZHrohH7bQaxRF6R1Ozyv2N4Zb3CGXAkaxjcax71gjHxm0wQSckOCKzNrXs1A6U5siFUlvol9a6lxl7CYwWj9qnrdIp2EaPG0GztGNws/s1600/FILE033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvjloEUXX2zNaEx28k6Z3RPHXX6oMm_DdriQshZHrohH7bQaxRF6R1Ozyv2N4Zb3CGXAkaxjcax71gjHxm0wQSckOCKzNrXs1A6U5siFUlvol9a6lxl7CYwWj9qnrdIp2EaPG0GztGNws/s320/FILE033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The children would not leave our side, even after we were on the bus </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoTA9edVhdMRlNfdq-ttLs9cVuJmRS6hrcy7GAjfVUygS8Z1epTN4aGqP8YXlAF_RiNBJGvom1Wa1XLPWyri7F6pejJwU4WD4lKPBpkLqrQS9rwlTyAMQxMVaC59Ki8RCnDGA9XcLXgs/s1600/FILE079.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvoTA9edVhdMRlNfdq-ttLs9cVuJmRS6hrcy7GAjfVUygS8Z1epTN4aGqP8YXlAF_RiNBJGvom1Wa1XLPWyri7F6pejJwU4WD4lKPBpkLqrQS9rwlTyAMQxMVaC59Ki8RCnDGA9XcLXgs/s320/FILE079.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A beautiful sunset one night</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfYmSZ-TxsjpCyM6LsczmX-4WDMMIfjDaxGo7rCbv4PhGf48UEurwWsP0KzeNF9HGVMjq1_AbRZIBWnF8cDhJmQj0Uy86ZsPkCXJ9PRo9kh2YQcIVwoBtCkUc3o27Scv6Gl2gJPDhyphenhypheneEM/s1600/IMGP6773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfYmSZ-TxsjpCyM6LsczmX-4WDMMIfjDaxGo7rCbv4PhGf48UEurwWsP0KzeNF9HGVMjq1_AbRZIBWnF8cDhJmQj0Uy86ZsPkCXJ9PRo9kh2YQcIVwoBtCkUc3o27Scv6Gl2gJPDhyphenhypheneEM/s320/IMGP6773.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were soooo many goats in Ghana - these two were soooo cute!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXqHm7k_1a53L1GzWms7QxlvaUkkI2VmUCS7GIgyClF8PuWxQJ9jELtiYlXM3hsn2GrUHNUjmfukluGn87yUA_faFa7gCceLK_G-wGLpPs3I6O3-Un3vwfK3oEbI3COY25MYnL90WEx0/s1600/FILE175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOXqHm7k_1a53L1GzWms7QxlvaUkkI2VmUCS7GIgyClF8PuWxQJ9jELtiYlXM3hsn2GrUHNUjmfukluGn87yUA_faFa7gCceLK_G-wGLpPs3I6O3-Un3vwfK3oEbI3COY25MYnL90WEx0/s320/FILE175.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The children were SO much fun</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWTiVaV5zkQ5o83__oAhMyGeWL6_ZY6exHCfic0nQsHcNcQdUUSgGMdC7LKzTg-YV1g9i1DEpiJ6B4ZnzfCRG5g2fkBgViPChvz8yrIrW4WOU17XjvTc49mMLoa09jRdg99kRaD9F0Kw/s1600/FILE183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnWTiVaV5zkQ5o83__oAhMyGeWL6_ZY6exHCfic0nQsHcNcQdUUSgGMdC7LKzTg-YV1g9i1DEpiJ6B4ZnzfCRG5g2fkBgViPChvz8yrIrW4WOU17XjvTc49mMLoa09jRdg99kRaD9F0Kw/s320/FILE183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I cannot wait to visit their schools again to spend more time with them</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQrz2VHzhZS2kv3yoHDfopLrUpAbcKcj_SJzgf-4Nevyqrx6xkCOrcES-Ym3dyF71OQUlFXfUR2LGqUcDT06mVvEwzCA-pAbKJ3IKEn5wiJsUGC6mNKFUdZojhtpmdOUzBZOQETDsrac/s1600/IMGP6793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQrz2VHzhZS2kv3yoHDfopLrUpAbcKcj_SJzgf-4Nevyqrx6xkCOrcES-Ym3dyF71OQUlFXfUR2LGqUcDT06mVvEwzCA-pAbKJ3IKEn5wiJsUGC6mNKFUdZojhtpmdOUzBZOQETDsrac/s320/IMGP6793.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out by the main street</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP4eWbgybOJqFTv5DYBjdnDdD3BUHcxpdCmgyRZKH8p1ga_smYWcqF4Fvf_ea8UoilfhX8qV0hxbQrs9NstHv63kJU8Gj0s5m1kPIbHY9QA8Z5Wvc8YAWWBzEfGymOxC-vBcdE0rhIzM/s1600/IMGP6835.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDP4eWbgybOJqFTv5DYBjdnDdD3BUHcxpdCmgyRZKH8p1ga_smYWcqF4Fvf_ea8UoilfhX8qV0hxbQrs9NstHv63kJU8Gj0s5m1kPIbHY9QA8Z5Wvc8YAWWBzEfGymOxC-vBcdE0rhIzM/s320/IMGP6835.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The schoolchildren were so funny - they would not stay in their classrooms once we arrived that day!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkkE-DBg_e__uFbmTvbfSAR02gMa2XBhaVOuyQJXZ8TTpwaI3koPSBVMi-v53wmntmIHGaBHxwmsnh-SmwmjhL4lyhBNugZ_ssjvdkf5zp2BrvztT_BWnHYB5noAePbAQalnXU17_06Y/s1600/IMGP6909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkkE-DBg_e__uFbmTvbfSAR02gMa2XBhaVOuyQJXZ8TTpwaI3koPSBVMi-v53wmntmIHGaBHxwmsnh-SmwmjhL4lyhBNugZ_ssjvdkf5zp2BrvztT_BWnHYB5noAePbAQalnXU17_06Y/s320/IMGP6909.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although they were trying to appear tough, they were sweet at heart :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<o:p></o:p>Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-51983535106616118832013-11-13T08:44:00.003-05:002013-11-13T08:44:44.043-05:00Rocking in Morocco<div class="MsoNormal">
Morocco was awesome.<br />
<br />
However, I hated it as soon as I stepped off the ship. There were a lot of military
or police guards within the port. I was travelling with friends from the ship from
Hawaii and from Alaska. Thankfully we had a male with us. He had to hail the
taxis for us and do the speaking since us females were not recognized.
Casablanca STUNK and I would see dead fish on the streets, fish body parts and
TONS of stray cats. Omg. I feel like for every 5 people we saw, we would see
one cat. They were EVERYWHERE.<br />
<br />
So the three of us were headed to Marakesh. We heard there was not much to do
in Casablanca and Marakesh had great markets and more of a tourist/things to do
scene. We were told to take the first <br />
class train because there was air conditioning and less crime. First off, the
2.5-3 hour train ride (as we were told) was actually 4+ hours. And we missed
the 12:50 train. Us two girls had bought their tickets but when it came time to
buy Travis', the machine was not working. So, time to kill 2 hours! We ended up
eating at a hotel and it all worked out. Our meals were about $4 USD a piece,
not bad!!!<br />
<br />
I slept for part of the train ride. I woke up and we were literally in the
middle of the desert. Omg. Occasionally, we would see donkeys with people. Palm
trees too :) But rural mountains and tents! I assume those are the Berber
people who live in the mountainous areas of Morocco. <br />
<br />
We ran into SAS students at the station and took a cab with them to where they
staying and we were able to get a room where they were! We stayed at a riad,
picture an open courtyard in the center and rooms surrounding it. We opted for
the cheaper room without air conditioning and a shower......so for the 3 days
we were away from the ship, I did not shower. We had 2 beds and a sink in our
room. No soap. You used the public toilets that had no toilet paper or soap!
So, it's a good thing I had my travel toilet paper rolls with me!<br />
<br />
We just explored the medina (old city part) which was like a 90 second walk from
our riad. SO. MUCH. GOING. ON. People selling stuff on the street, just chaos.
