Florence
Florence
Marseille
Marseille
Monaco
Vatican City
Sarah and me in Nice
Sergio "teaching" me how to dance (but he actually did teach me in all seriousness)
Polaroid of our costume night fiesta
All the exchange students and Rotarians on the trip in Florence
I was away from my home for 12 days which seemed like forever but also passed by very quickly. I spent 3 days in Madrid before leaving for the cruise and I stayed with my friend Robin. I was graciously invited to a Tres Cantos Rotary meeting where they gave the exchange students, including me whose club is NOT Tres Cantos, tickets to the amusement park for the following day. I was blown away by their generosity despite only going for that one meeting. So, the next day, we went to the amusement park which was like a smaller version of Valley Fair right outside of Madrid. The next day, I spent time with Tony because he wasn't going on the cruise and I wanted to say goodbye. Once again, his host parents, who are active members in Rotary and help organize a lot of the events for the Tres Cantos exchange students, invited me to lunch in their home although we had only met a few days before. We said our goodbyes and Robin and I took a walk that night so I could see more of Tres Cantos.
Then, the big day was finally here. The day of the cruise, the day I had been looking forward to since the minute Rotary mentioned it in orientation in September. Bright and early, Robin and I got our things together and headed to the train station to take a short train into Madrid to meet with a larger group of exchange students to go to Barcelona. I was so excited to see the majority of us back together again since I live in Galicia and can't make it to Madrid like they can on a normal basis. On the train from Madrid to Barcelona, I sat next to Shaena, Bella, and Sergio, who I taught how to play Revolving Pictionary (a drawing game.) Needless to say, because of that gut-splitting game, I got to know them better and felt more comfortable hanging out with them that week. We got to Barcelona and another moment I had been waiting for all year was nearing: seeing Sarah again. We had kept a countdown clock for when we would see each other since February. When I finally did see her, we screamed and hugged for 5 minutes while the rest of the group just stared at us. And then we hugged some more. It felt SO good to see her again and it made me realize how thankful I am to have her in my life through my exchange. So we boarded the ship and we were off! Oh, but not before some bad luck happened, as always. The bad luck did not start with me this time though. Some residency cards of exchange students expired during the trip and because of that, they were not allowed on the ship since apparently they would be illegally entering into Spain after the trip? Don't ask me all the logistics, but 2 people were not allowed to come.
BOAT LOG:
Day 1- Today mainly consisted of exploring the ship, getting to know people, and dancing. We discovered that there was food available somewhere on the ship from the time we woke up in the morning until about 1:00AM. Where there is food, there are exchange students. That night was the first fiesta, but Sarah and I didn't stay out too late. It was held in the discoteca inside the ship but every fiesta after was outside.
Day 2- Our first trip off the boat is today! We went to Marseille, France but only for a few hours. To be quite honest, there wasn't much to see there (perhaps we were just in the wrong place,) but we did hike up to a beautiful church and get stunning views of the entire city (see picture above.) We get back to the boat in time for lunch and afternoon activities like dance class. Each day a different dance was taught. Today was Merengue. Sergio was my dance partner which set a precedent for the rest of the week. Although this "dance class" was taught to many people on the ship, it reminded me of when I was a little girl and took dance classes at the studio and girl scout camp. It also made me want to take up classes again and it got me excited for Famous Dave's Salsa Nights during the summer. That night's fiesta theme was costumes so I dressed up as a hippie (see Polaroid picture above.) Sarah and I also started making friends with the workers on the ship. All of them were from foreign countries like Honduras, Brazil, Colombia, Italy, Spain, Latvia, etc. It made conversations easy because we could ask about their home country and what it was like to work on the ship.
Day 3- Today's excursion brought us through Monaco and Nice. In Monaco, every other car was a Ferrari, Porsche, Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, or some fancy car that cost more than my college education. I am not a car person, but I was that day. We took pictures outside of the Casino which happens to be the most famous in the world and saw how the lines from the recent Grand Prix race were still freshly painted onto the main roads in Monaco. In Nice, we did minimal exploring, going to a church, stopping by a local market, and admiring the ocean mostly. Back on the ship, we were informed that we could go to a beach off ship without adult supervision so we jumped at the opportunity. Swimming in the Mediterranean was amazing: it was warm and the water was so clear you could open your eyes underwater and see the bottom! (Side note: yes, you can open your eyes in salt water because if you think about it, our tears are salt water.) Kate brought her underwater camera so we took lots of pictures. However, because of our fun beach excursion, we missed dance class today and got back just in time for dinner. That night's fiesta was retro night but seeing as I didn't have retro clothing, I just wore a full jean outfit like in the 90s.
