Puerto Rico

HI EVERYONE!!! thanks for the posts that you guys/and girls have already made!! SO FAR.... SO GOOD. Right now, i'm at starbucks in Puerto Rico stealing the internet. I bought a strawberry and cream drink so they don't get mad that i'm sitting here. The first picture is of my room. My bed is on the left and it's actually bigger than I thought it would be. Slightly above that picture on the wall is my terrible towel. Don't worry anyone, i haven't changed. (on the back of that ugly modern art on my wall, previous semester at sea voyagers have written things. some people write inside jokes and i guess some people leave phone cards and stuff. we weren't lucky enough to get money or cards.) When we got on the boat, we all thought it was huge, but being in the first port, we realized that next to the real cruise ships, ours is tiny. There are 2 dining halls and where the performances would take place on a normal ship is where our student union. The first couple days on the boat were very hectic. I was in good shape because I was on a cruise before, but most people are still getting used to the set up of the ship. some stairs don't lead to every floor. it's strange, but everyone will get it very soon. I meant to take a picture with my roomate, but i forgot, expect to see that in the next port. Her name is Metea. Pronounced Ma- tay-ah. I call her Tay-ah for short. She is very nice and I am sooo glad to have gotten a normal one. (o: We arrived in Puerto Rico on Friday and me and a couple new friends walked around for like 13 hours. It is a very very pretty city. The architecture kinda reminds me of Spain. The Buildings are brightly colored and the trim around the doorways and windows are white. there is this area in the center of Old San Juan that is called Pigeon Square. there are about 500 pigeons that hang out there. There is also a guy (like that woman from home alone) that feeds and sometimes charms the pigeons. It's very unlike america because the locals come and feed and touch the birds. That is something that would never happen in the states. Yesterday I went to the beach on the northern side of San Juan. It was the most beautiful beach I've ever seen (I have a feeling I'll say that a lot on this trip.) There were rock islands about 200 yards off of the beach and the waves crashed into them. We hung out there for a couple hours then made our way back into the city. The streets of the city are narrow like European streets. The sidewalks are everywhere, but also very narrow. Around 4:00 the entire city is in grid lock. I don't know how anyone gets around. It is terrible. Every street is one way so everyone is stuck for what i imagine would be hours. No one ever gets upset like americans do. If someone pulls out in front of them, they just slow down. If someone is backing out of a parking space, a shop owner will come out on the street and help direct traffic so they can pull out. It is a very friendly city. It is similar to America in many ways, especially since it is a commonwealth of the US. The native food is delicious. It is a mix between fried american food and spicy mexican food. (randi, don't even attempt to pack your bags and move here, you don't have enough thug love for your organs.) Today is my last day in Puerto Rico. Tomorrow we set sail south towards Salvador. We're on the boat for 7 days. Hopefully the water will be fairly calm like it has been thus far and no one will throw up. I love you all and miss you very much. Please send me emails. Randi has graciously offered to put all of my emails together and send them as one file so i can not waste my internet minutes opening all the mail. I know there are a lot of pictures on this blog but don't expect this many all the time. The internet is free right now so i figured I'd take my time. (o: I'll post again from Brazil in a little over a week!!!!!