I'm On a Boat

Yep! I made it on the boat!! (Except technically its a ship with boats on it..)

 

I've officially been onboard for 33 hours.

 

The Bahamas was great until the lock on our door didn't work so we had to change rooms. And then my dad and I went to the casino for a while because we got a promotion card for 5 FREE dollars to play with. But it was very confusing and also unsucessful!

 

I got on the boat yesterday around 8:30 with no problems! Then I met my roommate (who is from California, but was born in Poland and is fluent - I know, right?) and lots of others, ate lunch with everyone (which was really good and very vegetarian / pescatarian friendly), unpacked, participated in the lifeboat drill, got my email and internet set up, layed out for a lil bit and went to a few general meetings.

 

Also, to anyone that was involved in taking the "passport style picture" of me or taking me to walmart to print it - HAHAHAH they blew up the picture and used it as my photo id. I would post a picture but it would use all of my internet bandwith. Wah.

 

To the best of my knowledge we've exited of the Bermuda triangle, but I'm unsure.

 

We have been in safety/community/informational/boring/long/dark meetings all day. Don't get me wrong, it needs to be done, but I definitly have a sorry case of "fanny fatigue."

 

Something to think about - since we are going east, we lose an hour of sleep every other night basically due to time zone changes!

 

Tonight is one of those nights we lose an hour and tomorrow is the first day of classes! I have a Green Urbanism class at 8am tomorrow, Global Studies at 9:20, a Water Supply and Sanitation class at 4:15 and then a 1credit Brush Up on Spanish class at night. VERY excited.

 

Dinner is in 1/2 hour. Yay I'm hungry. :)

 

Best,

Vicki

 

 

PS Email me at vlbisio@semesteratsea.net. Email to that account is FREE for me to access. I also get FREE incoming texts, so you can text me after you email me so I know its worth checking.

 

Bon Voyage

I'm leaving America in approx. 10 hours. Is this real life?

So after a long day of last minute errands, a good home cooked vegetarian dinner of my favorite meal - eggplant parmesan & a good goodbye bonfire....I'm really leaving.

Also, I packed. Okay it took SO LONG. I HATE PACKING.

But, I am in shock and aw of "Space Bags."


Example: This is the amount of clothes I deemed necessary to my trip.  (hehe oops!)

Okay so then I took about 1/3 (probably more like 2/5 actually, but hey who's counting?!) of the clothes and shoved them into this "large" space bag.

 I sucked all of the air out with a vacum.... and wah-lah!!

Hahahah I know this last picture seems like it isn't completely necessary but I wanted you to understand that all of the stuff you saw on the dresser  (and MORE!) fit into 3 of these bags and then shrunk to this size. I know, right! Space bags are the greatest invention since sliced bread.

*Side note - my fingers look mad weird.


Anyways at this point I am "apprehensive" as Catherine would put it.
I'm a little nervous, a little excited, a little hey-lets-just-get-this-whole-thing-over-with, a little wow-68-days-is-a-long-time and a little good-riddance-america.

I will miss my family, my friends, my boyfriend, my guitar, my house, my room and some foods (typical). But I know that what I will gain from this is honestly invaluable and I should really get all that I can out of it.

Wait, I feel really rude because I definitely just forgot I have a fish. I'll miss her too.. hahah

I'll update more in the next couple of days...if I make it through the Bermuda Triangle....!!

But until then - here's the link to a virtual tour you can take of the MV Explorer. If you have nothing to  do, check it out.

Bon Voyage,
Vicki

Less than 3 days

I still haven't packed.
Not one single thing.
But I've been very productive otherwise! I've bought things I needed, ordered lots of euros, said some goodbyes, done some school things and checked the Semester at Sea homepage and facebook page 6 millions times a day.
I basically just have to to pack and read the common reading - Triumph of the City.

BAHAMAS IN THREE DAYS... if I ever pack!

I won't post again until I pack,
Vicki

The Countdown Begins

I cannot believe that I leave for my Mediterranean adventure in sixteen days - mostly because there is still so much to do before I leave for the Bahamas!!


First of all, I have get the hold taken off my York College account so that they'll release my transcript...ooopsies! I didn't know about their key return policy for special office keys, I swear! Then, I have to make dentist and quest lab appointments that I've been forgetting to do for approximately...the entire time I've been home. Friday and Saturday I'm running my family's portion of the neighborhood garage sale (hey, its a big deal here). Sunday and Monday I'm working at my beloved job as a diet aide at a nursing home (can't complain though - they let me snag some hours even though I'm only working 7 or 8 shifts all summer!). The next weekend I'll be heading to York for the York College SIFE summer planning retreat! And then, before I even know it, I will be boarding a plane with my dad to Nassau. 


But before that happens...I have to do all things actually pertaining to the trip itself like planning what I want to do in each country.  I'll be leaving from a port in Nassau, Bahamas; traveling to Barcelona, Spain; Naples / Civitavecchia, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Varna, Bulgaria; Istanbul, Turkey; Casablanca, Morocco; and ending up in Boston, MA. For a more detailed itinerary, click here! I also have to go out and buy all of the random traveling things I don't have such as a money belt, really light pants, power adapters, Euros, sunscreen and aloe. I still have to call my bank and give them a heads up that I'll be overseas so that they don't freeze my account. I have to read 100 pages of Triumph of the Cities, our voyages common reading. I need to say goodbye to my boyfriend, friends and family. But the task that will take me the longest is packing.


Heres how I feel about packing: negatively. I do not like being forced to fit everything I might need into the confines of a suitcase or two. I like to over pack. This is scary because I can only bring my suitcase and rolling duffel and my Northface bookbag and a purse (to be fair, all 4 of those things are jumbo sized) to last me 68 days!  I will keep you updated on the "packing situation."


Since it is nearly midnight (which means its almost only FIFTEEN days until I set sail!!!) I'm gonna get some shut eye so I can start checking off my long to do list!


Dulces sueños, 
Vicki