What can I say other than Europe has my heart?

Spain was amazing! And I will definitely come back multiple times! We were ported in Cadiz (often pronounced Cadith, or Cadis). It’s a wonderful little beach town full of GLORIOUS European clothes.

Zara is one of my new favorite stores, and it’s not even expensive! :] Everything is so gorgeous in Europe! Ahhh.

Okay, so the first day, I had an Archaeological tour of Cadiz and went to an archaeology museum. It was a bunch of fun, and I got to see some really interesting artifacts that had been recovered. I even went for Sangrias with roomie, and two of the ladies :] It was a lovely evening, and Spain is so incredibly easy to get around in.

After much deliberation, and hope, Ashley A-Ram Ramos (:]) asked me to go to Seville with her. We went to the bus station around 9, and to our dismay it was closed, so we decided to go early on in the morning, and to my luck… this is going down in Zerio history… I got the VERY LAST ticket from Cadiz to Seville! That never happens. So us, and about 383476597 other SAS students headed to Seville. It is such an unbelievable city, and is too beautiful for pictures to do it justice. They have a tramway system there, which is basically a monorail through the city- It was great! Ashley, another group, and I stayed at a hostal- which differs from a hostel. Nuevo Suizo. It was such a great place! We got free internet (this is how I contacted some of you), free calls to the US, and breakfast, and it cost 16 Euros! The entire staff was so incredibly pleasant, and very helpful. Ashley, Jackie, Jenn, and I were booked for room 26- which happened to be the rooftop terrace. It was ballin’ This whole trip in Spain has made me want to backpack around the world and wing it more so than I do now. Anyways, we did have 2 other roommates, not from SAS. One was Elliot- he’s from NJ, and turned 26 on Sunday! :] And he decided to go to Spain for 3 weeks solo. The other roommate we had was a girl Valerie from Ottawa Canada, who just decided to tour Europe on a whim.  She had just spent 2 weeks in Italy, and 3 weeks in Spain, and was headed to Barcelona on our last day in Seville. Doing trips independently is the way to go, and so-so much cheaper! We hit up some really cool places, like the world’s largest cathedral, plaza de Espana which is absolutely awesome. And my favorite…Alcazar- a castle/mansion with impeccable…everything! We woke up early the next day, talked to a couple from Belgium about health care, and spoke with a sexy Londoner- Chris, who came to Spain with a friend, because they’re on their 5 week holiday from University. Then we left, and toured around a little more, and happened to walk into the middle of a serious riot. The police were armed with guns that Rambo would use. It was awesome! And SAS probably would have yelled at us had they known that we continuously stayed in that area. (I have a video of this- I’ll upload it to Facebook when I’m home). We met so many lovely people here in Spain! And some rude ones that run us out of restaurants because Jackie is too American :p  True story. Anyways. We all had a blast, and headed out to the bus station to catch the 5:00 back to Cadiz. So we get back and basically shower and crash. Then my roommate (Rachel) and I decide to get up early and go into town tomorrow for a shopping day (which was highly successful), as well as to hit the outdoor market. It was fabulous! Rachel started to feel ill, so I ordered her something at a restaurant. Then we saw some SAS girls and moved to their table. That’s when I decided I wanted to check out one more store before I left (I was, and still am, looking for these cool Aladdin pants everyone has!). So I headed out on my own, and just spent a couple hours shopping and roaming the streets. It is such a great city, and so easy to navigate, I loved being on my own, even briefly. There are probably 39039 stories I can tell, but I will just tell them all when I am home. I got back and had banana bread for lunch, and Rachel came back shortly after- so we decided that since it was only 1:30, we should go lay out and tan. And boy did I get red. So I popped a few Motrin so I should be good. Hahaha.

Oh- and I found out the hard way that our pool is made of the water we’re in, so I got a plentiful mouthful of salt water.

Well, tomorrow is Morocco Day, and Malaria Day (which means I start my Malaria pills- and my side effects are vivid dreams and night terrors. hahaha should be fun) where basically we have 738647 things planned that we MUST attend, and we arrive in Morocco tomorrow night! So exciting! I have zillions of pictures to show you all! Just know that I am having a blast and I never want to leave school if this is what it’s like. Hands down…I’m doing this again! I love it so much!

