Sunshine Time!

After record rain here in Washington State, you cannot imagine how excited I am to go to the warmth of the Bahamas! 27 days of straight rain definitely has an impact on a person's psyche, especially when they are cooped up at home and anxious to leave on such an adventure!!

After months and weeks and days and hours of preparation, including numerous doctor visits/shots/malaria incidents, I am finally packed and good to go. 2 duffels bags, a small carry-on and 1 backpack later, I'm PREPARED. My parents are excited and so am I. They have been a HUGE support, being almost more excited than I am and helping me get ready and organized. Thanks to my wonderful Mom, I have manila envelopes for each country, and folders for all of my papers (class stuff, field trip stuff, mail/address labels, important documents, etc). I cannot wait to see them in Vietnam and do a trip to Hanoi/Halong Bay. They are the most amazing people and I thank them for everything they have done and given me, especially this trip of a lifetime, and I am very glad I get to share part of it with them!! Mom and Dad: Thank you for giving me the world! (I know you guys are going to be checking email and this website 23483942303 times a day!)

I fly out tonight from Seattle to Newark, NJ and then have a morning flight tomorrow and arrive in Nassau around noon. My Mom leaves Seattle 15 minutes after me, flies through Charlotte, NC and arrives in Nassau 30 minutes before me. ;) We are spending 1.5 days in Nassau before the ship embarks on Thursday at 6pm! On Wednesday, we're playing golf and in the evening she is going onto the MV Explorer for a Parent's Reception. I cannot wait to start meeting all my shipmates and making life-long friends.

I am going to try my best to update this blog, hopefully after each port. Because of our lack of internet minutes, we'll see how that goes, but I promise to make an attempt. Also, be sure to leave comments!! I want to hear about how everyone else is doing back in the States. Just click the "Comment" link below and then click "Other" and enter your name and leave a message. Postcards/letters are amazing and if you do send one (see the post below on "Mail"), make sure to include your address and you'll get one in return!

It's all finally coming together after waiting so long, and I don't want it to end yet. I'm nervous but also excited. I can't wait to be thrown out of my comfort zone: new friends, new experiences, lots of stories and pictures and adventures and doing my favorite thing in the entire world - travelling! I can't wait to explore the Rio Camuy Caves in Puerto Rico, float down the Amazon in Brazil, visit my best friend in the entire world in Cape Town, do a homestay in India, see incredible architecture in Myanmar, experience Vietnam with my parents (and celebrate my Dad's birthday the day we port!), visit the Great Wall in China, and eat sushi in Japan...

Goodbye for now, I miss everyone already and I can't wait to be back. Be ready to have your ears talked off ;) I haven't even left yet and I know my family is sick of hearing about Semester At Sea, haha!!

"For the born traveller, travelling is a besetting vice. Like other vices, it is imperious, demanding its victim's time, money, energy and the sacrifice of comfort." -Aldous Huxley