So I'm home from Chapman. I haven't unpacked yet - that makes it too real that I won't be going back there for nine months. Nine whole months. Damn, that sucks. Instead, I'm concentrating on everything and anything Semester at Sea related. Yesterday I went to the library and checked out a plethora of Lonely Planet books. Let the travel planning begin! Before the semester begins and we leave port, my mom and I are going to spend a week in the Bahamas, and Sam, Glenn, and Dad will be joining us for a weekend since their first week of school is when I leave. But that should be a fabulous one-last family hurrah. And honestly, who can complain about a week in the Bahamas?

99 days until I leave the first port to begin my journey!

Anticipation

I suppose it might be a tad bit over-eager to start my blog now, but I've been reading Spring SASers blogs and wishing it was me already, so I thought beginning this blog would make it feel less far away. Just FYI, this is going to be my main line of communication back home. Instead of creating a huge e-mail list, I'm just going to update this whenever possible - my Internet access will be limited and slow. I'll let you know at a later date what the best way to communicate with me is.

Everyone else on campus is busy thinking about classes for next semester and housing. How lucky am I to instead be thinking about planning my safari in Namibia and deciding whether I want to go to Cambodia when we're in port at Vietnam? It's so unreal. All I know is that I am one of the luckiest girls in the world. I don't know what to expect from this experience, but I'm certain Ms. Jayna's lessons in flexibility will come in handy quite frequently. And most of you will have to remember our adage - No news is good news!

133 days to go... They will be full of day-dreaming, travel documents, travel guides, packing, and the dreaded shots. They will fly by and go all-too-slow. I'm terrified and unbelievably excited at the same time. 133 mere days.