Here it is... my first post on this blog. As June 16th (the day I leave for Semester at Sea) is fast approaching (Okay, I know that it is only March 21st and I have about three months until I leave) I am frantically trying to get ready for my amazing trip. I have so many things to do that I decided blogging already would make me feel more at ease. Don't get me wrong, I am INCREDIBLY excited for this voyage. In fact, I am so excited that I can't sleep at night because it's all I can think about. When I applied for Semester at Sea (last June) I felt like it was ages away. But here I am, already starting to get ready for my voyage. I have researched the countries and cities I am going to visit (I feel like you can never research enough when going to places you have never been... maybe I should research some more?), I have talked to my Uncle Al and Aunt MK who used to live in Turkey and have found out what I should see there, what to be weary of, what to eat, and what to do in Istanbul (I wish I had connections like this for every country I'm visiting), I have turned in 3 of the 10 forms I have to fill out by the beginning of May, I have made a doctors appointment (this is required... my doctor has to fill out some forms saying I am healthy enough to travel around the Mediterranean and lets not forget about the numerous shots I have to get before I am allowed to leave America), I have booked my plane ticket to the Bahamas and have booked a hotel room in the Bahamas for the one night I am there before boarding the MV Explorer on June 17th.
Now all that's left to do is:
Fill out and mail in 7 more forms
Think about packing (What am I going to pack? What luggage do I need? Does someone just want to do this part for me?)
Go to the doctors and get all the necessary shots for my voyage
Start and finish Spring quarter of school (this is stressful to think about, considering my last day of the spring quarter is supposed to be on June 17th and I'm leaving for the Bahamas on June 16th... lets pray that I can take my finals early!)
Register for classes on the boat (I'm thinking I will take drawing, what do you think?)
Register for field programs for the 8 countries I am going to be visiting.
Book a plane ticket from Boston (this is where we embark back in the USA after our voyage) to Denver.
Buy a new camera lens (this probably isn't necessary... but I sure do want one!)
Buy a fisheye adaptor for my lensbaby (this probably isn't necessary either, but I sure do want it!)
Buy some luggage and maybe a new camera bag (this is probably necessary)
And I know that's not all I need to do, but at least that's a start for now. Good thing I will have a week off of school next week for Spring break so that I can maybe start getting some of this stuff done. I'll keep you updated as June 16th gets closer, and please follow me on this amazing trip I am so thankful to be going on!