getting ready to drag my bags down to the port! wish me luck!

no more snow---

time for some sun & sand!

here i am on the beach! we spent the day at paradise island, had a beer on the beach & now we're back in the room re-grouping and showering before dinner. we got some wine/beer to drink in the room so we don't have to pay a ton of money for drinks at the bars, which are wayyyy overpriced for college girls on a budget. we are going to try and find a fish fry restaurant we heard about for some dinner. i'm feeling very relaxed today and its actually really nice to not keep checking the time, to wander around without a schedule and to just take it all in. the girls i'm rooming with, caitlin & mckendree are super nice. we had a really relaxing morning, with a simple continental breakfast in the lobby and then just meandering around nassau.


here is our very first glimpse of the mv explorer, our home for the next four months. it was so surreal to see the ship in person, i got goosebumps. to think off all the work it took to get here and now i just get to enjoy it.


here is a better picture of the ship, taken from our lovely island shuttle. its bigger then i expected, but it still looks tiny next to the carnival ships!




heading out! xo
*if you click the pictures, they will open & you can see them nice & big :)

in the bahamas!

i'm here! i'm in the hotel with my nice roommates, just hanging out. i made it here with no issues, we landed here early. aside from the babies/families surrounding me on the plane, the flight wasnt bad. customs here was really relaxed too, and i found my bags quickly. i waited at the airport for about an hour with a girl i met on the flight and took a cab to the hotel together. we then walked around nassau and savored the last sun of the day. the island is gorgeous and i definitely want to vacation here. we got some dinner and drinks at senor frogs, where we watched some cruise ships come and go. the explorer isnt here yet, it'll be making it's entrance at about 5 am. we then headed back to the hotel and hung out for a bit while waiting for my roommates. we walked around area briefly and decided on senor frogs for tomorrow night, which will be crazy.

off to bed!

love & miss you all!

1 day, 17 hours til the ship leaves nassau!

here we go--

i leave for the airport in a little over an hour.

yikes.

i got to see a bunch of friends last night, which was nice. packing is all set! my bags are zipped and hopefully are not overweight. if they are, i plan on taking out my textbooks and putting them in my carry-on, though that is getting heavy as well. i think i've done everything, and i hope i have enough clothes!

i'm too scattered this morning, so i should go.

my plane leaves at 12 and i should be in the bahamas around 330 or so. then i'm checking into the hotel and waiting for my roommates to arrive. i think i'll probably nap until they get there, or just relax in the room. hopefully they'll want to go out when they get there-- i feel like we should.

i'll try to post on here as much as possible, but the internet will prove to be a challenge.

i'll miss you all! email & keep me posted on your lives!


heading off to jump in with both feet & praying it'll be worth it, though i know it will!


just a few HOURS til the bahamas
& about 48 hours until i'm on the mv explorer!



* by the way, its currently negative 9 degrees here. and its 68 in nassau!!

calendar

so this may look a little confusing, but it is the calendar for our voyage! here are some hints to help interpret all those boxes:

- everything is in military time.

- the A1, B1, A2, etc. are the days we have classes. this will only be on days that we are "cruising," and not in port. my schedule is:

A days: 0800-0915 english as a global language
920-1035 global studies
1045-1200 languages of the world

B days: 0920-1035 global studies
1455-1610 nutrition around the world

- the grey areas are the times that we are in port. the white is when we are on the ship.

- in the days between hong kong and shanghai china, as well as kobe and yokohama japan, students do not have to be on the boat. there are no classes these days as a result of that. the theory is that students would rather get themselves to the second port on their own and spend more time in the ports. plus, at this point, we will have been to many ports and will have more confidence exploring the cities.

- there will be two april 12th's! this is the result of crossing the international dateline.

- we will be changing time zones constantly throughout the trip. i'm relatively lucky to live on the east coast and to begin the journey in the same time zone. the west coast kids won't be so fortunate. SAS was nice enough to figure out all the time changes and list them out for us.

