I'm leaving Seattle tonight! Destination: Nassau, Bahamas! I left it up to the very last minute to pack. To be fair, I did have everything I needed, I just hadn't put it into actual bags. I'll be spending a week in Nassau right on Cable Beach. Unlike me, most people are staying at Atlantis but I'm looking foward to laying on the beach and downing some tropical cocktails. It's like my 21st birthday is coming 6 months early! Hopefully, if I forget anything, I will have plenty of time to pick it up in town before I board the MV Explorer on Super Bowl Sunday, February 4. I can't watch the game but that's fine because the Seahawks did not make it anyway. Boarding the ship is gonna be mad crazy and it's sure to be awesome meeting soooo many new people. HOLLER on that one. My goal is to update this blog after each port/big event but those expensive internet minutes are going to kill me! I'm so excited/nervous to leave and still have at least a dozen phone calls to make. Since I'm going around the world, I should probably give you my itinerary for the next few months. Here it is!

Nassau, Bahamas (depart Feb 4)
San Juan, Puerto Rico (Feb 7 - Feb 9)
Salvador, Brazil (Feb 17 - Feb 21)
Cape Town, South Africa (Mar 2 - Mar
Port Louis, Mauritius (Mar 15 - Mar 17)
Chennai, India (Mar 25 - Mar 29)
Penang, Malaysia (Apr 2 - Apr 5)
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (Apr 9 - Apr 14)
Hong Kong (Apr 17 - Apr 18)
Qingdao, China (Apr 21 - Apr 22)
Kobe, Japan (Apr 25 - Apr 29)
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA (May 7)
San Diego, California, USA (May 14)

The next time I'll be writing, I'll be soakin' up the sun in The Bahamas!!! I'm going to miss all of my friends and family more than words can say-I already can't wait to see you when I get back!

RIO for Carnival!

Holler. The pieces are starting to fall into place and I'm officially going to Rio de Janeiro for its world-famous Carnival celebration! The hostel on COPACOBANA BEACH is booked and now all I have to do is buy my plane ticket tomorrow. And it looks like we'll get tickets to the actual parade! I'm SO excited because I can't believe how lucky I am to be in beautiful Brazil during this crazy time before Lent. Oh yeah, and the people I'm going with are pretty sweet too. I know that because I managed to meet 2 out of the 4 today atttt....

The Washington Students Lunch at Bahama Breeze! There were 9 of us and it was good to finally see them in person after really only knowing them through facebook and email. Jaden, being the only guy, was big pimpin', haha. It just goes to show you that Washington kids are on top of things-we even ate at an appropriately themed restaurant. Who cares if it was really snowing outside while we chowed down on our Caribbean-fare food?!

AHHH!

Ok. So just a tad nervous now. My SAS trips still aren't posted. I'm worried that this delay might cut into the time I need to plan the indy ones. I mean I know that whatever I do will be AMAZING and it's stupid to stress out about such an awesome trip, but I do anyway. I have an ever-evolving list of a trillion questions for all of my friends who have gone in the past. It seems every time one of them gets answered, I have about 5 new ones! But all of these friends have been absolutely wonderful and have provided me with so much information! I really think that it's because they truly understand that I am about to experience the greatest 100 days of my life. Thank God because I know it will be difficult to articulate this voyage to other people and for them to understand how I feel about it once I get back. I don't think it's actually hit me yet that I'm about to travel the globe and have my mind blown. I would like to work abroad after I graduate from college and I anticipate that this trip is going to make me want to travel even more! I'm grateful that I'm not doing something super-serious right when I get back to the States. I get to see all my old friends from USD, including the best roommate ever, for a few days, jet back to Washington, and then go to work at camp in Virginia with some crazy kats! Never a dull moment in my life, I know! I honestly think my mindset will be completely different when I return. School will still be a priority. I don't think finding 'the perfect job' will mean as much to me as it does now, despite practically everyone around me getting jobs on Wall Street or in DC. Travelling has pretty much been ingrained in my soul since birth, thanks to my parents, and I'm deifinitely about to take it to the next level. I just need to hold on tight for the ride.

gearing up!

It is now only 33 days until my ship, the MV Explorer, embarks for San Juan, Puerto Rico from Nassau, Bahamas. I'm really just in the process of getting my things other and checking those miscellaneous things off my to-do list. So many people have been beyond helpful in answering my millions of questions about Semester at Sea- thank you!

It was of course hard saying goodbye to my friends at school but I know how much I have to look forward to! Despite everyone warning me "not to fall off the boat," I'm sure that I won't. As a matter of fact, I'm positive I won't get seasick either. Growing up aircraft carriers and frequenting sailboats have finally come in handy!