It was cool though!<br />
<br />
Oh and I forgot to mention that Marakesh had a very different feel from Casablanca
and I was glad I was out of that city. Locals from the markets in Marakesh told
us that Casablanca was the slums and there is <br />
nothing going on there, just dirty (and they were right!). So I really liked it
once I got to Marakesh.<br />
<br />
That night we went to a restaurant with Moroccan food and belly dancing!!!<br />
<br />
The next day, we just planned on shopping, shopping, shopping. Even devoting a
whole day to it did not even cover a portion of all of the area. We got an
early start at like 8 AM because we were told the <br />
markets opened at 5. Well, nothing really opened til 10 but we still explored
the area. In these souks (tiny market areas) there are separate areas for different
things. Like a spice section, olive section, poultry section, jewelry section,
rug, clothing, so much! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br />
We went to a cafe in the area and I had my first dish of couscous. It wasn't as
great couscous I have had at home but oh well! Each meal we did have bread and
olive oil and as you can imagine, the olive oil was <br />
always great. However, we ate outside a lot and I have never seen so many flies
in my life and they were constantly on and off our food, on my straw, not to
mention the stray cat sitting under the table next to <br />
us. Sweet. I tried an avocado milkshake.....literally just as it sounds. Milk
and ice (not sure how I stayed healthy after that!!! We were cautioned about
both dairy and ice since it could have been made with contaminated water) with
pureed avocado. It was good. Definitely weird! But good.<br />
<br />
There was everything and anything getting sold on these streets.<br />
<br />
Snake charmers were on the street which was horrible. Monkeys too. We even
passed a cage of chipmunks that seemed psychologically distraught, I suppose
because they were near the snakes. Poor little guys. I just wanted to free all
the animals that were there. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We found a 1-hour camel trek right outside the city and that
is just what we were looking for. The actual desert was still about 8 hours
away by car and we were not really interested in sleeping outside. Our riad was
fine enough, with the wrought iron window that let air right in and open to the
courtyard. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We sign up to do this camel trek that would depart at
sunset. The sunset was beautiful on the way to the desert. We get to the
"desert" and board the camels. It was a lot scarier and much higher
up than we thought!!! There was just a cushion and a bar to hold onto, no seat
belt or enclosure to keep you up top safely. Ok! The camel tied to the one behind
me kept making noises and was not about the trek. I figured it was just going
to spit on me. I was kind of ok with this since I hadn’t showered in a couple
of days. Our guide did not speak English. A lot of people thought I spoke
French because of the 5 or so phrases I kept using haha but I kept saying
Miseur, miseur!!! And we think he said something like it was fine, it just
misses its mom at the camp. So I felt bad for it. But then. The demon. It bit
me!!!! It got me right on the back of my thigh and I yelled MISEUR!!! It didn't
break the skin but I do have a bruise of teeth marks on my thigh. He released
that camel and told it to go back to the camp so somehow I guess it just
wandered back to the base where we started. We were about 20 minutes into our
trek and needless to say, about 2 or 3 minutes into it, we and our sore thighs
had had it! So we tried conveying that once the sun was gone, we wanted to turn
around. I would play charades and say no lumiere (tried to think of beauty and
the beast) and the whole trek was a bit shorter than planned but we did it,
done and not wanting to go back haha!! Also, my camel's name was Obama, the people
in Morocco are obsessed with Obama. Anytime they learned we were from America,
they just said Obama and wanted to talk about him.<br />
<br />
The next morning, we went to the Marjorelle Gardens, a private garden of someone
but open to visitors. It was beautiful and tons of tropical plants and cacti.
There were even some plants from Madagascar! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But from there, we headed to the train station so we got there
by 10:30 because our riad front desk person told us the train was at 11.
Remember there was a language barrier here. So we get there in plenty of time
and I show the ticket checkers in the station my round-trip ticket I had bought
the other day and it was for 12:50. Turns out, there was a 10:50 train but we
did not realize that because we were looking for 11:00 train. Here we go with
waiting for more trains lol thankfully, there was food and air conditioning at
the beautiful new Marakesh station so it was fine, just a little unfortunate.
Especially when the train had a delay. I didn't want to make the whole day a
travel day but it turned into that. I needed to get back to the ship by 5 so
that I could leave for the dinner with the family. I bought a program to have a
traditional dinner with a family and really wanted to make it. So thankfully,
got back to the ship at 4:30, showered by 4:40 and made it to the dinner.<br />
<br />
The dinner was AWESOME! I really thought the whole thing was going to be very
fake and touristy but it was so real and so wonderful, I was crying when I left
my family. Our host, Karima, teaches English so she spoke wonderfully. Her
niece who is a dentist was there to help her out and her 2 young children,
Annis and Sarah were there. I ended up joking around with the kids for most of
the dinner lol and their mother said they must really love me because they are
never like that and playing with me all the time. Sarah, who was 5 or so, kept
sticking her tongue out at me. I didn't get to say goodbye to her because she
buried her head in the couch when it was time for us to go and would not get
up. But they were alot of fun and Karima was a sweetheart. I loved the dinner, great
food (I ate soup!!!) and there was honey and fresh pressed olive oil from their
family. YUM. <br />
<br />
The next day, Sunday, was my first and last day in Casablanca. We went to the
Hassan II Mosque. It was huge and really pretty, holding over 100,000 people (I
believe) for services. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I did not like Casablanca but the rest of the
country was great and I have some ridiculously weird and hilarious stories to
share as I just explained. How many times can you say that you’ve been bitten
by a camel in the desert in Morocco?! The locals tell me that is good luck!<br />
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<!--[endif]--></span>Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-4113372634920707082013-10-28T18:02:00.000-04:002013-11-13T08:05:27.339-05:00!Bienvenidos a Espana! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="background-color: magenta; color: white;">Finalmente! I could use my Spanish in its natural habitat! We docked in the southern part of Spain in Cadiz. Shortly before docking, I learned that the “s” or “z” in southern Spain was pronounced as a “th”. So, needless to say, it was a little hard to understand the locals, saying things like “grathiath” instead of “gracias”. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: magenta; color: white;">It was a rainy day in Cadiz (after the weather told us it would be a beautiful day….) but covered almost all of the small city in that one day. We walked to a castle that used to serve as a fort only to reach the entrance gate saying it was closed on Mondays. Oops. My hallmate and I went into a cathedral that was really elaborate. There was a pressed penny machine inside, I could not believe it! There was also a morgue in the basement with remains of some Spanish poets laying there…</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: magenta; color: white;">My friend and I spent the day running in and out of the rain and walking, walking, walking the city! We were along the coast for much of our trek so I loved being by the water. We finally found the main shopping, hopping, popping district and had to eat. What a great choice we picked! I had this fried eggplant dish drizzled with balsamic glaze (did not know vegetarian options would be so hard to come by in Spain haha!) and could not have been happier. It was DELISH! Nice and very thinly sliced grandma :) We were also on a mission to find churros. I had to go into a tourism office to ask where they would be!!! We were told they were a breakfast food so no one had them. We were not taking no for an answer! You may wonder why I was having so much trouble in Spain if I can speak Spanish. Well, once I opened my mouth, people must have thought I knew much more than I do! They spoke 50000 miles a minute and whew that was tricky! I also realized I do not roll my “r”s enough. When I asked the tourism office lady where the churros were, she had no clue what I was saying. I described long, sugary dough sticks and it finally clicked – “Oooooh, churrrros!” she exclaimed! Whoops, guess I need to practice my “r” rolling.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: magenta; color: white;">The next day for my business ethics class, we visited a vineyard to learn about ethics in winemaking. That was pretty cool. It was a locally-owned place and the CEO spent the day with us in the vineyard talking to us and enjoying a tapas lunch with us. THERE WERE AVOCADO SLICES AT LUNCH…..YUM!!! But probably the coolest site I saw that day was one of the Disney Cruise Line ships in dry dock. I think it is the same ship I’ve seen in the Bahamas so it was neat (albeit sad!) seeing it all ripped apart and under construction. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: magenta; color: white;">Spain was our last European port. Time to touch down on a new continent…..AFRICA’s next!</span></div>
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Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-79606795141726320742013-10-28T17:42:00.002-04:002013-12-23T22:48:48.169-05:00Surf CityWell, I can certainly say I am learning something new everyday!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHe-aAXs36vQbioq_xBrhn4NPlVTlBvBr1B38C4SIldNgi2t67U_LFFaOt4z1P9UUZrx4eRlwiZDPzucI1qP6kTPeJKDToo3piDA_9fw8Vav4K4KkfniVQ3WBm1cGyZvm0kQjmXSXyJE/s1600/IMG_2336.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAHe-aAXs36vQbioq_xBrhn4NPlVTlBvBr1B38C4SIldNgi2t67U_LFFaOt4z1P9UUZrx4eRlwiZDPzucI1qP6kTPeJKDToo3piDA_9fw8Vav4K4KkfniVQ3WBm1cGyZvm0kQjmXSXyJE/s320/IMG_2336.JPG" width="320" /></a>Here I am, all excited to speak my Spanish in Portugal and Spain. I’m thinking, this will be great, I’ll know what I’m doing, seeing as reading was a little tricky in Russia and Germany. Well, I never got the memo that Portuguese was spoken there! Duh! That did nothing to hamper on our time there though because we had a GREAT time.</div>
