After leaving Italy, the ship took two days before getting to Dubrovnik, Croatia. I had two very busy days of classes, meetings, and work. It was like trying to catch up from a long weekend and then jam all of your work for a week into two days. Crazy! Also, we had our first midterm exam in our Global studies class. Everyone on the ship takes the course and people were rushing about like mad to cram before the test. I also attended some sessions to get ready for my time in Croatia. Something that I really like about Semester at Sea is that they invite one student from each country that we are visiting to board the ship a few days prior to when we arrive. It is great because that student is available to talk with you about their culture. The Croatian student’s name was Maria Popovic. I’m not even kidding! Isn’t that funny that it’s so similar to my last name? I didn’t think that Dad’s side of the family had any Croatian roots, but now I’m not so sure… (Anybody able to clear that up for me???)
One really awesome thing that happened was that I got invited to go to the Captain’s dinner on Tuesday night. The Captain’s dinner is something that only happens about 4-5 times a voyage. The staff and life-long learners are all invited to one over the course of the voyage. It was super fancy, so I had to get really dressed up, which is so fun and rare on the otherwise super-casual ship! The evening began at 7:30 PM with appetizers and drinks in the faculty/staff lounge. At 8:00, we proceeded to the fifth floor dining room for dinner. I sat with Tom (the Assistant Dean), Rebecca (his wife), Sendy (a living-learning coordinator), Chris (the voyage photographer), Dr. Tanya (the ship doctor who works with the Pittsburgh Steelers!), and her husband Dave. Every group of staff is clumped with a different member of the crew for dinner. At our table was the hotel director, John. The dinner was super fun – it was a great mix of people...not to mention, the food was delicious! We started with bruschetta, then had French onion soup, and a salad. I chose the lamb with roasted vegetables for my entrée and then finished the meal with a tower of chocolate squares with vanilla mousse in between each level. The wine was delicious as well. Afterward, we went back to the super-exclusive faculty and staff lounge for the after-party where all of the other Student Affairs folks came up as well. So much dancing! It was a great night!
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