As I sit here and write the first post to a blog many of you will follow over the course of the spring semester, I realize I have so much to say that I'm not even sure where to begin.
In 15 days, I will embark on the "journey of a lifetime", "an adventure I'll never forget", and something "even better than my wedding day". I wasn't sure how I felt when someone told me about the latter, as I was kind of hoping that would rank high in my book of greatest-things-ever-done. I'll have to make a pros and cons list.
This Spring 2011 semester, I will be traveling on the MV Explorer with a program called Semester at Sea, sponsored by the University of Virginia. The 800+ passenger ship will leave Nassau in the Bahamas on January 12th. From there, it will take me and 700 other temporary strangers through 11 countries around the world. While at sea, I will be taking 4 classes (1 on "A" day and 3 on "B" day). When the ship ports, we will be set free to explore with no restrictions except to return 6 days later before we are left behind. On April 24th, Easter Sunday, we port in San Diego, California, and are free to return home and share our experiences with everyone we know (and maybe some we don't).
My plan for this blog is to keep family, friends, and friends of family and friends up to date on my travels and experiences. The SAS program has given us 2 free hours of internet, not including the free shipboard email and any websites necessary to write research papers for class. For this reason, my tech-savvy mother will be posting what I email to her. You can blame her for any mishaps. JUST KIDDING MOM! I love you and appreciate you doing this for me :)
Please feel free to comment on any post. I have changed the settings so you don't need to be a "member". Just sign your name at the end of the post so I know who's writing!
After my boyfriend Ryan comes for a visit to this winter wonderland/frigid north (depending on what mood you're in) it's two days of packing and then off to Disney World to watch Dad run the Disney Marathon! Our family is very excited for a vacation together, which is so rare nowadays. I fly from Orlando to Nassau on January 11th, and then I'll bring you an adventure.
Happy trails!