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A couple of days before we docked in Lisbon, I was eavesdropping on my friend’s conversation, learning that she was going surfing. How cool! She asked if I wanted to join and it seemed it would be a little touristy, but why not? I had no other plans!<br />
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Well, learning to surf with Epic Surfing School was one of the best things I have done so far on this voyage! It was such an incredible day. Our 2-hour lesson took up the whole day….and were thrilled about that)!!!<br />
I was able to stand on the board a couple of times. The instructors kept asking if I had done it before because they said I was really good as a beginner. I was ecstatic that at 20 years old, I finally found a sport I am good at!<br />
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The beach we went to was beautiful and had clear water. The water was freezing but wet suits are magical and after your feet and hands are numb, you are set for the rest of the day! It turns out, the World Surfing Championships held an event at the same beach two weeks after us!<br />
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The next day I had an outing with my art class. We looked at tiles that adorn the city. They are used to insulate buildings but end up being so beautiful themselves! We even designed our own. Not sure anyone is going to be running to thrown mine up front and center on their house.<br />
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The cool thing about Morocco is that it has Moorish influence. I can’t remember why this is so LOL What this meant for me is that I had a wonderful falafel, couscous and hummus pita! Also, we were in the same port that Christopher Columbus left from. The weather here was nice and warm and of course I loved that. I would love to visit this port again and wish we had a teeny bit more time than 2 days. However, the memories made, during our surfing lesson especially, are so special that they’ll have to continue to make me smile until next visit!<br />
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Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-41346810988339962502013-10-28T05:02:00.001-04:002013-12-23T22:50:11.012-05:00The Dolphins Made me Late!!<br />
Top of the Mornin Everyone!<br />
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Hope you’ve all had a great month or so. Wow, time flies! Can you believe it is almost the end of October? I literally feel like the month started.<br />
As for the title of this entry, this was an actual excuse I had to use when I showed up late to my art class. There were dolphins spotted at lunch and I couldn’t pull myself away from them!!!<br />
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Ireland was phenomenal. The locals kept commenting on how lucky we got with the weather – sunshine! We were lucky indeed in the land of Erin The first day, a group of us went to Trinity College to take a look around and see the Book of Kells. I ran into a girl who was born in Winston-Salem, NC! It happened to be freshman move-in weekend so that was fun to be a part of! People thought we were joining the class LOL The Book of Kells was not as awesome as I thought it would be. The handwriting was beautiful and it was crazy how old it was so I’m glad I saw it.<br />
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For lunch, I happened upon this wonderful vegetarian place and met some tourists from Wales. I have been lucky in happening upon vegetarian places a lot lately!<br />
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Later that day, I went to the Museum of Natural History. Well, that just ended up being a museum of cute taxidermied animals from around the world so a little different than I expected. There were over 2 million animals there!!! No, I did not get around to seeing them all!<br />
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We visited the Kilmanham Gaol for my sociology class and that was really interesting! Who knew jails could be that interesting?! Our tour guide was great. He said that people would purposely commit crimes during the famine because in the jail, they were guaranteed at least one meal a day whereas they were not guaranteed that meal at home.<br />
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I decided to venture up to Northern Ireland (let me just hop over to another country for the day) to visit the site of where the Titanic was built. Belfast has this incredible new exhibition all about the ship building and its fate which was wonderful. I liked this trip because I booked it through a tourism agency but instead of being with Semester at Sea kids, I met people from all around the world. I had lunch with a girl from the Czech Republic and a boy from Australia. I loved hearing where everyone was from on the bus.<br />
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The last day in Ireland, some classmates and I thought we wore out Dublin. It was a great city. But we were ready to see some green! So we took a train to Wicklow, a small coastal (and BEAUTIFUL) town to hike. Our intentions were to hike to the cliffs so that we could see the beach. Well. That never happened. We never reached those cliffs. We ended up in someone’s pasture and after realizing it was private property, turned around. Oh well, we still got a great view of the ocean from the commuter train believe it or not! We met an older gentleman who used to work in the kitchen at East Stroudsburg University. We were blown away (one of the girls I was with is from Philadelphia) and it just reminded me how small the world is. You never know who you will run into!<br />
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One of my favorite memories of Ireland was dining at an Asian restaurant for dinner. At this point I had already had my Irish cuisine and I saw vegetarian so I was in. Sorry, no more bangers and mash. All the tables were filled as a middle-aged couple came in looking to eat. I told them they could have my table, I would be done soon. Then I said, well, you might as well sit while I wait. They declined and shortly after were seated at the table behind me. This time, the tables turned (hahah) and they said I should sit with them. After all, I just had my computer and map out planning the next day and wasn’t doing much of anything by myself. Well, joining them was a fantastic conversation. We just had a nice evening talking about life in Dublin and my life in America. Turns out, the lady used to go on holiday to Bayonne. I could not believe how close that was to me (and that that was where she went in America haha). I plan to stay in touch with them because they were just such hospitable people.<br />
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Ireland was really phenomenal. I thought that was my favorite country…..until we got to Ghana. Hahah more to come on that!<br />
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XO<br />
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Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-66415404099648454382013-10-01T10:53:00.001-04:002013-10-01T10:53:12.916-04:00Cities times 2<div class="MsoNormal">
Hi all! <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wow, we’ve already been on the voyage a month! In some ways,
it feels like we’ve been on the ship forever but in other ways, it feels like it’s
flying by. It’s a hard feeling to describe. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Belgium and France were considered overland ports. What this
means is that we had the option to travel from Belgium to France without the
ship and could just meet up before the ship left France. That is why I am grouping
these two postings together <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Belgium was really pretty. The architecture is really
amazing, it looks like you are in Disney World if I had to compare it to
something haha! There are many medieval castles and buildings and they
transport you into a different world. During our stay, we ventured to Ghent, Bruges
and Antwerp of course (because that is where the ship was docked). <o:p></o:p></div>
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However, the first day we were docked in Belgium, I signed
up to visit Friedensdorf International. In English this translates to Peace
Village International. We drove through The Netherlands and back into Germany
to visit this sanctuary for children who have been involved in war. Some of the
children were burn victims while others were missing limbs, whether it is how
they were born or if they were lost due to an explosion. They were primarily
from the Middle East and north Africa. It was a little difficult to do our
crafts and interact with the children because none of us spoke the same
language but after warming up to each other, smiles were the best that would do
and we still had a lot of fun. I brought a photo album of my life in America to
share with the young boys I was with. Some of their favorite pictures were of a
man feeding a squirrel in NYC and of the Statue of Liberty – they kept imitating
her holding up the torch. Before we left, we went into the courtyard playground
area. I had brought a couple of beach balls for when we reach Africa but packed
one along for today…and I am so glad I did! After blowing and blowing <b>and blowing</b> up the beach ball (I couldn’t
give up with all their little eyes staring at me!!) they ran off with it and
were laughing and screaming. It was amazing how well they were able to play
games regardless of missing limbs or while on crutches. It was incredible
actually!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day brought us to Ghent and Bruges. Well, it
somehow did not occur to me I would find chocolate and Belgian waffles everywhere!!!
Waffles here are more of a dessert than a breakfast food. I had a delicious one
with caramel and fresh whipped crème – delish! The Belgians also claim to be
the ones that invented French fries or frites. I tried one of my friend’s (just