Greaser and my 90s getup
The gang
Day 4- Today's excursion was in Genova which means we finally got to Italy. Progressively, we had to get up earlier and earlier to get to our locations. I don't remember the time exactly, but somewhere around 8:00AM or 8:15AM we had to be ready to go. Here, we did another walking tour, went into a museum (where I acted out some art, as always,) tried some pesto, and got tirimisu gelato aka one of the best things on Earth. Sarah and I talked to the locals as best we could in our Spanish and 4 word Italian vocabulary. We did in fact get back to the ship in time for lunch and dance class and we were taught the Bachata. I believe we also went to the Zumba class immediately after. That night was Red night to commemorate the Spain vs. Chile world cup game (which we lost... 2-0...) In the theater, the game played and I watched the last bit there with some friends and then headed to the fiesta for only a little while since the next day we had to get up early.
Day 5- We were informed that we had to be ready to go by 7:30AM today since Pisa and Florence were a 2 hour bus ride inland. Sadly, that morning I discovered that my camera was left on the entire night before so it died only a few hours into our Florence excursion... Florence was amazing though and it was my favorite stop on the trip. So much history and there was some beautiful church or monument around every corner. Unfortunately, we did not go into the cathedral that it is famous for since we were on a tight schedule. For my afternoon snack, I had an iced chai coffee which I think was the best iced coffee I have had ever. Pisa was indeed a letdown because there is a very, very small town and then the tower. Basically, you go to take the picture and leave (which is exactly what we did.) I got tirimisu gelato yet again and it was just as good the second time. We got to the ship late and missed all afternoon activities. That night's fiesta was Gala night so everyone dressed up and Rotary presented us with our exchange completion certificates. I for sure stayed out late that night. However, during the night, I lost Sarah, and she had the key. So I sat outside my room for 15-20 minutes waiting for her. Not too long, but at 3:30AM, it seems like a while. On the bright side, I made friends with two guys down the hall from my room who live/study in Granada so basically I told them how much I love the city and want to live there. My extrovertedness is finally coming out in Spanish, and it only took 9 months.
Hope and me. My little cutie.
Everyone with Spain and Rotary flags
Everyone on the deck
Day 6- When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right? So equipped with no camera, we headed to Vatican City which was a surprise and we were not dressed for the occasion. In order to enter the cathedral (largest in the world,) you need to have your shoulders covered and up until your knees covered. I wore a shoulderless dress that day... So with an American flag tied around my waist and a scarf on my shoulders, I looked as stylish as a tourist could entering the Vatican. The cathedral was just stunning (see picture above.) Sarah was so nice and gave me her camera for the day since she had already visited the Vatican and Rome earlier in the year so although I did not have my camera, her camera was a very nice substitute. Then we went to Rome and Rome was so amazing, just like Florence, historical things everywhere. It exceeded any expectations I had. For lunch, a small group of us found a pizza place and got 4 pizzas which were AMAZING. The coolest part? Our waiter knew English and got English lessons from a man in Minnesota. How great?!? Of course, I got gelato after again because you can't go to Italy and not have gelato every day. We walked through a local market again and got some gifts and finished our day in a nice little plaza. We made it back to the ship late enough that we missed afternoon activities, but the day was full enough that we wanted to rest. That night's fiesta was a white out. Because everyone wore white, if you lost your friend, it was nearly impossible to find them. We stayed out really late because the next way was just for navigation so we could sleep in however late we wanted.
Me and the native Spanish speakers (Chile, Spain, Mexico, and Paraguay)
Normal pictures are hard.
Me, Hope, and Sarah right before the party started
Day 7- Unfortunately, sleeping in late did not totally work since at 10:30AM, the speakers informing passengers of activities of the day was going off. Sarah and I decided to spend the entire day in the sun. I would like to add this in before I go any further: coming from Minnesota where the sun only shines in the summer and I am used to working inside for long hours, my skin is not used to lots of sun at once. Also, in Galicia, it rains and/or is cloudy a lot so not much sun there either. Continuing. Sarah and I through it would be great to spend the entire day in the sun. Taking naps and enjoying the time we have left on the boat with the exchange students. In theory, this was awesome. In reality, 7 hours later, I was nicknamed " pequeño cangrejo" which means little crab. I was indeed that red. To make matters worse, I was wearing a headband on my forehead so I had a nice line across my forehead showing how much sun I got that day... The afternoon activities were dominated by the exchange students so we participated in group dancing, the pool games, dance lessons, and zumba. All consecutively too. Needless to say, it was a very fun day and I spent a lot of time with my good friends on the ship. The last fiesta's was gender flip flop so girls dress up as guys and guys as girls. However, 95% of the girls did not participate in the gender switch, so the fiesta basically was a girl's night. I was asked not to share pictures, but I can say that my guy friends look great in dresses. I met some guys from Galicia that night who live a few hours away from me so it was super fun to have a half Gallego-half Spanish conversation with them! Surprise for all of us! That night I was awake until 5:30AM. Just a wee bit late.
