skype & keeping in touch

if any of my readers (also known as mom, dad and some aunts & uncles), have SKYPE, let it be known that i have a skype account now. search my name, you should find me. i'm on it occassionally here at school, my silly roommate likes to skype from the other side of the room, hehe.

as i mentioned, the internet is going to be a challenge while at sea, therefore i won't be on skype when i'm on the ship. its going to be something i'll use if i can find myself an internet cafe somewhere. i will most likely be making an account so i can call home or cell phones with it, as international phones don't have options for a semester at sea itinerary.

keeping in touch
when i see my family this semester, it will be my mission to get addresses and emails so that i can try and send at least one postcard to each household. i'm planning on creating a spreadsheet with all this lovely information in it and keeping it on my flash drive (great idea, darcey..) so i can make sure people get postcards from cool places. i know it'll be a long list, but i want to do it. this goes for friends, too. everyone has been so supportive of my trip, and the least i can do is get a postcard in the mail.

as for emails, i plan on sending out group emails (most likely similar to the blog entries..) to those who are interested, though they wont be as personalized. i know everyone will simply want to know that i haven't been kidnapped, fallen ill or any in other sort of trouble.

hopefully, when i get home from this long journey, i can print out all the emails/blogs/etc that have accumulated and have a pretty good record of all that i have done. i know that as time goes by, the details of the trip might melt together, so i hope that having a hard copy of all my
writings (along with the MILLIONS of pictures i plan on taking), will keep me from forgetting.

this was a sufficiently random collection of thoughts for one post,
but don't hold it against me, i was in the library for far too long today.

...until next time :)

a side note
is it poor form if i spend a significant amount of free time making lists of things to get for SAS, googling places to go in each country, reading old SAS blogs (and current ones, for that matter) and generally finding myself preoccupied with all that needs to be done?!
.. i guess you can't blame me. i'm excited! and a little scared, too!

cute comic -- baby blues!

here's a cute comic that has popped up on almost all the SAS blogs i've been stalking. so cute!

things to do

in the next few weeks, i have a lot to do in preparation for this crazy semester ahead of me.

some items on my to-do list include:
-applying for my visas to china and india
-contacting my health services to talk about and get immunizations
-get a physical
-send in all the forms for SAS
-attend a registration session at unh to determine which credits will transfer, etc.
-attend a mandatory orientation to go abroad
-get a credit card
-figure out what to do in each port (SAS offers excursions in each port that are "all-inclusive," meaning they do all the leg work and make reservations, etc. i definitely want to do a few of these trips, but i also want to plan some independent trips with other students who want to see different things.)
-register for classes! there is a 12 credit minimum, which works out to 4 classes with some optional seminars. everyone is required to take a global studies course that discusses each port, it's history and prepares students for what they will see. there are some other really interesting courses, i am really hoping to get into a course entitled "history & political geography of the oceans." i am excited to take classes that are outside of the realm of comm-dis, it'll be fun.
-make a packing list, and then.. pack!


oh, and while i'm at it i'll be working on my full course load up here, giving tours, doing community service projects and trying not to get too ahead of myself. :)