one LOL) and I don’t know why they were really bragging out them, they didn’t taste
special or anything haha! We walked around the two cities and there was quite a downpour for part of the day but that didn’t stop us! We just loved the
majestic buildings.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The last day in Belgium, I stayed in the port city since we
only had half a day before we left for France. Antwerp was cute, it’s just that
things didn’t open til 10 AM at the earliest and it was a little tricky to do
much of anything when we needed to be back on the ship for noon. Soooo I
explored the city streets and window shopped. I did happen upon a vegetarian café
and I knew this was a must-go. At 10:30 I had lunch (I guess when I had such an
early start and got off the ship early, this was mid-day for me haha) and was
beaming the rest of the day. Not only did the café have wif (!!!!!) they
offered <i>amazing</i> meals and an
incredibly friendly staff. The name of the café was Lombardia. The walls were
plastered with screenshots of Tweets and Facebook statuses about this “Ginger
Love” tea. The day before I had seen a little paper about it in the grocery store
and wondered what the fuss was about. Well, turns out I happened into the place
where it was invented! I tried a sample and I was hooked. OMG, it was soooo
good!!! It is a ginger tea with citrus mixed in and foam on top. I bought boxes
to bring home so some of us can try it together. It was phenomenal. One of the
kind workers actually ended up being the creator and he was so nice to talk to
and helpful in figuring out my plans for France the next day. Pictures of
famous people drinking the tea in his café were everywhere so we took a picture
together in case he wants to throw ours up too ;)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day, I decided to take a day trip to Paris. Looking
back, it was kind of far away (3.5 hours each way) for a day trip, but I’m glad
we made it happen. Of course we saw the Eiffel Tower <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span> my friend and I stopped at a café
and had some sort of giant piece of bread with vegetables and melted cheese –
yummy whatever it was! Since we were on a tour though, there was no time for a
cute little picnic with nice bread in front of the Eiffel Tower. Oh well, next
time! Because it was a Sunday, most of the stores were closed but just as well
since they were Louis Vuitton, Chanel and Rolex haha!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well I don’t know the name of it but I will call it the
Lovers Lock Bridge. This is where you can buy a padlock and put the name of you
and your loved one, lock it on the bridge and throw the key overboard into the
water so that you’re together forever. I could not believe how many locks there
were!!! They were filming a movie on the bridge, we saw a man playing a saw
blade instrument he crafted and a man told me Hakuna Matata. So those were the
bridge highlights haha<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hope to be in touch soon about my Irish adventures! <o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUMv6UoZYcJg5i5enVcXdWfLEj7iZD68v5zedkR7FHOsnxTwU-ladGhpiAHlOsj2Ihqrzz_tIAlt-fT1MPDyud7NerZ8nkRkzhhrJSCAzl-iTDjfhpEYyfQmFws1-Hc_bvHflEZ92naE/s1600/DSC_0015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuUMv6UoZYcJg5i5enVcXdWfLEj7iZD68v5zedkR7FHOsnxTwU-ladGhpiAHlOsj2Ihqrzz_tIAlt-fT1MPDyud7NerZ8nkRkzhhrJSCAzl-iTDjfhpEYyfQmFws1-Hc_bvHflEZ92naE/s320/DSC_0015.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friends from the Peace Camp</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNoCXX3s7WF9_f5LNzoLmsdM0coLIZ7lWzYtW-uFODk1m6pAvehtizgVxknOY9cFVtK_UK_edowrUODBdXGSLdtSVZZ3wJddt0HyPFS-NnB4WJdJXJi5c0s0HIc1ULmM_f7tKpmvBmjM/s1600/DSC_0222.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWNoCXX3s7WF9_f5LNzoLmsdM0coLIZ7lWzYtW-uFODk1m6pAvehtizgVxknOY9cFVtK_UK_edowrUODBdXGSLdtSVZZ3wJddt0HyPFS-NnB4WJdJXJi5c0s0HIc1ULmM_f7tKpmvBmjM/s320/DSC_0222.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">typical tourist pic with the Eiffel Tower in the background!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdGbfZhELscUaaLg6hNYj3_SLMaBgz5mJarZmcQujRD_IQxKEijeJDO6miJ3AzaFZWHKALP_CGlQEcKs5OFsZ229Teu7z9XxehGIJakJ1VwMth73jsq83h7qgDC3jNqXAdE4i7CFr5WY/s1600/DSC_0316.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMdGbfZhELscUaaLg6hNYj3_SLMaBgz5mJarZmcQujRD_IQxKEijeJDO6miJ3AzaFZWHKALP_CGlQEcKs5OFsZ229Teu7z9XxehGIJakJ1VwMth73jsq83h7qgDC3jNqXAdE4i7CFr5WY/s320/DSC_0316.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Belgium looked like this......unreal!!!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRMk-ydupcoJfR2Iy76ZcMSQpMbtszVie7c_TSMGt8937FuFIZNoi_kA16BtYJ6tgHOITS1MC4yldcyrbRWhfFzTREgKahI_AVRimscweK370p3XIgvGUyJpMsmi0nwK7acNvVfG7Tls/s1600/DSC_0340.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLRMk-ydupcoJfR2Iy76ZcMSQpMbtszVie7c_TSMGt8937FuFIZNoi_kA16BtYJ6tgHOITS1MC4yldcyrbRWhfFzTREgKahI_AVRimscweK370p3XIgvGUyJpMsmi0nwK7acNvVfG7Tls/s320/DSC_0340.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just hanging out at the Lovre</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAg2nnzE3EXyk6JPIb2IiC6QrHqgpjlm2WjjCwF6XNRy-2_C8DkJd8tpbuJp1ZZvFRZGhZuce-A-rpKTX7iTNUo2kDxJUexBVCwAxk7ziwRsfl02Zx3c1qIKFTahq90Heck2NV5bJZC-o/s1600/DSC_0371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAg2nnzE3EXyk6JPIb2IiC6QrHqgpjlm2WjjCwF6XNRy-2_C8DkJd8tpbuJp1ZZvFRZGhZuce-A-rpKTX7iTNUo2kDxJUexBVCwAxk7ziwRsfl02Zx3c1qIKFTahq90Heck2NV5bJZC-o/s320/DSC_0371.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soooooo many locks!!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkVICIYBupW5ndfi3h3o4s5-pA7MKAEYA-J1UuE-1GWG__2noSIRfe9Uw9t2S-qwgI-Ap6zW7B4VSru2ppQ-8C3DBRD-cZ35Ect3r0rUrxY-j__VGgSl_hrbFcYTRqvuSGQ-UB0oAw3s/s1600/DSC_0607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjkVICIYBupW5ndfi3h3o4s5-pA7MKAEYA-J1UuE-1GWG__2noSIRfe9Uw9t2S-qwgI-Ap6zW7B4VSru2ppQ-8C3DBRD-cZ35Ect3r0rUrxY-j__VGgSl_hrbFcYTRqvuSGQ-UB0oAw3s/s320/DSC_0607.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Au revoir Eiffel Tower!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniOOJz3Dbc_vlZScCPGyqUPGOU-287CW172Lt2h6zmyMYB6ynvT7rPDr7xu9z5SPWtTSUli0vqHKkJa00_eUBifPON5rC-vxcMeG4FS2YFXXz6OxBnrDoDCJFjgFvosAxyLNrDOfhji4/s1600/DSC_0945.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgniOOJz3Dbc_vlZScCPGyqUPGOU-287CW172Lt2h6zmyMYB6ynvT7rPDr7xu9z5SPWtTSUli0vqHKkJa00_eUBifPON5rC-vxcMeG4FS2YFXXz6OxBnrDoDCJFjgFvosAxyLNrDOfhji4/s320/DSC_0945.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the many chocolate displays in Belgium</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGdRK-IarI4fZQWbEKkro_HdjM6XjSV30-6yOqSwhYsxbjhU9gm2rF4j1Oxp8Z4pXu529Fbk5iadeMWhZGp5WMjLEwTw-vtq8VsolMVoymU4MSud-u9F-PGOZFeojWZ9YYFn5Uu7C8C4/s1600/IMGP4138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGdRK-IarI4fZQWbEKkro_HdjM6XjSV30-6yOqSwhYsxbjhU9gm2rF4j1Oxp8Z4pXu529Fbk5iadeMWhZGp5WMjLEwTw-vtq8VsolMVoymU4MSud-u9F-PGOZFeojWZ9YYFn5Uu7C8C4/s320/IMGP4138.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">YUM Waffle!!!</td></tr>
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Xoxo, Erin <o:p></o:p></div>
Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-87773134625709792572013-10-01T10:37:00.003-04:002013-10-01T10:38:35.018-04:00Germany.....Guten Tag!<div class="MsoNormal">
Guten Tag all!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Greetings (from a couple of weeks ago at this point) from
Germany! Germany was a cool place and different than what I expected. I
pictured it kind of old and run down but in fact it was really modern, clean
and a nice place to visit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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For half the time we were in the country, my hallmate and I
travelled to Berlin. Her teaching assistant from University of Virginia moved
back to her home country and offered for us to stay in her apartment in Berlin.
What a treat! I did not realize that when they say “flats” are tiny in Europe,
they are not kidding! The bedroom was the same room as the living room, office
and dining room. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Our hostess, Elina, served us a beautiful German breakfast
before we headed out for the day. I have been craving crème cheese and finally
had some with some nice fresh-baked bread! Tons of fresh fruit too as well as
“breakfast” juice, as she called it. Just a vitamin fruit drink that was tasty.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We found a free walking tour of the city to check out the
graffiti of the city. In Berlin, graffiti is embraced and while I think it is
illegal, people sneak onto buildings all the time and put their work up there
for all to see. Some of the art is only up for a couple of months due to
weathering. I could not imagine doing all that work just to have it destroyed
shortly after!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Berlin Wall was cool to see, especially all the art on
there. We were able to cross it with such ease as compared to how it was just
20 years or so when my parents were there visiting. Our guide told us one story
of a lawyer who had his practice on one side of the wall and his family on the
other side. Somehow he was able to zipline over the wall with his children
hanging onto each leg and managing to cross to the other side to stay with
them. Amazing!<o:p></o:p></div>
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My authentic meal was spaetzle which was amazing, just
looked like cow brains. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Back in Hamburg, our port, I visited Miniatur Wunderland –
this place was INCREDIBLE! For those of you who are familiar with it, picture
Roadside America with a handful of floors. It was a miniature “museum” with
scenes from around the world. Words cannot even describe it, I am so glad I
decided on going. It was funny seeing the depiction of America. I saw sights
that I’ve never even been to in the States such as Las Vegas and the Grand
Canyon. But NYC was not there! They definitely need to add that. But it was
incredible seeing the detail and it was evident how much hard work was put into
making it as great as it was. I admire those artists for taking so much time
and their attentiveness to detail!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Later that day, I saw……Der Konig der Lowen! The Lion King in
German!!!! It was phenomenal. Thankfully, I have seen the movie enough times
that I knew what was going on for the most part and was only lost on occasion.
