C10- We're going to be on land again tomorrow?

Huh? We're on land tomorrow? Again? It feels weird, because, until the end, we're going to only have two days of class every time between ports, and then four days at most of the ports, and five in Casablanca.

It's hard to comprehend the fact that we've already visited two countries. Even though we've spent almost two weeks on European land this voyage, it all went by so fast, I have trouble believing it happened.

I really miss Italy. I miss the home-cooked meals, the stadiums and churches, the fireworks, and my cousins and other people I've met. If Italy was a goal in your life, Semester at Sea quite frankly does not do the trick for you. If you want to see it for a week, you might want to plan out a month's travel. Even though I've already been twice, I want to go back again already. And I didn't even see anything in Rome. Even with the likes of Pompeii off my bucket list, there is still so much I should have done, so, so much. No regrets for what I've done and the time I've spent, yet there is still that sense of longing to do the things I didn't.

Returning to ship food is a bit saddening. We're back to the same grind of beef, pork, and chicken, with the side of pasta, rice, and/or potatoes. It's the same thing for lunch and dinner. I'm already missing Memeth's cooking, I should have eaten more before I left (that said, I put on my jeans, and they're even looser than they were before I left home. I thought I would've gained weight or something. Now I feel guilty for not eating more, despite the fact that I ate so much.)

Classes went by as they usually do. French we had a quiz, which I didn't do very well on. I should have spent less time trying to pick up Italian and more time working on the language I'm trying to pass. Psychology was psychology, nothing more, nothing less. In Global Studies, we talked about a couple cool towns in Croatia, Zagreb, Split, and Dubrovnik, among others. The country has been historically very influenced by the likes of Venice and Rome, so I found that interesting.

We also learned about a bit of the Balkan Region's history of war. Apparently in the early 1990's, a lot of bloodshed was caused in the region. Crazy things such as mass rape, mass graves, concentration camps, and massacres were all the lecturer talked about the second half of the lecture, all caused by propaganda of nationalism and identity. For as much comfort as I get from understanding that I am part of countries and cultures, organizations and groups, it is saddening that the same concept could lead to so much suffering.

Fortunately, twenty years has passed since a lot of that bloodshed started, I would expect Croatia to be a lovely place with great sites to see, and beautiful mountains. Land ho!