Espana...

It is the last day in Spain and I have found myself a park bench in Plaza del palillero with about seven other SAS students. We figured out that the plazas have free wi-fi, so we have hauled our computers and our Facebook starved bodies down the streets of Cadiz just to see whats going on in our worlds! Spain has been wonderful, relaxing, appetizing, historical, everything you would hope a visit to a foreign country would be really! I have tried to upload pictures, but for some reason I am having a very hard time. Hopefully soon I will be able to share something visual.

Cadiz is beautiful, there are two parts of the city-old and new. New is like Miama, kinda sleezy, but fun. Old is charming, the streets are cobblestone and narrow with tall buildings filled with tiny balconies and window boxes full of flowers. You do alot of walking and eating and exploring here. Yesterday I went on a trip to Sevilla, it was wonderful, so rich in history. We saw La Catedral and La Alcazar, so ornate, but so busy. Full of tourists, and hot hot hot.

Our final night in Cadiz I ventured out with two other darling girls, Olivia and Kate. We wandered around in search of a final dinner of Tapas and Sangria and not only did we find just that, but we managed to get two Italian men and one Russian as well! They were exceptionally entertaining. Before we knew it we had spent three hours having the most confused conversation. SO FUNNY...between my broken spanish, hand movements and their tiny amount of english we managed to understand each other and had a delightful time. I sound like a very dull old person, "delightful time"!

I wish my pictures would work so i could show you pictures, but as soon as I figure it out they will be up I promise. We have three hours left in Cadiz before we board ship and head to Morocco, then (get this!) we have one day onboard and then five days in Africa...Life has been really hard! The first six days of class were so exhausting, I'm really glad we got twelve days off! I can't wait to camel trek with the nomads in the Sahara. Don't miss too much!

LOVE LOVE LOVE....
Carley

Endless Blue Days

Oh my goodness...

Finding free internet is a hard to thing to do, but none the less I Carley Randall Brooks, have done just that. I believe I am catching the signal from a run-down soup kitchen looking cafeteria in Spain! Anyways, I have been dying to update people on the way things happen here. Everything is so interesting. I am actually in Cadiz, Spain and have spent the last two days walking around, but that blog will have to wait because I have to tell you all about the ship. Many of you I have e-mailed and try to tell, by the way thank you for your e-mails it really is so wonderful to hear from you all, you have no idea! The ship is beautiful, apparently it used to be an old cruise ship, my bathroom is literally nicer than the bathroom I used in Meredith Hall at Western. The room is cozy, I have pictures and if the internet pulls through for me I might just get to share them with you.

The first eight days have been so crazy. Everyone spends their time trying to get to know each other. Literally I eat every meal with a different person or group, sit by a different in class, talk to a different person at night. It is crazy. The water was insane, everyday it was a different color, navy blue, somedays brighter and at night, the ocean is unbelievable. Living on water is very funny. For the first three days everyone had to get acquainted with the rocking, which was hilarious for me, some of those with a lesser sense of humor did not find it so funny, but I laughed out loud. People were jolted all over. The rocking is severe enough that people were thrown into walls, so funny. Or the more awkward thrown into the laps of their fellow students, which makes getting to know people either really easy or really awful depending on the person in whose lap you fell. My first day on the elliptical I became insanely sea sick after because along with your normal running motion the elliptical rocks back and forth with the ship, kind of like using an elliptical on a giant see-saw. The treadmills face the opposite direction though and move side to side, every once in a while you hear someone yell and you see a body come flying off the machine behind you. All very entertaining, but now such is life! I have met some really fun people, everyone is eccentric and quirky, from so many places which lends itself to an incredibly collective mix of personalities and habits. Alot of times i find myself just wandering around hoping to happen upon a new best friend or intriguing conversation. Everything is so sporadic. You make friends by walking up to people and introducing yourself. It's very throw yourself in or you won't come out alive. Thank goodness I'm an extrovert or this experience would be a very isolated one. It is a group of bold personalities, overwhelming opinions with the common desire to travel and see the world. Makes for an interesting time! It's hard to believe it is only beginning, but I cannot wait for the coming months to unfold.

I'm sorry this post is so long, but I miss you all! Oh yes one more thing, I have met with two bible study groups. So encouraging to find believers in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. I am so thankful for all the encouragement and prayers, the Lord has definitely put in a place with Him I have never been and it is becoming a very beautiful thing. I love you all dearly and think of you often wishing you could share in this crazy adventure, but I am so thrilled about this season for everybody! ok Love Love Love

Carley

Talk To Me

ok guys here is the deal...i have to be super quick on the internet onboard the ship because i only have 125 free internet minutes. BUT i have a semester at sea email, which is FREE...crbrooks@semesteratsea.net...so please please please e-mail me. plus I dont have many of your emails and i cant contact you to get them so e-mail me first and i will reply and then have your email for the rest of my voyage. It's beautiful, I love it and I miss you all. I will update with pics and stories when I hit a port. LOVE you all...please e-mail i miss hearing from you guys!

Hidden Gem

So Halifax is beautiful. I called my mother this morning as I was walking along the pier by the ocean. The weather was 70 and brilliantly sunny all day. It was magnificent. If ever anyone gets the chance come visit this town, it is truly a hidden gem that in twenty four hours brought restoration to my soul!

It was my first real day of a new country and I could bore you with the details, but I won't. All I will say is Bobbi Lee and I conquered the public transportation system, spent 3 exhausting hours in a Wal-Mart, ate incredible sushi and oh yea (molls & chels this is for you) officially tried my first Strongbow, which I quite enjoyed! All in all a beautiful day with the peace of the Lord abounding, how faithful He has been so far, I am in awe. I love you all and wish you could be here to bask in this beautiful place. I will leave with some picture though...

P.S. the pics are of where we ate lunch, dinner and hopscotch that was carved in the concrete. Oh and the skyline view from the pier.
P.P.S please make fun of us we are practically honeymooners posing by ourselves and taking pics of each other!

Oh Canada...

So I'm sitting in Nova Scotia with my darling roommate and so far so good. Other than the fact that I looked like a fool hauling my suitcases which let me tell you total a whopping 115 lbs. AWFUL. I have blisters on my fingers. So there's the daily update on travel.

Now there is something I wanted to say and it's coming from me so take it seriously and not as a joke because I'm trying to be serious! I will miss everyone and I mean everyone. It meant so much to me that so many people wanted to say good-bye and made an effort to see me or talk to me. My own mother cried! It was so sweet. Anyways, I love you all and keep reading because it makes me feel connected to the world. When I get my e-mail for the ship I will post it here and on my facebook...ok? ok LOVE LOVE LOVE

Carls

Details...

Saying good-bye has already proven to be a task more difficult than I imagined and pathetically enough I have only really said it to two people. I think it has seemed so difficult because I, nor anyone else really, know what communication will look like the next four months. So, to help out everyone I am posting a link to the addresses of the ports, the directions for addressing letters, and the suggested date to send them so that they arrive on time and I can get mail. Now, this is a suggestion to send me mail. I understand if you are unable to, but lets be honest many of you will have a hard time without talking to me so this is for you all as much-if not more-than it is for myself...

http://www.semesteratsea.org/voyages/fall-2009/fall-2009-staying-in-touch.php

Gettin Ready

So I feel so silly writing these knowing that I think two people total even know this exists so far, and that I am so indecisive I cannot pick the stupid colors I want to use on the stupid blog! Seriously it's painful how indecisive I can be. Anyways, I am writing this one to give everyone some info about what I am actually doing, maybe a picture or two...fun stuff right.  So here's my life next fall folks...I can't even believe it!