I bought the CD and it’s fascinating listening to it. The music sounds the same
and being able to understand it while it’s in German is really cool. (Man, how
many times have I used the word cool in this entry HAHA).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Germany was a great couple of days with a lot of travel that
wore me out, but I’m thrilled I was able to experience the things I did! =D<o:p></o:p></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IJ1IZtwtUECxETvfBSRTaBQLzmkspD7VcgsaUMZP5996f6wojky8aiQDnFTHtRculMOmMnrDNHxSQS_HwolpAQH0Fz8XG50vcybE1ebflN-kILctOhG5_X7ZbrR0CAvhBOs2Cwn3IB4/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-IJ1IZtwtUECxETvfBSRTaBQLzmkspD7VcgsaUMZP5996f6wojky8aiQDnFTHtRculMOmMnrDNHxSQS_HwolpAQH0Fz8XG50vcybE1ebflN-kILctOhG5_X7ZbrR0CAvhBOs2Cwn3IB4/s320/DSC_0027.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
The CUTEST little amusement park ever!!!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1667M19uBHmHjAwKfSYnzmpYbbI4pEgHDgYsfFrp5h8taxJT-CEdBeEor7ixVR4FN6JEVb2EG8LCh5NXw8AKDX6xd0Iokhs_rmWEPyFN3ORG8k1YsLD6OHhj-EJzA2Bg0sEaQ-_lCpUI/s1600/DSC_0051.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1667M19uBHmHjAwKfSYnzmpYbbI4pEgHDgYsfFrp5h8taxJT-CEdBeEor7ixVR4FN6JEVb2EG8LCh5NXw8AKDX6xd0Iokhs_rmWEPyFN3ORG8k1YsLD6OHhj-EJzA2Bg0sEaQ-_lCpUI/s320/DSC_0051.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A delicious German breakfast!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u7a5L5cVEG0FF7Q4b-vf3OHAHFPoAkTLCfV9Abij7CffwJI47mPdY2BI7YQOUbGaEOGxbJ8eN3WSai6ojGtRfUMmLysnT4HYmswiDfNwTO_pNHP3ApR_xZH3vnhyuAlBvewPQgNGGio/s1600/DSC_0069.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6u7a5L5cVEG0FF7Q4b-vf3OHAHFPoAkTLCfV9Abij7CffwJI47mPdY2BI7YQOUbGaEOGxbJ8eN3WSai6ojGtRfUMmLysnT4HYmswiDfNwTO_pNHP3ApR_xZH3vnhyuAlBvewPQgNGGio/s320/DSC_0069.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In front of the Berlin Wall :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hXflkEVjn__q45S8OQj3RrvAPCiqDeWp04HcDdGTK-XisBcsan9RQgM1bc4lHU950iT0wnraWeNF-J3Le-i_qndHdSCsLOmPH2KCz5CAy3qHVlaMIKbU-7-76-fkrBwqtQ0lD_RVosE/s1600/DSC_0125.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4hXflkEVjn__q45S8OQj3RrvAPCiqDeWp04HcDdGTK-XisBcsan9RQgM1bc4lHU950iT0wnraWeNF-J3Le-i_qndHdSCsLOmPH2KCz5CAy3qHVlaMIKbU-7-76-fkrBwqtQ0lD_RVosE/s320/DSC_0125.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the ferry we took from one side of the river to the next to reach the Lion King theatre - except this was the miniature one!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbS4anNhTD0FjHjiw7yAqlOi5aw8UI02p3UMnc0O-C8xXW6XvX-_DwdUugRrfIoZ0zOdPA577ArC1cEJU3oQC0-ErkU2vdW6eWLW_i8ryhp5TS_kk7GR3NTfncvoSl17G-U4cJ_f0rtP8/s1600/DSC_0218.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbS4anNhTD0FjHjiw7yAqlOi5aw8UI02p3UMnc0O-C8xXW6XvX-_DwdUugRrfIoZ0zOdPA577ArC1cEJU3oQC0-ErkU2vdW6eWLW_i8ryhp5TS_kk7GR3NTfncvoSl17G-U4cJ_f0rtP8/s320/DSC_0218.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A MINI CRUISE SHIP!!! Ahhhh</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQBW8E7SKaLvZ0Xtidu8PK17_8w2aB1y8M8qXEzqkEJV3Qg5Ra4mlGZwgGqyV2Odls9dPgqnqbMVDIHuu3tJIntu_myar27AKBuNjZiHsS0P9YuAfCkqzUFE-xEws-SoMxJx2fehor3I/s1600/DSC_0293.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQBW8E7SKaLvZ0Xtidu8PK17_8w2aB1y8M8qXEzqkEJV3Qg5Ra4mlGZwgGqyV2Odls9dPgqnqbMVDIHuu3tJIntu_myar27AKBuNjZiHsS0P9YuAfCkqzUFE-xEws-SoMxJx2fehor3I/s320/DSC_0293.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love these Lion King chairs!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVF7T4nGuvGhT6G3EZYmMsxz5z8Wfxadm95cioWewg_TqUjaUURngYAPT-IevfQu5Z8dz5MTGS7qNjO4rWAmPHPM49Re4PKkPpOFA3ANfyOkgbx_zE53SSX1JSlcfF_DKQvTuCXJ9jsaA/s1600/DSC_0311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVF7T4nGuvGhT6G3EZYmMsxz5z8Wfxadm95cioWewg_TqUjaUURngYAPT-IevfQu5Z8dz5MTGS7qNjO4rWAmPHPM49Re4PKkPpOFA3ANfyOkgbx_zE53SSX1JSlcfF_DKQvTuCXJ9jsaA/s320/DSC_0311.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">During intermission....it was a great show!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLM61RIxyW33NglpyeyBJ2bcRzwx20huH3DPDFviaD8ItEGS9L0ieW_LkyhDDCu24BZbEubPe8S20cvSc_mSjMfYZ1Ya5_WEONlUWGLPPOuB7c4EmJBdrrKgVgwLrVCXR1ECg6709LrNM/s1600/DSC_0351.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLM61RIxyW33NglpyeyBJ2bcRzwx20huH3DPDFviaD8ItEGS9L0ieW_LkyhDDCu24BZbEubPe8S20cvSc_mSjMfYZ1Ya5_WEONlUWGLPPOuB7c4EmJBdrrKgVgwLrVCXR1ECg6709LrNM/s320/DSC_0351.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My traditional German meal of spaetzle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCYvS5E3r5Bs9aX4c_SJulyt0FHT0f5ROnE1KPLEr6_CKVasS57Wp-4xcxwx1h_G-88QjYoJe-h9QBDlCDvxx18HoarzH34XYa5esZ-LfcXgx_DiN2v-rgmzi1Gib-UUErfKKXMdBtNE/s1600/DSC_0390.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgCYvS5E3r5Bs9aX4c_SJulyt0FHT0f5ROnE1KPLEr6_CKVasS57Wp-4xcxwx1h_G-88QjYoJe-h9QBDlCDvxx18HoarzH34XYa5esZ-LfcXgx_DiN2v-rgmzi1Gib-UUErfKKXMdBtNE/s320/DSC_0390.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the ship of the Lion King theatre, we were in perfect view!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tAOBkOinq2Bd9YcXHJfgfrOcomdFMZiBhV_aeXBbT7B4QAufukvhTVGydzmaqwzgJEaSBiQwbxK19hJeUBMLDatIvx9nmBqtzt4kpu6ssxAtxZOcbC4vLM8e48NU0csD8f-YVTAA1I8/s1600/IMGP3752.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6tAOBkOinq2Bd9YcXHJfgfrOcomdFMZiBhV_aeXBbT7B4QAufukvhTVGydzmaqwzgJEaSBiQwbxK19hJeUBMLDatIvx9nmBqtzt4kpu6ssxAtxZOcbC4vLM8e48NU0csD8f-YVTAA1I8/s320/IMGP3752.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pretty sunset in Berlin</td></tr>
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See you again! Xoxo, Erin <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-53328551875180181822013-09-14T05:08:00.001-04:002013-09-14T05:08:44.614-04:00Russia!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Before we knew it, we were at our first port of St.
Petersburg, Russia! The night before we docked, I found out about a wonderful
opportunity. Local university students were hoping to practice their English
with American students as they showed us their city. Of course I wanted a piece
of this! </span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHXDcUGubQ3oHvXt9JHVjMgFzGIwmNTBtJ1_0IpNNHw2RQyvHC1_7-j4m2bBAY2KIvVNNZ0gijHUYii-BmcHLcvZ2OFk0j0e4fcsd0mxKAOHK98x7tYDwmFQRDLyu_Y6ZBfD4TxRemzE/s1600/DSC_0005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvHXDcUGubQ3oHvXt9JHVjMgFzGIwmNTBtJ1_0IpNNHw2RQyvHC1_7-j4m2bBAY2KIvVNNZ0gijHUYii-BmcHLcvZ2OFk0j0e4fcsd0mxKAOHK98x7tYDwmFQRDLyu_Y6ZBfD4TxRemzE/s320/DSC_0005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off the ship in Russia!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">After a bit of a wait to get off the ship (I think things will get
ironed out as we progress) we headed to a bookstore on Nevsky Prospekt. Nevsky
could be thought of as the main street of SPB with shops, cafes and people
wishing to sell you canal tours. There are many canals throughout the city and
it’s been said it’s the best way to see the city. Anyway, a group of Semester
at Sea students and myself wanted to get a bite to eat (and seize free wifi
opportunities!!!) before we met the girls. Somehow, we happened upon an Asian
cuisine restaurant. Whoops, so much for authentic Russian cuisine. However, we
were too hungry to leave and the appeal of free wifi was far too high. Although
we were given English menus, our waiter did not speak English so that presented
a bit of a challenge. I am not asking everyone we encounter to speak English,
since we are the ones entering their country, just marveling at the obstacles
we face along the way. I got a teeny tiny bowl of fried rice that was amazing
and scarfed down in minutes. Interesting note about the bathrooms there – the
bathroom was kind of like a closet and the toilets faced each other so I
suppose there was room for you and a friend in there. I opted to go solo. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Time to meet the university girls! Well, I was blown away at
their impressive English abilities! They were really cool because we got to ask
them about their Russian lives just as much as they wanted to ask us about our
lives in America. It’s interesting because they said they take American culture
classes at school. I brought photo albums of my life in America to show. They
thought it was really cool and said they wanted to visit the top of the Statue
of Liberty. When I gave them an NJ or NY postcard, it was quite the tough
decision as to which one to choose! They helped us out throughout the day
though, as they thwarted ticket vendors who were trying to sell us tourists
whatever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EK6ihrafs6bIZFElFVFlQ0sowDP2QETfgsV3tjiPqobSlsqtWV7Rh5hPCVa8CniYJcB4w_0TQ1tD8c0otJ9EZV6J6v98VqSZuQbuKLpX_iyjdMJMjzPV2MNM1CdzzHFXQOX6NAM723I/s1600/DSC_0522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5EK6ihrafs6bIZFElFVFlQ0sowDP2QETfgsV3tjiPqobSlsqtWV7Rh5hPCVa8CniYJcB4w_0TQ1tD8c0otJ9EZV6J6v98VqSZuQbuKLpX_iyjdMJMjzPV2MNM1CdzzHFXQOX6NAM723I/s320/DSC_0522.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictured with some of our local guides :) If my memory serves me correctly, the building in the background was a governmental building.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Some of the sights we saw in Russia were the Winter Palace,