I miss you all!

PS- Never take the Rosemary!

Hola! And greetings from Espana! I can't believe we're actually in port somewhere!!! Surprisingly I did not walk funny when I got off the ship.

Cadiz is a beautiful city- and everyone has been very friendly. Although it's odd to get used to Siesta. Shops are literally open for like 2 or 3 hours, then close, and open back up later at night. It's neat. :]

The buildings are beautiful, and a lot of them are made from shells! They have such great color and architecture too.

Between my mom having a Horticulture degree, and my dad's love of anything structural, and flooring/building, I have endless pictures of beautiful pathways and roads, and so many trees. (A lot which came from Australia! <3)

It was gorgeous today! Hot..but not humid, and when you walk down the alleys (which are basically every street), there is such a great breeze, and constant shade!

I had a bite of real European vanilla ice cream (although I'm sure it was imported from another European place). It was so delicious. The culture is great here. And I have some fun  pictures of Bill and Gnomie :]

I went on an archaeological tour, which was great- we learned a lot about the city, and went to a local museum.

You know the phrase it's 5:00 somewhere? Well...it's 5:30 here, and me and some of the ladies are going to get some Sangria and Tapas :]

Then back for some naps before going out to see the nightlife at the discotecha.

I miss you all! And will most likely update you more than once while in Spain :]

It still hasn't really hit me that I'm on this trip, and in another country. Maybe I'll feel more submerged in Morocco?

<3

Alright, a brief update, because I probably won't update until after Spain (which we will be in on Saturday!).

 

Sad story- We will NOT be getting two Thanksgivings :[   Our Captain, Cpt. Jeremy Kingston (whom I'm in love with because he's from GB) said while although it was cute, we would actually be crossing the international date line on the 28th of November.

 

I am full of so much energy lately (more so than usual...if that is even possible)! I met some pretty awesome people from Mass on board the ship (most of them being from Boston). AND...they so had the same idea as me, of bringing walkie talkies on the ship... only I didn't, but they did :]. Walkie talkies + college kids + 7 decks accessible to us on the ship = mucho fun games.

 

The other night we had a "mash-up" party...where basically you mismatch clothes and go to a dance. I was walking around, in my normal attire mind you...and just about everyone said "I LOVE YOUR OUTFIT!!!" Even though at this point I was just wearing my pj's... hahaha. Whatever, I went and it was kind of fun, but got old really fast.

 

I'm officially part of the following organizations (not including my work study):

 

Star-gazing group (We sleep outside on the decks!)

Sign Language group (So I can know more ASL than "I have to use the restroom; bullshit; ninja; and dinosaurs"

Vicarious Voyage (Basically pen pals with kids K-12)

Co-founder, and leader of SAS (Sigma Alpha Sigma)

The Alcohol-Free Group (For us awesome kids)

 

And maybe later on LBT, which is basically GSA (Gay Straight Alliance)... because my neighbor invited me, and he definitely thought I was a Lesbian. Bahahaha! But whatever, I'm all for the support of Gays and Lesbians abroad and aboard.

 

 

Ummm what else, okay, this is getting longer than anticipated. Basically I am almost all signed up for SAS trips, Indy trips, and FDP's at this point, but I have to wait until Sale 2 to get the rest that I want...

 

OH!

 

So... being the thrill-seeker I am, I signed up for 2 crazy activities with a group that works with SAS...I won't tell you what they are now. But I am very excited and can't wait until we reach South Africa :]

 

Until then, I'll be in class, working, and furiously typing away on my laptop while sitting on Deck 6, aft. (Which is amazing by the way)

 

You kids stay awesome. And I'll do my best not to get lost or abducted, but we all know how that goes :]

 

<3

 

-Samantha Zerio

Student Ambassador of Semester at Sea

Goodwill Operator

Okay, so I feel like it's time for some updates while I have the chance. Our current time zone is in Azores, which means it's currently 1926 here (7:26 for those who don't run on military time). And it is 3:26 where you are sitting. This is the first time in like 3 or 4 days where we FINALLY don't have to advanced our clocks by an hour. The ship is absolutely glorious, and I feel like I have been on it for days. You really lose track of things and the concept of days and times while at sea with no land in sight.

