countdown until semester at sea!

i found this in the SAS facebook group, a countdown until the ship departs nassau!

i've got more than a lot than a little left to do!

the ship

this will be my home-away-from-home while i'm at sea! the mv explorer.

some fun facts about the ship:
-- it was built in 2002
-- it's one of the safest and fastest ships of it's kind
-- there are 9 classrooms, computer lab, library, & student union
-- there is also a campus store, clinic, a wellness center with a spa & hair salon, 2 dining halls, a gym, a netted outside basketball court, and a pool!
-- there is wireless internet (though, veryyy pricey) but email and select educational websites are free for students.

i will be in a super-economy double. this means i'll be closer to the bottom and/or the engine room. it's a small space to fit in, but so much of our time will be spent outside of the room, that i'm not too worried yet. plus, we will have a cabin steward who will make our beds and bring us clean towels everyday! (or at least every-other..)

itinerary

here is the list of places i will go!
they are all subject to change, according to world conditions at the time.

* this past summer's voyage was re-routed from turkey to egypt on account of terrorist attacks that killed several people. if a situation should arise, the captain and academic dean run around and figure out another place to go.

• Nassau, Bahamas
• Cadiz, Spain
• Naples, Italy
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt
• Chennai, India
• Laem Chabang (Bangkok), Thailand
• Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
• Hong Kong / Shanghai, China
• Kobe / Yokohama, Japan
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala
  (Antigua, Guatemala City)
• Transiting of Panama Canal
• Fort Lauderdale, Florida

i'm going abroad!

Semester At Spring 2009!

this here blog is going to be my main form of communication while i'm on the MV explorer, circumnavigating the globe! i can email post from my sas email and save internet minutes!

the boat leaves january 19 from the bahamas and sets off on a 108 day cruise around the world.

as for now, i'm still @ school and i've got quite the semester ahead of me.

i sent in my SAS financial aid form and now i simply have to wait to get my results, sometime in october. hopefully i get something!

i'll post some pictures of the ship and my itinerary a little later, so stay tuned and comment please!