Church of the Spilled Blood, Peterhof Gardens and the Summer Palace, and Swan
Lake, the Russian ballet, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of
fabrege eggs and matryoshka (stacking) dolls!</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Russian Orthodox Churches are famous for their onion dome
structure and they were pretty impressive. There was a church very close to the
ship that we went inside and it was incredibly ornate! I could not concentrate
if I went to church there haha The domes used to be real gold but it has since
been scraped off and replaced with gold painting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEvlq-19-hAIBUbWowrNMwwge7TXvUzDiDfTSpUWiCV1ln5dSKRBsB43Y6u3iofvReTy0W3mLFVQ0Obk9z3dBVY6VZNg1VnpWdnK_xd4EXoJ-WNyKG4L9G3V44qIE8FZnaTwy7B3XFCc/s1600/DSC_0241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKEvlq-19-hAIBUbWowrNMwwge7TXvUzDiDfTSpUWiCV1ln5dSKRBsB43Y6u3iofvReTy0W3mLFVQ0Obk9z3dBVY6VZNg1VnpWdnK_xd4EXoJ-WNyKG4L9G3V44qIE8FZnaTwy7B3XFCc/s200/DSC_0241.JPG" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwcoWj8VEdk7kQEpR-OTul7lO-I7OGxAVdDOwHCpoO-D5-yy5-Sx81E5lFcYzu-Ee_P0S_I-0Q_V6m-LR3zFSkJ9SUCKWvYWPMU07UFqqx4EmLJsnxuhBVnjyvUP9txGDHjOF1nE43Yc/s1600/DSC_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGwcoWj8VEdk7kQEpR-OTul7lO-I7OGxAVdDOwHCpoO-D5-yy5-Sx81E5lFcYzu-Ee_P0S_I-0Q_V6m-LR3zFSkJ9SUCKWvYWPMU07UFqqx4EmLJsnxuhBVnjyvUP9txGDHjOF1nE43Yc/s320/DSC_0338.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church of the Spilled Blood - dedicated to the czars who passed. Beautiful!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWu338xXj1VHn5xyg2DhmDInS57eTgY4fjMkNUth9NpQnWlNMYa5XOUImnHBQzHvxHKcU-AvUi0JsG4Wh9fW3Pvk4SaxGJ5-saNPhBJJccV-qA3G4flF0SVdnCbRZa6RGZgE1Zmg-jBbA/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWu338xXj1VHn5xyg2DhmDInS57eTgY4fjMkNUth9NpQnWlNMYa5XOUImnHBQzHvxHKcU-AvUi0JsG4Wh9fW3Pvk4SaxGJ5-saNPhBJJccV-qA3G4flF0SVdnCbRZa6RGZgE1Zmg-jBbA/s200/DSC_0339.JPG" width="132" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">The Peterhof Gardens are a short “hydrofoil” boat ride from
land and definitely worth seeing. It was the summer home of a czar and would be
more than ok if it was my year-round home! Tons of fountains and gold statues
adorn the perfectly manicured lawns. We did not have much time to spend at the
gardens but they were great to see for the time we had. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWsPS95xndvcA35KmdXDyfr5ZrLWL4JbJXXS2K2hcFULJGJIjEJwCHg2UcDf7lq95p3ctoQbBgVs1HXjE9WuS3k_j8yyKSpKdqdvFGLt4IPiW9UVQks_Rjf1op9WiXwOu__3NOCGDgZ8/s1600/DSC_0704.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCWsPS95xndvcA35KmdXDyfr5ZrLWL4JbJXXS2K2hcFULJGJIjEJwCHg2UcDf7lq95p3ctoQbBgVs1HXjE9WuS3k_j8yyKSpKdqdvFGLt4IPiW9UVQks_Rjf1op9WiXwOu__3NOCGDgZ8/s400/DSC_0704.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The beautiful Peterhof Gardens!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YsyI__6slcfPL4AvJzsXqCVSvjqoXGOHbSgo7tPX2vHa0GMv7c0UXfVtzpkUqBJAaBDd4x_OG_EFlbpZoZsgWaQz3Jvoc0hM2zoINx3YMIF9nGFt2e4ZnKTJdJmx5ffRJN_J7nafiqk/s1600/DSC_0707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_YsyI__6slcfPL4AvJzsXqCVSvjqoXGOHbSgo7tPX2vHa0GMv7c0UXfVtzpkUqBJAaBDd4x_OG_EFlbpZoZsgWaQz3Jvoc0hM2zoINx3YMIF9nGFt2e4ZnKTJdJmx5ffRJN_J7nafiqk/s320/DSC_0707.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here are some friends from the ship. We are from Michigan, Hawaii, DC and Virginia.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">Lastly, was the Russian shopping. I knew I could not leave
without my own stacking doll. I have one at home but I knew I could not leave
without purchasing my own. Well, this proved to be much harder than I thought!
There were thousands of styles, all so beautiful. They had traditional styles,
they had artistic ones with geometric designs, Christmas ones, public figures,
gah! I decided on a smaller one because the smallest one in that collection is
about half the size of a fingernail and it was too cute to pass up. Another
thing, Russian currency is the ruble. 1 Ruble is about $30 USD. So to spend
over 1000 Rubles a day was not uncommon, just hard to fathom/crazy to imagine
how much money you are carrying on you for one day (though it’s just about $30
USD)!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3uoSUnCPmg63GttYc1d0UqnDCmDnTt1YeOQ63ba6hIQvLJviYCrMU81cqmld6JTd1nQnqfbXD-rjKYPUgT6vzsnVZoX3lTivQq-owMtXegz6f_LGw1eA9IhD2qj2F1iF7OYXqU4nlgI/s1600/DSC_0007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3uoSUnCPmg63GttYc1d0UqnDCmDnTt1YeOQ63ba6hIQvLJviYCrMU81cqmld6JTd1nQnqfbXD-rjKYPUgT6vzsnVZoX3lTivQq-owMtXegz6f_LGw1eA9IhD2qj2F1iF7OYXqU4nlgI/s400/DSC_0007.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A small slice of all of the dolls!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt;">It was pretty cool when some of the Russians saw my last name
and I tried to explain how my grandpa was from here. I wonder if Karpovich is a
popular name there, something like Smith or Jones in America.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbANedaBQU2QeSCSP1-kponT3to9ZsTY-XljkpjmeaYRlB41bNeIfow2I8nTRsfvGdbFnxDJKPxGD3r8PjFhrAbKU2xJdbyRMLE95jvfA5TS8e56V1KNc2gZbDVXfbKaRm6E_aGx00msM/s1600/IMGP3535.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbANedaBQU2QeSCSP1-kponT3to9ZsTY-XljkpjmeaYRlB41bNeIfow2I8nTRsfvGdbFnxDJKPxGD3r8PjFhrAbKU2xJdbyRMLE95jvfA5TS8e56V1KNc2gZbDVXfbKaRm6E_aGx00msM/s320/IMGP3535.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My debut at the ballet. HA just kidding.... :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Next stop, Germany! See you in a couple days. Peace!</span>Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-15344091619750927762013-09-12T15:47:00.000-04:002013-09-12T15:48:59.948-04:00Ahoy Mates!<div class="MsoNormal">
Ahoy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Well, we have been on the ship for just about three weeks
now and learning some sea lingo. Here’s what I’ve got so far:<o:p></o:p></div>
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-floor = deck<o:p></o:p></div>
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-aft = back of the ship<o:p></o:p></div>
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-forward = front of the ship<o:p></o:p></div>
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-left side = port side<o:p></o:p></div>
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-right side = starboard<o:p></o:p></div>
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-everything’s in military time<o:p></o:p></div>
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-it’s a ship, not a boat<o:p></o:p></div>
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-my room is a cabin<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m sure the list will continue to grow!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We have had a couple of rocky nights the past couple of
nights as we sailed through the Baltic Sea but nothing crazy. Thankfully, I
have not gotten seasick, the motion just plays with my head a little. Sea Band
brand Ginger Gum has been amazing. Literally take a piece and within the minute
I feel better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-CwNgIErnh3rFxwavMpiZQM4prl3JJ8TtZhR3Eg6XFSmgjtWz6lFcbmsLMc61-8VViCgibp3VUoq4Zg4dAKK3PRFZK2lshEjvr2GfxTYn44ddiUGAm-Up6EZcyPqaqtnY7tDmwuzvg8/s1600/IMG_1526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC-CwNgIErnh3rFxwavMpiZQM4prl3JJ8TtZhR3Eg6XFSmgjtWz6lFcbmsLMc61-8VViCgibp3VUoq4Zg4dAKK3PRFZK2lshEjvr2GfxTYn44ddiUGAm-Up6EZcyPqaqtnY7tDmwuzvg8/s320/IMG_1526.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">*Trying* to keep it clean! :)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaslF0qf1PvFRHDRXum2QHAv6kOwiGAsA7oSYEVrNx4VsVwP0ay_Su3l2gCYv-saKTCOQolLEY1RXLqGYyoUL6eEUQdcJGWfwV7lok9Hr7JhjiXjUSzu0Kj-G2jn7jYYp1BBRzuST2YM/s1600/IMG_1224.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSaslF0qf1PvFRHDRXum2QHAv6kOwiGAsA7oSYEVrNx4VsVwP0ay_Su3l2gCYv-saKTCOQolLEY1RXLqGYyoUL6eEUQdcJGWfwV7lok9Hr7JhjiXjUSzu0Kj-G2jn7jYYp1BBRzuST2YM/s320/IMG_1224.JPG" title="Here is my home away from home for the next 4 months!" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My home away from home for the next 4 months</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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My room is pleasantly bigger than I expected. It has just
the right amount of storage and I have been keeping my stuff in ship shape. We
have a beautiful ocean view (well of course not on the days we are in port) and
can see several ships passing us throughout the day. Some of them have been
really close! Like, we’ve got the whole ocean, why do we need to get so close?!