 

I love the rocking notion of the boat, as it puts me to sleep well.

 

My classes are pretty rocking'. I have 4 total, and they're all on A days (Brings you back to middle school with A/B days right? Or in Tolland Blue team's case, A-B-C-D days :p) Anyways... I discovered that with all my classes on one day, I'm only in class for 23 days this semester!!! :] How awesome is that? And my FDP's (field Practica) are mini excursions that you choose from while in port. So basically, snorkeling, and riding camels is a part of my participation and final grade.

 

I love love love my Medical Anthropology Class, it's hands down the best out of my 4 classes. Second, surprisingly is The US South... who would of thought I'd love that class?!?!? Then the other 2 are also good, but a bit dry right now, but they're slowly getting more interesting.

 

Yesterday was our first laundry day, and being the savvy person I am, I opted to do my own laundry in the sink/shower instead of paying 6 dollars to fill a small bag full of clothes. It was a pretty good success (plus we have a retractable clothesline in our shower).

 

My roommate Rachel is great! She's a crazy-hippie-Jew and I love her. The two of us together are unstoppable. My work study is really putting me to work and thus far has required me to attend meetings and events every night, but it is worth it so far, and I am having a lot of fun.

 

Everyone on the ship is excruciatingly nice; the workers, the crew, the teachers, staff, and students. My room is a good size, and very livable, and I feel like I could live here permanently.

 

Yesterday I went on a bridge tour, where you quite obviously tour the bridge. For those of you unfamiliar with the term, the bridge is at the forward (front/bow) of the ship, and is where all the controls are, and where the captain steers. (And no, there is no cool old-style Captain wheel :[  ). It was pretty exciting to see how everything works. And I even convinced the 2nd officer in command to let me sit in the captains chair, with a sailor hat!  So then everyone got to. (I'm sure they let everyone do it, but I feel like I was the reason :p).

 

I also found out today that the ship generally runs on one engine. The energy from one engine burns 1.6 tons of oil an hour...an HOUR! And on top of that, electricity burns .8 tons of fuel per hour.  That's 57.6 tons of oil a day we're burning, and that's only using one engine!

 

I am signed up for half my trips, and still have to figure out the independent trips I'll be doing...or as we call them "Indy" trips.

 

The ship has some pretty cool events each night, and even a snack time at 2200 hours! (10pm). I had 1 day to read a 26 page article and write a 2000 word response (about 6-7 pages). I feel like that's a little ridiculous for a first day load for one class... but I got it all turned in, so whatever, it's over.

 

I guess I should talk about my work study because that seems to be what consumes my life here. I am an Ambassador of the ship (there are 7 of us in total). And we basically run all of the fun of the ship. We're in charge of The Alumni Ball (Formerly the Ambassador's Ball) which takes place at the end of the voyage. We're in charge of the food, theme, ticket cost, etc... We also are involved in Interport liaisons- where we pick up special guests/ students that ride with us to the next port. We put together and run live and silent auctions...and in order to do so, we also solicit to get people to contribute items to the auctions. (Most things aren't tangible items i.e.  eating dinner with the Captain in his private quarters, Spending a week in a teacher's private beach house, unlimited internet access, honking the horn while entering/leaving port, and so on...We also will be in charge of "goodwill" on the ship, where we welcome the community, get them involved, promote things, and join everyone together. On top of that we also have Marketing and Advertising. And a lot of other responsibilities. We all work on these projects together, but have each taken one over as "Head manager" if you will. I chose Goodwill. I am currently working with RA's to do special things for peoples birthdays on the ship, and I am also working on getting Ambassadors their own shirts. We held an involvement fair for all the clubs and activities you can sign up for, and I joined many :p I will be doing the Vicarious Voyage- where we get pen pals of children in classrooms, and share our journey with them. I am getting "adopted" by a life-long learner on board the ship (basically they bring you cool places in port, and tell great stories). And I am part of a leadership program, where through attending various activities, and sessions on ship, you get a certificate and a special seal on your diploma :]  I'm pretty stoked. I also co-founded Sigma Alpha Sigma, (SAS- Semester at Sea). So I will be insanely busy on and off board. We will soon be giving tours of the ship to incoming guests of the ship, so I have to memorize the ship well (which I pretty much have).

