The Journey Begins...

On Tuesday I will fly down to Nassau to begin my summer adventure at sea! These past few weeks have been filled with last minute preparations and I still am not entirely ready to go. 

Surprisingly, I find myself getting nervous. This has kind of caught me off guard, since I have traveled before, and feel like I have a pretty realistic view of what to expect. However, this past week I have been dragging my feet. My bags aren't packed, my room is a mess, and I just feel reluctant to get it all together. I know that this is just jitters coming from the unexpected, but I just didn't think it would hit me so hard. I mean I've been gone from home a lot longer than 60 days before and I have visited the first three countries on my itinerary. What gives?!

I think it could be the fact that I won't be coming home to my entire family, like I have in the past. Over the past couple weeks my siblings have spread themselves out across the country, once again. I now have a sister living in Baltimore, my brother is out on the West Coast, and my other sister is about to move to Philadelphia. I'll come home to a relatively empty nest, weird. This will truly be a summer of new beginnings. 

As I mentioned before, there are probably numerous other things I should be working on right now. But I find myself reflecting on this past year and all that has happened to bring me to this point. I first heard of Semester at Sea last September and have been working hard ever since then in order to make this voyage a reality. I couldn't have done it without the support of my family, close friends, and mentors. Whether they were reassuring me I was making the right choice, writing me excellent reference letters, or simply listening to me talk non-stop about the program, these people have been an amazing support system for me, and I will be eternally grateful to them. 

I guess I'll wrap up this post with my three wishes for this voyage. These are three main things I hope to learn/accomplish through my travels. I'll let you know how it works out.

1. I hope to become a better Servant Leader through my position as a Living Learning Coordinator. 

2. I hope to better develop my independent traveling skills

3. I hope to build strong relationships with people in all the countries I visit and from all over the US through my travels and time spent on the boat. I hope that these relationships will help to open my mind to how I view the world and the role I play in this global community. 

Well, I guess it's time to tackle the piles of clothes in my room and wrestle them into my suitcase. Wish me luck, and be sure to keep up with where I am in the world...

Summer 2011 Itinerary/Calendar

Destination	Arrive Depart	Day	Date	Time
Nassau, Bahamas	Depart	Friday	June 17	1700
Barcelona, Spain	Arrive Depart	Monday Thursday	June 27 June 30	0800 2000
Naples / Civitavecchia, Italy	Arrive Depart	Saturday Friday	July 02 July 08	0800 2000
Dubrovnik, Croatia	Arrive Depart	Monday Thursday	July 11 July 14	0800 2000
Piraeus (Athens), Greece	Arrive Depart	Sunday Thursday	July 17 July 21	0800 2000
Varna, Bulgaria	Arrive Depart	Sunday Wednesday	July 24 July 27	0800 2000
Istanbul, Turkey	Arrive Depart	Friday Tuesday	July 29 August 2	0800 2000
Casablanca, Morocco	Arrive Depart	Monday Friday	August 08 August 12	0800 2000
Boston, MA USA	Arrive	Saturday	August 20	0800

Ciao, ciao!

Amy