Semster at Sea is 100 days away

Ok so here we are 100 days away from debarking on what will undoubtedly be the best 4 months of my life (ok maybe getting married and having kids will change this but for now I am sticking with the best of my life) I guess I will start with a little background, last fall I transferred to Rowan University for Elementary Education/Liberal Studies: History/Geography, and Special Ed certification. One reason I chose Rowan was because they had study abroad opportunities, for as long as I can remember I have wanted to study abroad. So after I was accepted to Rowan I scoured their study abroad website and found the best study abroad program there could possibly be. I was so excited for the prospects of going around the world that I filled out the applications in the summer and on the first day of school went to the study abroad office and was promptly told that I was way to early for their office but to go send the SAS application in.

In October I found out I was accepted to SAS and pretty much screamed for a long time, I called my mom and I still to this day don't know if I said anything coherent to her on the phone that day, or to anyone else for that matter. All I could think about was my semester abroad and how far away it seemed. As soon as I found out I was accepted I sent in my $500 deposit and got myself confirmed for a deck 2 inside room. Now started months of monotenous school while Semester at Sea floated there, always in sight, always willing to drag me away from my school work. I spent many a day search SAS videos on youtube, meeting people who will be going with me on facebook, and I have looked at every page of the Semester at Sea website.

I think now I will get into where I will be going on this incredible journey.

• EMBARK: Montreal, Quebec, Canada






• Casablanca, Morocco






• Takoradi, Ghana






• Cape Town, South Africa






• Port Louis, Mauritius






• Chennai, India






• Penang, Malaysia






• Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam






• Hong Kong/Shanghai, China






• Kobe/Yokohama, Japan






• Hilo, Hawaii, USA






• Puntarenas, Costa Rica






• Traverse Panama Canal






• Havana, Cuba






• DEBARK: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA

So now my every thought seems to be consumed by Semester at Sea and I am up to my eyeballs in scholarship applications, finacial aid matters, visa applications and figuring out what FDPs (Faculty Directed Practicum's) I want to do in each country and for countries that I am not doing FDPs what independent travel and service projects that I want to do. Right now if anybody talks to me they can be sure that SAS will come up whether I am telling them about something I want to do in a certain country or just telling them how many days are left till I leave. I found a countdown thing on my computer in January so I have been counting down since then. I decided to hold off on the blog until now because I wasn't really doing anything other then just getting through each day of school and trying so hard to remain focused. Now that school is done and I am starting summer jobs (yes thats plural, I currently have 2 and tomorrow I go for an interview with a third). This summer will consist of going to the doctor and getting my yellow fever vaccination and malaria medicine, figuring out how to pack for 4 months of every type of weather imaginable into 2 suitcases, picking and signing up for classes and FDPs, and earning as much money as possible.