I Got A Spot On The Cambodia Trip!!!!!!

Ok, today is definetly one of my happiest dayes EVER. I got confirmation today on the presale trips we signed up for in several countries. The one trip I have been telling everyone I am desperate to get on is the trip to Cambodia. This trip is extremely difficult to get on because so many people sign up to go on it. What happens is when too many people sign up past the alloted amount, a lottery is held to choose who can go on the trip. The trip leaves a day after we get into Vietnam, and we return from Cambodia the last day before the ship sets sail out of Vietnam. So, I signed up and apparently I was chosen in the lottery and I am going!!! Because of this trip, I wont get to see Vietnam as much as I hoped, but I will still get two days there before and after the Cambodia trip. I am so excited because I want to see Cambodia so bad, especially the ancient temples of Angkor Wat, which I have pictured below:


I also got confirmed on EVERY other trip I signed up for. I couldn't be luckier. I will be doing a 4 day trek through India, visting Dehli, Varanasi, Agra, and the Taj Mahal. I also will be doing a 3 day adventure to see the "best of Rio De Janeiro" in Brazil. I will be siging up for my big trips in Myanmar and China when I get on the ship.

Oh, I alomost forgot. I just booked a 3 day camping safari in South Africa independently with several other SAS students. We will be flying from Cape Town to Johannasburg, camping in Kruger National Park, and going on safari drives throughout the park. We booked this independently by ourselves, for $1000 less than the Semester At Sea price!!! Now I just need to book scuba diving in Puerto Rico, and shark diving and skydiving in South Africa. Tough Life this is ;-)

This voyage is going to ROCK. 26 DAYS LEFT UNTIL WE SET SAIL!!

The 40 Day Update... Almost There!

Ok, it is now officially 40 days until Semester at Sea's M.V. Explorer sets sail for the Spring 2006 voyage. Can I wait any longer? No. The world is calling me, and I can't answer fast enough. There is a point to this updation of my blog though. I registered for my classes and received all the ones I want, and they will all be transferring over to UNH in the fall......hopefully. So here is what they are:

Sociology: Social Problems 0800-0915 A days
Geology: Global Studies 0920-1035 A & B Days
Music: Intro to World Music 1045-1200 A days
History: Intro to Africa 1255-1410 A days

On the ship we have class every day that we are not in port. Those days are labeled A and B days. As you can see, my A days are going to be crazy, especially since I am not a morning person! B days will be easy, with just my Global Studies class.

Back on the note of UNH, I have been packing up all my stuff, and I will be leaving the 13th to go home. I am definetly going to miss a lot of people here at UNH, I have met some awesome people this year. You guys know who you are. On the other hand, I am so ready to go on SAS it is not even funny. I keep counting down the days. All the paperwork is a tease! I signed up for several of the field programs that needed to be signed up for before we get on the ship, and I will post which ones I get confirmed on when I find that out. I also have been in talks with other people who will be going, and we are scheduling several independent trips, including cage diving with the great white sharks in South Africa! I also plan to do a bunch of scuba diving as well, now that I'm certified.

I got my visas back the other day for China, India, and Brazil. Apparently I get the rest of the visas on the ship.

That is basically it for now... I have registered a new email address for everyone to be able to contact me when they would like. My UNH email will most likely be locked out because I receive so much email in that system, and I wont be able to check it that much so it will go over the size limit of my mailbox, and it will be shut down until I clean it out. Therefore, the email address that everyone can email me at when I leave is: semesteratseamike@gmail.com I will post this again later before I leave.

I will have an international cell phone, but I will be using it very little since the rates will be outrageous. I will most likely use it to communicate with my parents, or for emergencies. Hopefully, if I can get a signal, I will try to use it to Audioblog. Audioblogger is a new feature. It works by calling a number and entering your PIN, and you can then record a 5 minutes audio file that will automatically be insterted in my blog. It is pretty cool, and that way you guys can actually hear me talk about my experience, rather than read about it as well. I will try to audioblog as often as I can, but mostly I will just be regular posting.

Before I forget, I will be thanking many people in the next few months for making this opportunity a reality for me, but one person I need to thank right now though is Steve Brown at UNH. He has been UNBELIEVABLE in helping me get everything straightened out with the right people, and do the right things I need to do to be able to go in January. So you get the first shout-out Steve, thank you and I really appreciate everything you do for me.

Ok I have rambled on long enough. I turn 20 in 10 days. Yay, another pointless age, haha. If I dont update before the holidays, Happy Holidays to everyone, and stay tuned!