Location: (still) Bedford MA, USA

LESS THAN A MONTH. Oh boy, this date of departure is creeping up quite quickly. I got to check something off my list today though, immunizations! Well kind of, I'm all set on hep.a as well as typhoid and polio. There seems to be national shortage on the yellow fever vaccine, so I have to wait until the travel clinic calls me back on that one. Other than that I've got my prescription for all the malaria pills I could ever want or need, as well as antibiotics for a just in case.. crazy food and such can result in some serious digestive distress.

Thats about all for now, I'm in the process of booking a hostel in Sevilla, Spain for a night by the beach, as well as signing up for a trip in China put together by one of the SAS students. (aberdeen fishing village, olympic stadium, hike and sleep on the Great Wall)

I have a hard time imagining all the stuff that's piling up in Alex's room fitting into a tiny cabin. Especially all the books coming in the mail that I'll have to carry on the ship. I'm glad I have Margot Iwanchuk, packing genius, to help squish everything into two large duffel bags and a back pack!

Location: Bedford MA, USA

Even though the day of departure is over a month away, I'm busy getting everything prepared. This means both physical things (clothes, school supplies, backpacks, immunizations, visa's, port itineraries) as well as mentally getting myself ready to live on a ship with 700 strangers and travel the world. I find myself both extremely excited (to see life totally different from the one I'm temporarily leaving) and extremely nervous (I've already gotten myself lost abroad in Amsterdam, I'd rather not have that happen in say, Viet Nam). With all these thoughts and feelings also comes the fact that my family and friends will be thousands of miles away. Sure I'll be missing out on fall semester of junior year, and as much as I would love to be in Durham with all my favorite people, I have a feeling that walking with monkeys, safaris, and sleeping on the great wall may be able to match unh hockey games, jungle parties, and crazy durham nights. The best part is knowing that when I get back unh and spring semester will be waiting for me.