But oh well, I wave to them nonetheless, usually not getting anything back. </div>
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On
my way to Zumba the other night, there were double rainbows in the ocean, so
cool! And of course, I did not have my camera. Of all the times!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b6B3GWxXUGMZGuTFqIty9ZOg1SOqJcNhJHDhmbMJO9hpH2JybCQ-PuqVZV9U8Gd1uYLnmErI5dnE2iaxGpLvde0hygY0p0vp2ZIKx5BTNVzjmENmIEO4ZLHmPE-XIyuEj7K3TIi4tz4/s1600/IMGP3238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-b6B3GWxXUGMZGuTFqIty9ZOg1SOqJcNhJHDhmbMJO9hpH2JybCQ-PuqVZV9U8Gd1uYLnmErI5dnE2iaxGpLvde0hygY0p0vp2ZIKx5BTNVzjmENmIEO4ZLHmPE-XIyuEj7K3TIi4tz4/s200/IMGP3238.JPG" title="Scrub a dub!" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scrub a dub</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheH7JZDfM_xs_LDxqT5o6SN7W1toZGi4nr13X8wvIev_z6qZg2_wdMJLVyBD_0L3PccJVWkIgb8QReuNUcBUrYMwQdl2hyB6gjTHB6NCMTA80YfTjJgO_rB9nTYotNlDwsyzqtpW9VOnM/s1600/IMGP3239.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheH7JZDfM_xs_LDxqT5o6SN7W1toZGi4nr13X8wvIev_z6qZg2_wdMJLVyBD_0L3PccJVWkIgb8QReuNUcBUrYMwQdl2hyB6gjTHB6NCMTA80YfTjJgO_rB9nTYotNlDwsyzqtpW9VOnM/s200/IMGP3239.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dry Time</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Laundry is fun. On select days at sea, we have the opportunity
to get our laundry done (for a fee of course) and it has definitely made me
appreciate the free laundry services at HPU. Instead, I just wash my clothes in
the sink with some laundry soap which is not bad at all. They just awkwardly
get placed around the room for the next couple of days to dry out!</div>
<br />
<o:p></o:p><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Ah, the food. How could we forget that? I have been
pleasantly surprised by ship food. Their vegetarian options outnumber the meat
dishes and there is always something to have. No, it’s definitely not filling
food but we’re making it work. I have tried things I would have never at home. I
had brussel sprouts the other day and have had a few different types of soup
(mom, can you believe that). A nice touch is the 2200 snacktime. Every night at
10 PM, sandwiches and desserts are put out to hold us through the night. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBguz7wiVJgVJ3KmTsRFZvFiITzHCqqUroRQ8QoxCvBwBINhOFBV5q93C3_F2ZBoUceyZVW-wVsrzaan9Qa8vqvX0lMhOwkitlP7rmWNNAIUMeE5-ELaGjaoDmlzJwVd8iEG6NpJmhZdM/s1600/IMG_1209.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBguz7wiVJgVJ3KmTsRFZvFiITzHCqqUroRQ8QoxCvBwBINhOFBV5q93C3_F2ZBoUceyZVW-wVsrzaan9Qa8vqvX0lMhOwkitlP7rmWNNAIUMeE5-ELaGjaoDmlzJwVd8iEG6NpJmhZdM/s320/IMG_1209.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5aiwuQrIEh4GcDDDgvTNil4V5Q-UV9Ly8xyQNQLZQdWpdKXLk036iPYfS4hkZ0MHRUk1qxozIcDP9QVSR-E6QI43-_HJwveZivQmCAvbGmP0a-2ywrYuDyzFO3Qfk9V26m6_X_-77Cw/s1600/IMG_1203.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY5aiwuQrIEh4GcDDDgvTNil4V5Q-UV9Ly8xyQNQLZQdWpdKXLk036iPYfS4hkZ0MHRUk1qxozIcDP9QVSR-E6QI43-_HJwveZivQmCAvbGmP0a-2ywrYuDyzFO3Qfk9V26m6_X_-77Cw/s320/IMG_1203.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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I am definitely a lot busier than I imagined myself being.
While class does not actually take up a lot of time, the assignments (and
READING, READING, READING) do. But hey, that’s what I’m here for, right?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m setting a few goals for myself this semester. What goals
do you have for yourself that you’d like to see met? It doesn’t have to be
something that is done only at the beginning of a new year. I would like to
talk to someone new each day on this voyage and I’m happy to say that so far, I
have done so! It’s really cool because I am literally surrounded by people from
all over the world and I have the chance to meet some of them. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18oy7qTmfx4HmvwxS80uZeO1yD30HnOVenK7-CugEPqFshln3Qzv26QQWLpHse4levqM_Uu5Rc428VNxroTR-76wFfG08T0XeUcxjzu59cbs37MttHKksU3QmtVHHPNHNIqR_GHlnHy0/s1600/IMGP3248.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj18oy7qTmfx4HmvwxS80uZeO1yD30HnOVenK7-CugEPqFshln3Qzv26QQWLpHse4levqM_Uu5Rc428VNxroTR-76wFfG08T0XeUcxjzu59cbs37MttHKksU3QmtVHHPNHNIqR_GHlnHy0/s200/IMGP3248.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A typical view during breakfast</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyJmlD-_k8BhAPE5rJwVYD2cIghng0sgkcWpkbt_m6vFqKtRASjT3M4LYOSpkDtgB3G8WcOVFkpqDalHiZFeWpZdr9OrY9p3ilPX8TWAU2qeSCIvwJYwggFMY4cYXcP8yqy3f-qvqBnQ/s1600/IMG_1241.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMyJmlD-_k8BhAPE5rJwVYD2cIghng0sgkcWpkbt_m6vFqKtRASjT3M4LYOSpkDtgB3G8WcOVFkpqDalHiZFeWpZdr9OrY9p3ilPX8TWAU2qeSCIvwJYwggFMY4cYXcP8yqy3f-qvqBnQ/s320/IMG_1241.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Getting some reading done on deck!</td></tr>
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Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-632151636716477407.post-70599467925151020592013-09-01T06:41:00.001-04:002013-09-06T13:56:11.655-04:00<br />
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</span>Welcome!! добро пожаловать! Willkommen! Accueil! Fáilte
roimh! Boas-vindas! Bienvenido! These are some of the languages I will be
experiencing as I sail the Atlantic! Thank you for taking the time to visit my
blog and welcome – I’m excited for our adventures we’ll be sharing together. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">First of all, let me explain what I will be doing these next
couple of months (because I am not on a cruise nor vacation!). I am on a ship
with about 700 students from all over the world to live, study and take college
courses. It’s phenomenal meeting so many people from many walks of life. I am
taking a full course load with classes accredited by the University of
Virginia, with professors from all around the USA. I am enrolled in music
(global music), business ethics (global business ethics), art (mixed media
visual journal) and sociology classes (race and ethnic relations). Classes will
operate on an A/B schedule so we’ll have classes the day we’re at sea only, not
in port. While in port, this is our time to explore and experience the lives of
the people in the countries we’re visiting. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Speaking of ports, I guess we could say my first port was
London, United Kingdom. I met up with some other girls from Semester at Sea to
spend several days in London. This was my first time experiencing jet lag as I
have never flown internationally. It didn’t help that I didn’t sleep on the
plane…how could I when they were serving us meals and my excitement level was
so high?! The craziest thing about the flight was that an hour or so after taking
off from NYC, the sun would already be rising!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXl5GhKiXKdseHM3IweDNBFwYPz9895UNKg0c3IkkNf5ZSyCllF0Ln9vaIdM2T2x5nONhHIzc9HXPfc68It-nYityKj6vf_atxy2-j8nrns7Ad6VXdWfV-jKdUHUSfvUM9u6MwWiaZTU/s1600/IMGP2805.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYXl5GhKiXKdseHM3IweDNBFwYPz9895UNKg0c3IkkNf5ZSyCllF0Ln9vaIdM2T2x5nONhHIzc9HXPfc68It-nYityKj6vf_atxy2-j8nrns7Ad6VXdWfV-jKdUHUSfvUM9u6MwWiaZTU/s200/IMGP2805.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our route on the plane - we flew over the Titanic sight!!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qdSFWd6oyGXIrRqxGZ92kxhG89oy4AYv2JU9C6Yd6qSINqMM6hgFxKhQGOuW4FGQDpkSt345bUMqbxJruRSPSxXtVseEDkSe4OB1JzVA-s864qSgJKy1SeSfTCzMvuytLYCpIiYA5Lo/s1600/IMGP2844.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qdSFWd6oyGXIrRqxGZ92kxhG89oy4AYv2JU9C6Yd6qSINqMM6hgFxKhQGOuW4FGQDpkSt345bUMqbxJruRSPSxXtVseEDkSe4OB1JzVA-s864qSgJKy1SeSfTCzMvuytLYCpIiYA5Lo/s200/IMGP2844.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luggage that weighs more than me!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">While in London, it was very hot!! I heard it was the
