Today's geography lesson

I cannot WAIT to be on land. As a forewarning, please do not expect to be receiving any types of souvenirs from me on the basis that I fully intend to spend my money on fine dining and delicious drinks in each port. If you were present at mealtimes for the past 7 days with me you would understand.
Moving on, we’ve gone to class everyday since last Wednesday. I had my first quiz today in US Foreign Diplomacy (bet you can’t see me taking that course, dad) and I have no idea how it went, so hopefully well! I actually have a lot of work to do; apparently the professors don’t view this as a vacation like I do. For my theater class we have to produce a movie trailer for a play from one of the countries we’re visiting. My group chose The Cave of Salamanca as our play, and the task ahead seems fairly challenging. Surprisingly enough, everyone seems to be keeping up with their studies. Granted, lying out by the pool in 70-degree weather while reading a textbook really cannot be considered strenuous work.
Marisa and I brought along huge world maps to hang above our beds in our cabin. We have spent a significant amount of time staring at them and realizing that I have had poor instruction in geography thus far. However, we are quickly becoming familiar with our surroundings. We have also made use of our free website list, wikipedia specifically, and have mapped out the exact coordinates of where the Titanic sank. It really is a shame they were only 4 days into their voyage…
Marisa and I have become acquainted with the “wellness center” (code name for spa) onboard. We are currently contemplating hosting a cabin sale (similar to your average garage sale) in order to pay off our bills there. Ideas welcome.
We also have made attempts to become involved. We joined the goodwill committee of the Ambassador’s club and as far as I know are in charge of keeping birthdays happy, children entertained, and lifelong learners in the know. We also signed up for a couple of play dates with the preschoolers.
We have battle of the bands tomorrow night, which should provide sufficient entertainment and arrive in Cadiz Wednesday morning!!

Notice: I have a free shipboard e-mail account: dcbaker@semesteratsea.net if you should so choose to use it.

Things I’ve learned:
- The MV explorer (my current home) is the fastest ship on the ocean. It could be traveling at a speed of 30 knots, putting us in Spain in as little as 4 days. (from the Bahamas) However, someone somewhere deemed it necessary for us to attend classes and therefore we are “traveling as slow as the lobsters on the bottom of the ocean” as my new friend in the nail business says