Bahama Mama

I just spent two lovely days in the Bahamas with my mom. We ate lots of seafood and got a little sun. We stayed at the Atlantis resort which was probably the most extravagant hotel I’ve ever been to. I had my first gambling experience. Lost about $10 to the slot machines. Semester at sea kids were all over the place – you could pretty much assume that any college-aged looking person was part of the program.

I am now on the boat, the MV Explorer, which is super duper nice. The bedrooms are small, but by no means uncomfortable or unattractive. Every other room in the ship is gorgeous. I’ve had one meal so far – pretty good stuff – but I eat everything. Everyone I’ve met (including crew) has been extremely friendly and excited to be here. My mom got to visit the ship today while we were unpacking our things. I’m glad we got to walk around the ship together. It is slowly sinking in that this will be my home for the next few months.

The next few days will be preoccupied with orientation stuff, add/drop, and starting class. Miss and love you all.

Next stop – Brazil!!

P.S. I do have my same cell phone, but the best way to reach me is probably email.

First Entry

So, this is my first blog and my first entry. Kind of a trial run.

All of a sudden I am a day away from leaving for semester at sea. It's crazy to think about how long I've been planning for this trip and now it's finally happening. I first heard about the program in December, applied in January, got accepted in February, and ever since I have been taking all the necessary steps to make it possible. Now, eight months later, it is finally here. On Wednesday I'll be flying to the Bahamas with my mom and on Friday the 29th the ship will take off from there. I have no idea how hard it will be to communicate with people while I'm gone, so I'll be updating this website with my experiences and whereabouts as frequently as possible. Feel free to leave comments, email me (fustal6@wfu.edu), or facebook me. I'd love to hear from you while I'm gone. You can also download skype and talk to me for free.

This is the itinerary for the trip:

Nassau, Bahamas - 29 August
Salvador, Brazil - 7 September-11 September
Walvis Bay, Namibia - 19 September-23 September
Cape Town, South Africa - 26 September-2 October
Chennai, India - 14 October-18 October
Penang, Malaysia - 22 October-26 October
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam - 30 October-4 November
Hong Kong/Shanghai, China - 6 November-11 November
Kobe/Yokohama, Japan - 14 November-18 November
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA - 27 November
Puntarenas (San Jose), Costa Rica - 7 December-9 December
Transit Panama Canal - 11 December
Miami, Florida, USA - 14 December

See you all in December!