ramblings

- i got my prescription for my typhoid vaccination, as well as my anti-malarial, anti-seasickness and anti-foodborne illness prescriptions yesterday. so now, with all those meds, plus some high quality bug spray, i should make it home without any incurable diseases. good thing!

-i'll be heading to student legal services tomorrow to arrange for power of attorney for mom and dad. this way they can sign things for me when i'm at sea.

-i ordered my text books today! a grand total of 6 books, coming out to about $300. its a lot of money, but 5 will be shipped home and 1 will be waiting in my cabin when i make it to the bahamas. i was able to save some cash by staying away from the university of virginia's bookstore and by getting them used off amazon. hopefully they are all in decent condition.

- i am officially doneeeee with classes for the semester in one week from today. and then i'll be home for a few days, back up here for finals and then home until i leave on my great big adventure.

-this weekends to-do list includes figuring out my darn fieldtrips. i have GOT to decide by tuesday. but i dont want to pick! with the help of some friends i have selected a few, but i still am too scared to fill out the application on the website! i dont want to get locked in and then change my mind.

- i found an international phone program that wont break the bank! i'm getting myself more information, but i think its going to be exactly what i was looking for. more on that when i figure it all out.

off to dinner.

i need as many distractions from life these days as i can find.

is it january yet?

45 days, 22 hours.

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..

thanksgiving is over, but..

i am thankful for my friends and my family.
without them, i don't know where i'd be.

the sentiment sounds so simple, overstated.
but in times when nothing seems to go right,
i am reminded of how incredibly important it is to be grateful.

and no words seem to be enough these days to express my gratitude to all who have cared for me.

i am blessed, though there have been days where i don't feel that way.
i am going on my adventure of a lifetime and i am so fortunate to have such a supportive group of people cheering me on as i struggle to get everything done.

i have much to do, but today i am simply thankful.

50 days to go.

55 days to go.

yikes.

course approvals

good news --
yesterday i finallyyyy received my course approvals. i had submitted my forms in early october and they were just in my mailbox yesterday. i am very lucky, in that the course i am already registered for was approved. i'm sure it would have been a mess if i'd had to change classes. so, i will be able to take 'nutrition around the world' and complete my unh general education requirements. this means that all my classes senior year will be major/minor related, yay!

i have a LOT of work to do, as far as my trips go. i get so caught up in the details! i wish i could do everything. my big booklet should be here today, so i can really dive in and decide what i'm doing.

friday is the mandatory unh abroad 'orientation' for students who are going to non-english speaking countries. should be interesting. 3 hours of lectures, most likely.

all of the little things i signed up for this semester are piling up quickly, so i should head out and tackle things now, while i have a few hours.

61 days, 7 hours. oh my.

FDP's, IFP's, Indy's, etc.

fdp's -- faculty directed practicas. field trips designed and organized by professors according to their interests and the goals of their classes. we are required to take approximately 2-3 FDP's per class, and to journal about them.

ifp's -- international field programs. these are the trips organized by SAS from beginning to end. there are day trips, tours, and long excursions as well. these can range from $20-1600, and include meals, airfare, admissions, 5-star hotels, etc. i will be doing a few of these, but my budget is not made for those high-end trips.

indy's -- these are independant trips planned by students, for students. there are several indys in the works on the facebook group, including a roundtrip to the taj majal and a sleepover on the great wall of china. i will be traveling independantly, so i look forward to meeting all these people who i have been exchanging messages with online.


all of the fieldtrips for this spring have been posted.
that means, i have a lot of decisions to make.

i'm hesitant to start deciding what to do because the idea of endless opportunities is much more exciting.

i am starting to put together rough ideas of what i would like to do in each country so that i can begin deciding which SAS trips to do, versus independant group trips, etc.

i know already that i will be heading to rome when we dock in italy to meet up with my wonderful friend amanda who is going to be studying in florence next semester. when i start to think about the two of us in rome, i get so excited! i can't wait. and i know that a familiar face from home will be exactly what i need after my first few weeks on the ship.

i'm off to google, about.com, and research things to do!
then classes, i suppose. :)

---63 days to go---

countdown

67 days + 8 hours..

i've got SO much to do!