hottest summer on record. We did have one day of rain, but that is to be
expected over there </span><span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">
We managed to see many of the iconic sights such as the double-decker buses,
cool telephone booths (and they still had payphones in them!), Buckingham
Palace, Westminster Abbey, the London Eye and Big Ben. However one of my
favorite things I did was I was there (Mom, this one’s for you) is wandering over
to the local supermarket. It was funny because when I visited the world foods
section, they had an American section! It looked like a very condensed version
of an American convenience store and they even had grits! I couldn’t believe
it. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxV2qdxZyJQf4U5Qlp21vwCO8fyhCG8ytXWzkc_3aNYeIsijtOluV1-iuG0706PQFgQAa4RpbkKGuEXNy9d6OBsL9DUOTxpt1i0Tu9vvp5KfSqP6FM4Otxi0DUy10FmoOoWsYfgz6OsVs/s1600/CSC_0437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxV2qdxZyJQf4U5Qlp21vwCO8fyhCG8ytXWzkc_3aNYeIsijtOluV1-iuG0706PQFgQAa4RpbkKGuEXNy9d6OBsL9DUOTxpt1i0Tu9vvp5KfSqP6FM4Otxi0DUy10FmoOoWsYfgz6OsVs/s200/CSC_0437.JPG" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Posing with one of the guards</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Some of my observations in London circled around the size of
objects. How was everything so small?? Or on the flip side, is everything in
America so big? Hotel rooms, cars and meal portions were some of the things
that came to mind. Somehow, I survived off of toast and jam every morning for
breakfast. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJF51lswdFxMr2hfyxXqeAjM4VCwhcinM10_H7gtwFliwKlIzTNnyFf6MKJRjMtmMVj8t7IDy2__LeY7SAL_JYNVK-zpSjFcqY5cydo0liZQ4OYrs6oRrJ_Ldd3WzT6n8OgxzrGq_bGBI/s1600/DSC_0053.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJF51lswdFxMr2hfyxXqeAjM4VCwhcinM10_H7gtwFliwKlIzTNnyFf6MKJRjMtmMVj8t7IDy2__LeY7SAL_JYNVK-zpSjFcqY5cydo0liZQ4OYrs6oRrJ_Ldd3WzT6n8OgxzrGq_bGBI/s200/DSC_0053.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Ben right in front of us after we got off the underground!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy57Oyd0fBZ1bflaObR4U6h1ASe3J6WUVHBWlxRH9HKMbf5hWo2v_CKiJ6kR-os0g9VR_Ytl9QGTJv1dTsqE2gw924UYimIkQmxciThv3NP6rnNDWYOmZKRexQ5wDGbFbFgqpoiAQQugg/s1600/DSC_0070.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy57Oyd0fBZ1bflaObR4U6h1ASe3J6WUVHBWlxRH9HKMbf5hWo2v_CKiJ6kR-os0g9VR_Ytl9QGTJv1dTsqE2gw924UYimIkQmxciThv3NP6rnNDWYOmZKRexQ5wDGbFbFgqpoiAQQugg/s200/DSC_0070.JPG" width="133" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello!!!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnwBIagch543uLHoDavZPxym34Cn1km0Ai-OjIohMM-mul_CwxhMfxiKCnORBHwS6YQVfJuy7p3Vofotv_bRVrGd-5g5UYC6rWro1WmNyjICwXeZ_aegiA0Rt-2VycFDz1_Bzb0x9fU0/s1600/DSC_0189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnwBIagch543uLHoDavZPxym34Cn1km0Ai-OjIohMM-mul_CwxhMfxiKCnORBHwS6YQVfJuy7p3Vofotv_bRVrGd-5g5UYC6rWro1WmNyjICwXeZ_aegiA0Rt-2VycFDz1_Bzb0x9fU0/s200/DSC_0189.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Buckingham Palace</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Next stop was to Southampton where we would board the ship.
I had full intentions of sleeping on the bus but adrenaline and new friends got
the best of me and I found myself talking the whole time. It was funny while we
were pulling up to the pier because we kept seeing ships and getting so excited
that that one was ours. However, the MV Explorer was the little one in the
back, much smaller than the vacation liners today that usually hold 4,000+
passengers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRWNGmsDYGclCzC5wJfbssf3-RWMwzgbIL7v6OVW6xN_bsV2dr3Hk5QRFlK7tBpdXf2qI705gbvZG4qEEQ2_TSzNS__reJh_tVEIeGIEWn5sOLj5_ukUQNA6CucTv_oq429oA6WLqTyI/s1600/DSC_0230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiRWNGmsDYGclCzC5wJfbssf3-RWMwzgbIL7v6OVW6xN_bsV2dr3Hk5QRFlK7tBpdXf2qI705gbvZG4qEEQ2_TSzNS__reJh_tVEIeGIEWn5sOLj5_ukUQNA6CucTv_oq429oA6WLqTyI/s200/DSC_0230.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lion King cab!!! <3</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u_fY9P0vNEzUfx05FNuvg6L7IMLWg4MVpRkgyqGisjm1lvTCW6geSj7iC6hsYKruIvCa5pKPyNJfnD_BQfHZ0UXZfRMKpjOHL57Mfk1q9Hy0bBzrNix6PieLEPZNRCVZsa9rkaVw5Sc/s1600/DSC_0385.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7u_fY9P0vNEzUfx05FNuvg6L7IMLWg4MVpRkgyqGisjm1lvTCW6geSj7iC6hsYKruIvCa5pKPyNJfnD_BQfHZ0UXZfRMKpjOHL57Mfk1q9Hy0bBzrNix6PieLEPZNRCVZsa9rkaVw5Sc/s200/DSC_0385.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was awesome - a man blowing giant bubbles in Picadilly Circus</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cJx0DD27oCwOZDwvrCXBmLQlLPJemMFggg3McV2VrHc5-IDxwTsC8QkfWHU6oOVSZTEnKh0BwOtIb2HqceMT8W-XyB8IfxDViDRd786KDtBrpgditZvVYgHW2d6kKM2IYDfe2g2SPEE/s1600/DSC_0485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cJx0DD27oCwOZDwvrCXBmLQlLPJemMFggg3McV2VrHc5-IDxwTsC8QkfWHU6oOVSZTEnKh0BwOtIb2HqceMT8W-XyB8IfxDViDRd786KDtBrpgditZvVYgHW2d6kKM2IYDfe2g2SPEE/s200/DSC_0485.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hello, London!</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKs7E6l5qmDKTPq2YYPreCdfAwpRNxtaE4mDQig80Rxom959FRbxvBD0XTj1Zsf1rn3wYLffOhwdm4nvMP6IgZIJNIi11vSNqEtvzTcslwjLDCwfuxqBL5uwR279JTACLS5p3xcaXx2g/s1600/DSC_0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmKs7E6l5qmDKTPq2YYPreCdfAwpRNxtaE4mDQig80Rxom959FRbxvBD0XTj1Zsf1rn3wYLffOhwdm4nvMP6IgZIJNIi11vSNqEtvzTcslwjLDCwfuxqBL5uwR279JTACLS5p3xcaXx2g/s200/DSC_0658.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The outside of Westminster Abbey - it was so detailed</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMMa4LEWd_ZBx2g2g7ioVmtwjLI0pBHnz1pKIgkDMZP30Yz6OpcGpn4L6aky7CjpuXlcl4cVKcYbdA4bbdN7-pK6rCjW5SaUaz96Yyc8w1dGheqDQEdYDqvETiwgqf_8C-ZF-RvMVsmU/s1600/IMGP2878.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMMMa4LEWd_ZBx2g2g7ioVmtwjLI0pBHnz1pKIgkDMZP30Yz6OpcGpn4L6aky7CjpuXlcl4cVKcYbdA4bbdN7-pK6rCjW5SaUaz96Yyc8w1dGheqDQEdYDqvETiwgqf_8C-ZF-RvMVsmU/s200/IMGP2878.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GRITS in British supermarket hahah you're never far from home!</td></tr>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPY9FUza6_mAcftYHjck0VGCCQucZQAVKlQR_7M2s08EewAsKaLnORHCICzTKcRSEL5TWaFXMDjQt8mmmYQhr2DSd_d-LU-_p0sboP2q1p9YRT3gMdR2YmY8p6aUh8kR6BWXZjrGuFQD8/s1600/SAM_0084.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPY9FUza6_mAcftYHjck0VGCCQucZQAVKlQR_7M2s08EewAsKaLnORHCICzTKcRSEL5TWaFXMDjQt8mmmYQhr2DSd_d-LU-_p0sboP2q1p9YRT3gMdR2YmY8p6aUh8kR6BWXZjrGuFQD8/s200/SAM_0084.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just trying to hold up the Tower Bridge</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Embarkation was super easy and I could not believe how
quickly we were processed. Kudos to the pier workers and all who had worked to
streamline this process; we were on the ship in no time! While on line, I stood
behind someone from the Bahamas and met some from Kazakhstan – so cool. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, that leaves us with boarding the ship! I am most
looking forward to visiting Ghana. If there were no limitations, where in the
world would you like to visit?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Stay tuned for my take on ship life & an update from
Russia!<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KVNyZfQyJHvHa8awElk48oRbgNPpsEoP0rjm9IIgmddFkoXtHBlt-qEEVJRn0cWiKgUNoS7Ed6q-7mQ2tbSwDfuatOoNwaBVv1Fj5jrPN_-0LUSxB4FlRjuER0Ap-NPXAfrlIJrtirY/s1600/SAM_0134.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3KVNyZfQyJHvHa8awElk48oRbgNPpsEoP0rjm9IIgmddFkoXtHBlt-qEEVJRn0cWiKgUNoS7Ed6q-7mQ2tbSwDfuatOoNwaBVv1Fj5jrPN_-0LUSxB4FlRjuER0Ap-NPXAfrlIJrtirY/s320/SAM_0134.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BON VOYAGE!!! =D</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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xoxo, Erin <br />
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<br />Erin Karpovichhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05133321421780152008noreply@blogger.com2