Day 8- 2.5ish hours later, I was shaken awake to Sarah saying, "Ashlyn, we have to be out of our rooms at 8:00." It was 7:45AM. Perfect, 15 minutes to get ready and do a last room check while only getting minimal sleep. What could go wrong? Successfully, we had packed everything the night before so all we had to do was put on clothes and go eat breakfast. We all were then loaded on a bus to drop off some students at the airport and others at the train station. I then headed from Barcelona to Madrid then to Tres Cantos to spend a little time with Lauren and Abby at the Otero's house (the family who I ALWAYS stay with in Tres Cantos,) as well as Sergio's family. Sergio then dropped me off at the train station and I got on two more trains to get back to Ferrol the next morning at 9:00AM. Lots of traveling for 2 days. Lots of uncomfortable traveling for 2 days.
In my free time, here is what I mainly did:
- Spent time with Sarah. Aka we were attached at the hip and even the Rotarians mentioned how where there is one of us, the other is always near.
- Tanned
- Took pictures
- Talked to the staff as they were all from different countries
- Ate
- Slept
- Hung out in the library talking or listening to the piano player or playing cards
- Hung out in the discoteca where they mainly played jazzy music which also led to a great meeting spot for exchangers to play Never Have I Ever
- Swam in the pool or jacuzzies
- Got to know other exchangers very personally by asking questions specifically about them (versus small talk conversation starters)
Even now, it still hasn't completely hit me that I won't see some of these people for weeks, months, years, or even ever again. It is a very unsettling feeling. Some friends I made at the beginning of the cruise like Bailey, Sergio, Bere, Majo, and Ben and others I met early in the year or even before Spain like Alisa, Abby, Hope, Eric, and Sarah. Just to name a few. But I can say that I was friends with everyone on the trip and we got along well. These are the people who understand me the most. In general, exchange students understand each other, but only Spain exhangers will get me when I say how much I miss chorizo or that I want a cup of cafe con leche en la Plaza Mayor. Cosas asi. Me da la pena. And I can Spangles (Spanish+ingles) with them or straight up speak Spanish. I will miss that so much. I am in love with the Spanish language, so to go from 24/7 Spanish to 24/7 English will me da la pena muchisimo.
My last goodbye was with Sergio at the Tres Cantos train station. He said, "Isn't it weird we just really met earlier this week? And now we are good friends. I spent basically all week with you." And that sums up exchange/exchange student trips very well, that you don't need to know someone for a long time to be good friends with them or enjoy spending time with them. Exchange students bond over our Never-Have-I-Ever stories, being terrible dancers, loving parties, and knowing what it is like to say goodbye to our home country for a long time. I truly can't explain it, but it is a profound bond. I could Facebook a random exchange student in Australia for example and ask to stay at their house and not feel awkward about it because I know we would get along. Granted we get along with some more so than others, but still. Leaving Madrid was hard. Although I did not live there, Rotary was incredibly welcoming and every family I stayed with told me that I am always welcome back, that if I should ever find myself in Madrid again someday, I have to stop by to say hello. They give me hugs and kisses, drive me across town or into Madrid to run a marathon, invite me over for paella or a swim in the pool, etc. They were like my other host families and I could always count on them. I don't know the next time I will be there, which makes me sad because Madrid is my home too.
On that note, when I say I am going home, I am lying a little bit. Cedeira is my home. Madrid is my home. Granada is my home. I wrote in an earlier post that home is where your heart it and a part of my heart is with my host family which means I can't ever be completely content in Minnesota ever again. This isn't a bad thing because it will give me motivation to go back and see the ones I love, but at the same time, I am going back to Minnesota because home is currently in many locations. Not to mention the part of my heart that is with my best exchange friends so Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Germany, Paraguay, Chile, Spain, Taiwan, Colombia, Mexico, Canada, etc. I am all over the place. And sitting here in my room right now, it hurts. Perhaps listening the The Head and the Heart is not helping.
The cruise was a great way to end the year with many people and be the last big trip I take. It made me want to learn Italian, meet lots of new people, see exciting places, try new things, be more social, etc. Sarah and I also started planning all the fun adventures we will have this summer so we can hang out and lose our exchange weight (high priority.) I truly cannot say thank you enough to Rotary or be thankful enough that God gave me this crazy opportunity. The old me probably wouldn't recognize the me I am today, but I have changed and grown in so many good ways that this year has been stunning. I won't necessarily say that it is the best year of my life because I know I have so many more great things to come, but so far I can say that is has been phenomenal and ranks right up top.
~Ashlyn
P.S. I finally finished this post at 12:12AM the next day...
