Fiesty Cab Drivers TO THE EXTREME

SO, I was in San Juan, Puerto Rico from Wednesday to Friday! We arrived in SJ right on time at 8am. I was one of the first ones to get off the ship because I had a walking tour of the city scheduled for early that morning. The whole process was very, very efficient even though we had to show our passport face to face with customs officials. The island was similar to how I remembered it from being there 3 years ago for just one night. Everyone else was fairly excited about our first part but because I had already been there, I was just kind of like, okaaaaay.

First, we went to El Morro, an historic fort that we saw as we were coming into port. The vistas were beautiful and we could even see the bad neighborhood, La Perla, that we were warned not to venture into. Then we found ourselves walking through the gorgeous architecture of Old San Juan. So many bright colors, fountains, and statues! It was truly breathtaking and just the beginning of my newfound appreciation for Puerto Rico.

Our tour guide told us that we then only had 45 minutes to find lunch somewhere so myself and 4 other kids decided to go off on our own. We ended up wandering into Barra China, apparently the birthplace of the pina coladas, where we got free samples and then ordered our own. Lunch was fantastic though there were like 3 other tables full of SAS students there. It's just because SJ is small so I doubt it will be the same once we hit Brazil on Saturday! Then, we ran into a Starbucks and I, of course, had to have my picture taken in front of it. It's my goal to have my picture taken at a Starbucks in every country we go to so that is numero uno.

I relaxed for a bit once we walked all the way back to the ship before meeting up with a bunch of new friends to go to the welcome reception at Sacred Heart University. When we rolled up on the bus, the Puerto Rican students were dancing, singing, and playing music. There was even this guy dancing around on these crazy stilts. They led us to a few stations and they served us homemade pina coladas though I didn't really taste the pina part of the drink. We went upstairs to their student center where one of their deans talked. They performed some modern hip-hop and traditional dances before giving us a salsa lesson. I feel like such a nerd but I'm extremely giddy that I now know how to freaking salsa dance! We tried some local dishes and then watched a dance contest between our fellow SAS shipmates which was quite hilarious!

Thursday morning, I journeyed to te El Yunque rainforest on another part of the island. It wasn't too, too hot and it was more exotic that I expected. We were definitely up in the hilly areas. Our tour guide knew a lot about the forest and showed us many trees and butteflies. I even spotted a tiny lizard-thank god, I did not run into any snakes! I went swimming in a waterfall-so, so cold, I'm not even kidding! But I must go to beddie now. We're losing another hour tonight once again. More about my adventures in Puerto Rico tomorrow though for shizzle!

Big Pimpin' in the Bahamas

Yeah, boi! We are setting sail tomorrow from Nassau FINALLY. It's been awesome being here for the last week. Not much to do but lay on the beach and drink, let's be realistic. After arriving in the Bahamas, I slept 17 hours and found my way down to the pool at my humongous resort. The Madre and I went to Harbous Island and saw Bill Gates' estate! The pink sand beaches were uhmayzing! We managed to find a guy doing horseback rides along the beach for $20! He kept freaking yelling at me and I wanted to give up after like 5 minutes! I hadn't ridden a horse in 4 years but, hey, I was still trotting along on the horse.

On Wednesday, the real fun began! I met people who were playing some beach volleyball at my hotel! We then had a very local dinner at The Fish Fry followed by getting a ride to Joe's Bar. Joe toootallly took care of us and provided um yeah $2 drinks. Such a classic atmosphere. 22 of us piled into a van to get there after meeting up at The Atlantis. Yesss. And then came time to go to Senor Frog's, so turistico I know.

More tanning and lazyness on the beach followed in the next few days. As time went on, the party grew, not that I'm complaining. Got a cab ride back to my hotel with this British guy from London. I guess he was a medical student studying in Nassau for 6 weeks. Most entertaining conversation of the week, hands down!

The next night, I met some peeps at my resort! We made our way to the Frog once again and basically, insanity ensued. There's no way to get away from sketchiness, let's just say that! And I met the one and only Cory from facebook and he is great! Boy, do I love mango daiquiris!

So, in only a few hours, I will embark on a journey of a lifetime. I cannot even handle it-I can't imagine doing any other study abroad program. I know I will remember this for the rest of my life and that I'll blink and it will be over! Well, I'm calling it a night, sayonara for now!

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!