 

I wake up early every morning and eat breakfast on the aft deck (or back) and watch the sunrise- which is absolutely breath taking (except today because it was covered by clouds).

 

Hmm  what else. There really is so much to share. Most of my off port excursions are service projects such as Habitat for Humanity, and visiting orphanages and hospitals. South Africa is where I will surely be having the most fun. I have many crazy activities planned, but will leave those as a mystery to you all :]

 

Last night my roommate and I (being curious) found out that out ceiling is magnetic (we knew the walls were). And as per usual, I am psychotically organized school and work wise :p

 

I even made 3 copies of my offshore excursions in an excel spread sheet and color coded them by whether they were FDP's, SAS trips, or independent trips. Hahaha.

 

Jess is our cabin steward, and he's worth mentioning. Yes he. He is the sweetest guy ever, and they do an insane amount of work here for everyone. He changes our toilet paper, makes our beds, and replaces our towels. (We're pampered here!)

 

I have yet to go in the pool, but it's just the beginning of our journey, and has been really humid out lately anyways. Plus I'm insanely busy. Working out on board is crazy, but hilarious. Elliptical while ships are rocking back and forth = lots of awkward feelings and positions, but overall funny to be a part of.

 

Because Global Studies is a mandatory class for everyone, they not only have t in the Union (our auditorium), but they play it on flat screens across the ship, in the rooms on the TV, and in other classrooms that don't currently have classes. PS- There are 9 classrooms, and the Union stands as one as well...so 10. And 2 of the classrooms are literally in the union, and have those walls like we use to have to divide our gymnasium at school.

 

Part of me wishes something insane would happen that would make us get into the lifeboats because they look like mini submarines!  But that would be bad... I officially no longer have my calling/texting capabilities in case any of you were getting weird text responses back from my number.

 

Oh! My free e-mail is smzerio@semesteratsea.net    Use it and abuse it kids!

 

Oh, and they play pretty good movies on TV too, my roommate and I have yet to really watch one, but we plan on having a movie night tomorrow, it will be fantastic. Gnomie and Bill are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Spain (in 4 days) so they can be in some crazy photos :]

 

I suppose that is really all for now. Oh, and I'll be making a commercial for the ship to see, and I write for the Dean's Memo which comes out everyday.

 

Until then folks (I'm sure your eyes are straining if you read this all)

 

I miss you all and love you all dearly, and cannot wait until we hit Spain so I can share my first port stories!

 

-Sam

-Samantha Zero :]

Hi all, technically I'm supposed to be in meetings...and I kind of am? I'm on the computer in a classroom, somewhat watching the Captain and several other staff talk (which they have been doing since 9am, minus 1 lunch break for an hour, in which I had a work study meeting -_-) Any who, It's been crazy busy, and I'm not seasick at all, in fact the waves and bumps make me rather sleepy, so this semester will be a challenge. Today I signed up for trips Ghana- India...even though we couldn't. (Northern smarts and attitudes get you everything :])

Alright, I should probably listen to all this safety mumbo jumbo. I have all 4 of my classes on A days... which are usually every other day... but not really... And we have class on thanksgiving :[  But we get 2 thanksgivings :]

 

My job is insane, but keeping me busy, we pretty much run all the activities and fun on the ship. Me, Dave and our Super- Grant picked up Marta the other day from the Halifax airport, she's from Spain and staying on the ship with us until we reach Spain (which is 7 days?) Alright, getting to work, The Ambassadors (me and 6 others) are running a fair tonight on the ship- should be interesting :]

 

I'm on the Port side of the ship, and the room is pretty awesome, and my roommate Rachel is completely Crazy/Chill just like me, they paired us well :]

 

Alright kiddos, I'll probably blog Monday.

 

PS.

Lifeboat drills are the major suxor and completely ridiculous!- even though we all looked mad sexy in the orange life vests :p

-Samantha Zerio :]

OH CANADA!!!

