change of plans--

yesterday i registered for my IFP's! (international field program). i conservatively chose just four trips, as i know i can select more trips once on the ship. all the requests are put into a lottery and we will find out which ones we get in about two weeks.

my trips are:
-cadiz (spain) city orientation. it's a day trip around the city and it will count as my field requirement for two of my classes. plus, its our first port, so i would like to get a little intro into the city before venturing out on my own.

-pompeii. my last day in italy will be spent touring the ruins, also for credit in my classes. i remember reading a book in 2nd grade about pompeii and its crazy to think i'll get to see it now.

-cairo extended trip. my most expensive adventure, but the one i am looking forward to most. its a 3 day, 2 night trip to cairo wiht tours of the pyramids. this will be amazing! sunrises & sunsets over the pyramids, what could be better?!

-rotarian homestay (india). i'll be staying with an indian family for a night, learning about their culture and getting to know them. hopefully this will be a wonderful experience, many SAS kids have listed this as a great experience for those who are not traveling to the taj majal.



so after i paid for the trips, i got an email from semester at sea.

they changed our itinerary.

because of piracy concerns in the gulf of aden, our trip has been re-routed to bypass that area.
so now, we will be 'rounding the horn' -- our new itinerary goes from spain to morrocco, namibia, south africa and mauritius before resuming our original trip in india.

semester at sea is still monitoring the situations in india and thailand, and we could be re-routed again if the risk assessment companies deem them to be too unsafe.

its all for our protection, i understand that. but now we're skipping italy, turkey and egypt!
i'm so sad that i took so much time painstakingly reviewing IFPs, and now i get a credit to pick again in january. and i was so excited to see italy! however, i know i'll be able to go back to europe. i don't know when that will be, but its possible to do again.

honestly, i'm excited for morrocco. i loveeee the movie casablanca and i've heard that the real place is beautiful. south africa will be a wonderful experience and i will be able to see table mountain and robben island. not sure what i'll be doing in namibia (this will only be the second time semester at sea has visited namibia), or mauritius. i'll need to do some research to see what is there.

i'm going to call health services shortly to see if i'll need any more immunizations, as i think south africa/namibia require the yellow fever vaccine. luckily we do not need any new visas, which would have been a serious stress.


i have lots more to do now! off to get going----
38 days until the bahamas
40 days until embarkation!