Based on Eastern Standard Time,
the time on-ship is behind by the number of hours listed below:

Spain: +6 hours
Morocco: +5 hours
Namibia: +7 hours
South Africa: +7 hours
Mauritius: + 10 hours
India: +10.5 hours
Thailand: +11 hours
Vietnam: +11 hours
China: +12 hours
Japan: +13 hours
Hawaii: -6 hours
Guatemala: -2 hours

okay i think thats all i could figure out thus far, off to get things accomplished.

14 days until the bahamas, 16 until embarkation!

a note from the dean--

the following is an email i recieved from the dean of my semester at sea, in regards to the recent pirates, bombings in india and the instability of the thailand government----

December 2, 2008

Dear Members of the Spring 2009 Voyage Community:

As president of the Institute for Shipboard Education and as a past executive dean, I have sailed on seven Semester at Sea voyages. I look forward to sharing my next voyage with you, the 98^th in Semester at Sea history, and to witnessing your many personal and academic achievements. The spring 2009 community, selected for its impressive scholarship and commitment to global education, is sure to make a lasting impact. However, please know that there is no higher achievement for Semester at Sea than the safety of our students, faculty, and staff. This has always been true, but the recent bombings in India, political unrest in Thailand, and attacks in the Gulf of Aden require a thorough review of the effect of these events on our current itinerary. Let me take a moment to explain Semester at Sea’s comprehensive data collection and analysis approach to safety.

The Institute for Shipboard Education works closely with senior security experts at the U.S. State Department and other independent risk assessment experts to carefully design and evaluate Semester at Sea itineraries on an on-going basis. Contingency plans are always in place to execute alternative itinerary strategies should any concern arise with regard to piracy or international security. Very often, political unrest and other security threats are isolated to one specific area of a country. We are careful to avoid those areas and we can cancel field trips or change itineraries at any time. All the countries on our program are also common destinations for other study abroad programs as well as U.S. tourists and business travelers. As part of our Health and Safety Awareness program, the evening before arrival in a specific country, all students are required to attend a pre-port briefing about country-specific health and safety concerns. Frequently, Semester at Sea arranges for local U.S. Embassy officials to board the ship the day of arrival to provide additional safety briefings.

Semester at Sea’s floating campus, the MV Explorer, is the fastest passenger ship of its kind. This speed gives us greater flexibility to avoid areas of concern and to change itineraries, which decreases the impact on our schedule. Unlike a land-based campus, we have the great advantage of mobility. In the event of sudden security concerns, we can simply cancel our visit to a given country. When nearing the Gulf of Aden we enforce a 24-hour security watch and maintain constant contact with international maritime agencies that monitor vessel traffic. In addition, we deploy anti-piracy protocols to deter potential intruders and we are instituting additional security measures. The physical characteristics of our vessel and the heavily patrolled and monitored route we plan to follow this spring, which is also traveled by hundreds of other ships daily, reinforces our preparations for a safe passage. Having said that, we continue to evaluate world conditions daily and we have several options available if we determine that it is necessary to change our course. We are currently in discussions with the U.S. State Department, maritime security experts, as well other private risk assessment firms to help us make informed decisions. If anything should change, we will immediately notify you.

To keep you informed of our comprehensive health and safety practices, we publish a dedicated section on the Semester at Sea website: www.semesteratsea.org/our-ship/overview/health-safety.php. I urge you to familiarize yourself with these practices and to contact our office with questions at info@semesteratsea.org. We will continue to seek out the most effective safety measures available in our efforts to keep our floating campus and the Semester at Sea voyage community safe.

Next month we will embark together on the 98^th voyage of Semester at Sea. I am confident that this will be a rewarding and memorable experience for each of us and I am honored to be sharing this wonderful opportunity with you. Thank you for your support in making this a safe and academically successful voyage.

Sincerely,

Les McCabe
President, Institute for Shipboard Education
Spring 2009 Executive Dean

47 days to go..

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..)