Wowzer’s, I have so much to write, and already so little time.

It had been a while since I had been to Canada and I forgot how small things inside of Canada are… Like the randomly placed signs that face the woods on the side of the highway… weird, eh?

The trip was relatively decent, although I burnt through my phone, camera, and iPod battery 4 hours into the trip : /

We got to the hotel around… oh…9ish? Mayhaps. Checked in, and did whatever before bed. We spent the next day poking around Halifax…meaning mom and Reza (her fiancée for those of you who didn’t know- were constantly fighting)…By the way, Reza is an awful driver, worse than my mother… I seriously thought I was going to die before I got to the ship.

Today was the big day. Student workers were to arrive at the Halifax Seaport, Pier 21, Pavilion 23 at 9am for check-in…we got there at 7:30 :p. The MV Explorer arrived about 8, and come 9:30 or so, us work study students and life-long learners got to check in.
Zerio luck would have it that they had to in-depth check my bags…all because of laundry detergent (what the eff). And then I beeped going through the scanner, so the woman pulled out the handheld scanner, and did a full body scan- to which nothing beeped… so They double checked me through the walk-through scanner…it beeped again. This process repeated a few times before she called over a group of people to figure out what was beeping. After assuring them and proving I had nothing in my pockets (because these pants didn’t have pockets…) they let me board.

The ship is awesome. And although my “estate room” isn’t huge (Oh yes So-Ruffians…smaller than Heather and Hil’s room)… It’s actually quite spacious, and a lot of my stuff fit. My roommate isn’t hear yet, but I know her name because I accidentally opened her school book box (sorry :/)

My work study is pretty sweet, there’s 9 Ambassadors, and 2 work directly with Grant (our supervisor) the other seven of us (including me) get to essentially manage and create events on the ship. Tonight we’re picking up Maria Cano- a girl from Spain who will journey with us the next few days until we reach the port of Cadiz, Spain. Me and a few other ambassadors get to pick her up from the airport (all expenses paid) :]

This work study is pretty flippin’ sweet, and I love our group. Not to mention WE get to hire 18 people to work under us :D Hahaha, I’m going to love this job.

I just finish unpacking and putting some final touches on the room to make it feel a little more home-y.

I’m about to explore the ship some more with a few friends before the next few days (we’re going to be crazy busy). Tonight we have dinner, then attend yet another meeting, work the parents’ reception and then head out to the airport, then get to rest a little, and repeat tomorrow…when we check in about 500+ people (craziness).

Alright kids, I’m going to head out. Love and miss you all back in the states <3

I’ll do my best to update my blog, but internet is only free for X amount of minutes.

Adios!

I'm gonna free fall out into nothing...gonna leave this world for a while.

Alright, I figured I should update this because... I'm leaving tomorrow at 5 am for Nova Scotia!!! I can't believe that it's already here. Longwood started their classes today, it feels kind of weird not being there : / I had my last day at all of my jobs Saturday, and it went a lot smoother than I thought, but I'll miss everyone like crazy!

It's almost 7 am and I have yet to start packing...whoops. I alphabetized my packing list and dwindled it down to 7 pages.... so much for being a Vagabond eh?

My sister went in for gallbladder surgery today (Good Luck Jenna- and welcome to not being able to eat anything :]) Which makes it extra hard to pack, because she will be recuperating in my room.

I'm beyond excited for this journey to begin, and I probably won't want it to end... so if I happen to "disappear" in another country... chances are it was purposely :p.

It's already been decided that if I dislike my roommate, she's going overboard (Just kidding, Hahaha- and my apologies in advanced to my super awesome roommate who will be reading this post :p) I'm so excited to meet everyone... in person, instead of just Facebook.

I'll attempt to be on my best behavior, but come on... I am Sam, I can't make any promises. These countries better be on high alert when our ship ports, because their in store for some craziness!

I never thought I could not only pack my life into 2 suitcases and a backpack...but do it in under an hour. :] I have to give myself props on that one. I'm getting amped for this.


Alright, it's time for me to stop procrastinating and get on my game.

Goodbye America, until we meet again...

PS. Welcome to my home for the next few months: