Tokyo!

We got off the train in Tokyo around 11 p.m. on the 27th. A couple of girls that did not have a field lab that day took a train earlier than the rest of us so they could find a place to stay the night. When we met up with them, they told us they found a 24-hour internet cafe that would cost us each 16 dollars. If I had known that was going to be where I was staying, I honestly might not have gone. I was pretty nervous as we were walking there.

It is hard to even describe what the place looked like. It was called Man Boo Internet Comic Cafe if you feel like looking it up! The bottom floor/reception had a check-in desk and the rest of it was filled with shelves and shelves of Japanese comic books. Upstairs were the "rooms" all lined up in a long hallway that had other smaller halls off to the side. They were literally just cubicles with little sliding doors. Each cubicle had a computer, a TV, a very small safe, and a chair to "sleep" in. I am glad that we had a big group of people because I probably would not have felt self being there alone! But hey, it's all part of the experience I suppose. Haha. We did get free internet, and there were also a couple of complimentary drink vending machines. Here are a couple of pictures so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about.

This is half of the "reception" area. You can see part of the desk and like 1/8 the amount of shelves that were down there.


This is the main hallway where all of the "rooms" were. It was so dark!


This was my "room"..... Trust me, I didn't sleep.


These were the free drink machines. Kaitlynn was obviously feeling a little unsure at this point.

After we checked in, we looked around for a little bit and decided we wanted to spent the least amount of time in there as possible, so around 1 in the morning we went out and found a karaoke building! That was a lot of fun! I wish I would have taken actual pictures, but I only took video with my camera. Hopefully I can get some from my friends and share them later. We were there until about 3 a.m and then decided we should probably try and get some sleep.
I honestly don't think I slept more than an hour that night. Before we checked out at 8:30, I got a lot of coffee from the drink machine so that I would at least have some energy for the day! Overall, I would not choose to stay there ever again, but it's kind of cool to say I did it!

Our first stop of the day was a post office with an ATM and then McDonald's for breakfast. Yes, we went to McDonald's in Tokyo. For some reason it sounded really good to us after the night that we had. Then for the rest of the day we mainly looked around at the shops, ate some amazing food, and bought some souvenirs. I got some Japanese snacks, a few gifts for my family, a Japan key chain (I decided I want a key chain from every country), some postcards, some bags of the most amazing tea I have ever had in my life, and a few other random things! Here are a few pictures from the day. :)

Around 5 in the evening, those of us that were going back to the ship to travel to Kobe left the rest of the group and went to the station to get back Yokohama. As we were leaving the station to go back to the ship, I realized that I left my bag with everything I had bought on the train! Yep, I was that stupid. I tried to explain to the information booth what had happened. They understood the words "lost," "bag," and "train" so I think they knew what I was talking about. They made some phone calls, but had no luck in finding my bag. They were extremely nice though (everyone is in Japan) and I could tell they felt really bad about not being able to find it. They gave me a paper with numbers for the different stations, but that didn't end up being very helpful since I can't speak Japanese.

I had given up on finding it when we got back to the port terminal. There, by some amazing chance, we ran into a group of 4 tour guides that spoke English. I told them my story and they were eager to help. They took the paper with the numbers for the different stations and made some calls. After several different phone calls, they spoke with someone that had my bag at Yokohama station. (That is the main station in Yokohama, a short distance from the station closest to the ship.) Two of the tour guides actually offered to take me to the station by our ship, get on the train to go to Yokohama station with me to get by bag, and then bring me back to the port so that I could get back on the ship in time. Luckily, I had about 3 hours before I had to be back. I could not believe how kind they were being! It was honestly amazing. They got me there and back in under 45 minutes. :) There is no way that I should have ever seen that bag again. It was seriously incredible. They were the nicest people I have ever met in my life! They even gave me some candy and other gifts on the way to the station and would not take anything in return for those or for helping me. One of them even gave me his email address and wants me to email him from the different ports. :) Amazing.

When I got back on the ship, I was so tired and slept for a good 11 hours straight. Today was a very relaxing day. Since there aren't many people on the ship we had a fancy dinner tonight and I got to sit at the captain's table! It was so much fun! We get into Kobe tomorrow morning and my plan is still to go to Hiroshima! I can't wait!

Yokohama!

Hey everyone!

We arrived in Yokohama around 8 a.m. on the morning of the 27th. It was pretty cold outside, but standing out there to watch us pull into our first port outside of the United States was worth it! Everyone was so excited! There were people lined up waving as we pulled in and the marching band that I mentioned in my last post was playing the entire time.  It was a pretty incredible experience Here are a couple of pictures!

I had a field lab with my Anthropology of Religion class the first day, so we were some of the first people allowed off of the ship. Going through the customs and immigration process took about 30 minutes and I then had a little bit of time before I had to be at the bus. Right after I got off the ship, it was like a whole new world. I couldn't wait to get going! I stopped at the information booth for some maps in the terminal, exchanged a little bit of money so I'd have enough for the day, listened to some violinists that were playing in the port terminal and stopped at a little cafe for a drink with a few other people. Then we loaded the bus! The ride to the temple was about an hour long. I took a bunch of pictures and video out of the window along the way. Here are a couple. I would upload more but I can only use a certain amount of data in each email I send!

The temple we went to was Kencho-Ji Temple in Kamakura. It is ranked number 1 out of the 5 Zen temples in Kamakura and it is the oldest Zen training monastery in Japan. Here is a picture that shows the outline of the temple grounds.

After arriving, we were given a brief tour of the grounds (areas 1-6 on the map). We had one of the priests as a guide and he tried to briefly explain the meaning behind each spot, but his English was very difficult to understand at times. After the tour, we were taken into the mail hall, Hojo, where were were asked to remove our shoes. We were then taken into the main meditation room where there were mats lined up along the floor and several priests waiting for us. After being given a brief introduction to the practice of Zen meditation, we began our first of three 20 minute sessions. We were asked to sit cross-legged on the mat with straight backs, hands in front of our stomachs with palms facing upward (right over left), focus our on a spot about 2 feet in front of us, stay very still, and take deep breaths. This is the typical posture. The main purpose of Zen meditation is to calm the body and mind. Each individual person has a different reason for practicing, and some even reach spiritual enlightenment through it.

The second and third sets of meditation were done a little bit differently and it is really hard to explain in words exactly what happened. We also participated in a Zen chant. I wish I would have been able to take pictures. They allowed us to take videos and pictures after the process was finished, and I did actually take a video of the room and of me with one of the priests when he offered to act out the process for me! I can't wait to upload that, but I am unable to on this email so it will have to wait for when I get home.  Here are some pictures of the grounds and one picture I got of the meditation other than the video. I wish I had more!

After the meditation, we were taken into a different room where we had a session of question and answer with the priests for about an hour. I do have plenty of pictures of that but I am going to wait to upload them later so I have enough data space for other pictures. :) It was a truly amazing experience and I feel very lucky that I got to have this opportunity!

After loading the bus, we were taken into to city of Kamakura where we had about 2 hours to split up into smaller groups to do some shopping and find a place to eat. I ate with 3 others from my class and then a small group from another class that we ran into along the way. It was difficult to order and communicate because none of us knew any Japanese, but we just pointed to what we wanted and it ended up working out great! Here is a picture of our group. :) I'm in the back. This was our first meal outside of the United States!

As we were walking around after dinner, they mentioned wanting to find a Sushi place. I had never had Sushi before, so they decided we were definitely going to stop somewhere. I've always been a little scared to try it, but I decided to just go for it! Haha. Here are a couple pictures. My friend Lucas documented the experience for me....

It wasn't horrible, but honestly it wasn't the greatest thing I have ever tasted either! I'm really glad I decided to try it though. :) After getting back to the bus we went back to the port where I met a group of people to take a train to Tokyo for the night! As we were walking to the train station, we stopped and tried out their vending machines, which they have everywhere! You can even buy hot drinks. I'm not exactly sure how that works, but it was so cool. It was about a 10 minute walk to the station and a 30 minute ride to Tokyo.

I will make a post about my time in Tokyo a little bit later! This one is already pretty long. :)

In Japan!

Hey everyone!
I don't have too much time but I wanted to let you all know that we made it through the storms and got to Japan yesterday morning! As we pulled into the port in Yokohama there was a marching band playing to welcome us. It was pretty incredible!

I spent most of the day yesterday with my Anthropology of Religion class at our field lab. We had a little bit of time after that to walk around and have dinner. Then a group of us took a train to Tokyo last night! We are getting ready to go explore today.

I will make a MUCH longer post with pictures and details and everything later but I just wanted to do a quick update right now. I am not sure if I will have internet when I get back on the ship to go to Kobe because our Dean said something about the government blocking the signal to our ship. If that is the case, I probably won't update again until after we leave Kobe and are sailing to China. But hopefully it will be sooner than that.

I cannot believe that I am actually here! Semester at Sea is by far the best decision I have ever made!

Storms!!!!

We are in the middle of a huge storm right now and things are getting crazy! My professor canceled class because it's impossible to even really function. People are flying against the walls and chairs and other things are falling all over the place. As I'm writing this, I'm struggling to stay upright in the chair I'm sitting in.

According to the captain, we won't get out of this storm until halfway through the night. It's a little after 6 p.m. on the 26th here right now. So we have quite a ways to go through this yet, and they just announced that it will get even worse.  We're all trying to eat dinner right now, and it's a pretty big failure!

Thank goodness we are getting to Japan tomorrow morning!

Here is a picture of what it looked like outside a few hours ago. It doesn't look near as bad as it actually is!

2 More Days!

Hey everyone!

We will be arriving in Yokohama, Japan the day after tomorrow and I
can't wait! This will be our first port out of the United States. Yay! :)

Since the trip from Hawaii to Japan is our longest stretch out on the
ocean, (9 days), our professors have been hitting us pretty hard with
assignments. It definitely has been overwhelming at times. If you know
me at all, you know that I like to spend a lot of time when working on
assignments and studying for exams. On the ship, it's been hard to find
as much time as I'd like to be able to do that because there are always
things going on! I've had to come up with new ways of managing my time
and completing assignments. I'm getting better at it! Whenever I find
myself feeling stressed, I just remind myself that I am very fortunate
to have been given this opportunity. There is no point is wasting this
entire experience stressing over my school work.

I've really been enjoying to the Unreasonable as Sea presentations that
take place almost every evening we are at sea. Last night, members from
the Nike Foundation told us about the project they are working on called
the "Girl Effect." If you haven't yet, I would definitely recommend
checking out the Unreasonable at Sea website to learn more about them
and all of the other entrepreneurs and mentors.
http://unreasonableatsea.com/
It is pretty incredible to be sailing with all of these people that have
some truly amazing ideas about how to change the world.

The ship has been pretty rocky the last couple of days. Last night was
the first time that I have felt seasick. I still feel a little "off"
today, but hopefully that won't last long. During work study yesterday,
the Assistant Dean told me that what we've been going through is
actually pretty mild compared to what it could be. Our waves haven't
been much higher than 10-15 feet at the most, but he's been on voyages
where they have been between 40 and 50 feet during the same stretch from
Hawaii to Japan. I am so glad that we seem to have avoided anything that
bad!

I have started doing Insanity in the mornings at 6 a.m. I know that
sounds crazy, but I haven't been able to find any other time to workout
on the ship. Almost every muscle in my body is sore right now, but I
plan to keep on doing it at least every other morning on the ship. It is
actually pretty fun!

Here are my plans for Japan: on our first day in Yokohama, I have a
field lab with my Anthropology of Religion course. We're going to visit
a Zen Buddhist temple, Kencho-ji, one of the main centers of Zen
practice in Japan since the 13th century. After receiving a short
introduction to Zen practice, we'll participate in a session of zazen
sitting and walking meditation for approximately three hours. We then
get to explore temple complex before going dinner in a traditional
Japanese restaurant. I am really looking forward to this!

When I return from the field lab in the evening, a group of us are going
to take a train to Tokyo (30 minute trip from Yokohama). We plan on
spending the night there and then exploring the city the next day. We
are going to come back to the ship during the in-transit day when it
sails from Yokohama to Kobe. We have the option of staying off the ship
and traveling independently between the two cities, but we decided to
just save some money and have a relaxing day on the ship. There are no
classes during in-transit days. When we arrive in Kobe, we are taking a
train up to Hiroshima. If I could choose only one thing to do in Japan,
it would be to visit Hiroshima. I'm so glad I actually get to make that
happen! We'll probably stay the night in a hotel up there, do some
exploring the next day, and then make it back to Kobe in time to get on
the ship and sail to China!

I'm sorry this post doesn't have any pictures. For some reason it
wouldn't let me attach them, but I will figure it out soon and there
will be some in my next post! I can't wait to update you on my
experiences in Japan! :)

Lost Day!

I forgot to mention this in my previous post, but we are crossing the
International Date Line tonight! This means that we are going to skip an
entire day. I'll go to bed with it being January 20th, but when I wake
up in the morning it will be January 22nd. How weird is that?

That's all. :)

Hilo, Hawaii

We arrived in Hilo, Hawaii on Tuesday, January 15th around 8:00 a.m. I didn't have any class field labs and I decided not to sign up for any field programs for this port, which meant I was free to travel independently the entire time we were there. We had to go through customs before being allowed off of the ship, so we didn't actually get to leave until around 10:30. There was definitely a mad rush towards the door when we were finally cleared!

On the first day, me and a couple of other girls (Kaitlynn and Dahana) took a taxi up to Rainbow Falls. I had heard that this was an absolute must while in Hilo. It was gorgeous! While we were there, I had a conversation with a Native Hawaiian that was making hats and baskets out of some sort of plant. When I asked him about it he said he was using leaves from a coconut palm tree. There are over 80 different types of palm trees in Hawaii, but the coconut palm is the only one that has leaves you can use to make something functional. It has been used like this in Hawaii for thousands of years. It was very interesting to learn about and it fit very with an assignment I had in one of my classes to journal about different cultural experiences I had in Hilo. Here are a few pictures from Rainbow Falls!

After Rainbow Falls, we made our way to downtown Hilo to check out some of the local shops and the Farmer's Market. It was a very small downtown, and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. Hilo is not nearly as industrialized as most of the other islands, but it was great to get to experience it!  I bought a few things at one of the little shops, and then we went to the Farmer's Market where we tried rainbow papaya (delicious) and a few other kinds of fruit. For lunch, we went to a small local place called Puka Puka Kitchen and then stopped at a small shaved ice store. After hanging out downtown for a couple of hours we took a bus to Target to stock up on things we needed or weren't able to fit in our suitcases when we packed. We bought TONS of snacks (granola bars, nut mixes, pretzels, peanut butter, etc) and some school supplies and other items we thought might be useful. For example, I bought a watch. It has been extremely helpful these last few days because there are honestly no clocks up anywhere in the ship. For anyone considering Semester at Sea, put a watch on your packing list!

After Target, we took a taxi back to the ship to drop our bags off. Then we took a mile long walk down to the Coconut Grill for supper. I ordered the Coconut Shrimp Tikis. It was SO GOOD!

On the second day, Kaitlynn and I decided we wanted to go to the beach to relax for a few hours. However, our plan didn't exactly work out. We were told by several locals that there was a great beach about 2 miles from the ship where we could swim and lay out. We were pretty excited! When we got to the beach they directed us to, it was nothing but rocks. There was no sand anywhere, and we were not about to attempt walking over those rocks to get into the water. It was a pretty big failure, but we took a couple of pictures anyway!

We walked back to the ship and then decided to head back downtown to find an ATM, visit the Farmer's Market again, (it was about 3 times larger the second day) and find a place to use WiFi for a few minutes. After that, we headed back to the port! We had to be back on board by 6:00 p.m., but they recommended getting back around 4:00 p.m. so that not everyone was trying to get back on at the exact same time. I had a fabulous time in Hilo, but there were definitely some people that did not make the best decisions while we were there. Some students might actually get kicked off because of their behavior. I guess there were 32 rooms rented out at a hotel for about 200 students. By the end of the night, there were alcohol cans thrown everywhere, vomit in the elevators, and over 40 complains from hotel visitors. Other students decided to go to a bar and drink illegally. Why anyone would choose to do these things is beyond me. Why would anyone even think it's okay to do that?  Getting so drunk that you can't even remember what happened is definitely NOT the point of this trip. It's pretty disappointing that there seems to be some people on this voyage that are here for the very wrong reasons.

When we stopped in Honolulu for fuel, the captain made the decision to stay docked overnight due to dangerous storms in the Pacific. If we had kept going, we likely would have run into 30 ft. waves! I'm definitely glad we waited. There is still a pretty good chance that we will be hitting some storms between now and Japan, but hopefully they won't be too terrible!

As far as life on the ship, it took a while to get adjusted but I feel like I am finally getting used to the swing of things! It is still a little hard to successfully manage my time because there is constantly something going on, but I'm getting the hang of it. Student run clubs and organizations officially started today, which has been very exciting! I was assigned to an "Extended Family" and should be meeting them sometime within the next couple of days. I'm really looking forward to that. Zumba will occur every A Day at 7 p.m. I'm planning on going to that as much as I possibly can. I went tonight and it was a lot of fun! I wish I had taken some pictures, but there is plenty of time for that. Singers at Sea will be starting up within the next week, and I cannot even explain how excited I am for that! Also, a friend of mine is starting weekly Bible studies and Church services. I'm planning on attending the services on Sundays. :)

I've also really been enjoying my work study job! It's a pretty big honor to be able to work directly with the Assistant Executive Dean on this voyage. Here is a picture of what the outside of the office looks like.

Our next stop is Yokohama, Japan! We're finally getting outside of the United States and I am SO EXCITED!! It will take us a pretty long stretch of about 10 days to get there, but hopefully the ocean won't get too rough. I have a field lab on the first day of Yokohama with my Anthropology of Religion course, but other than that I have no official plans. A group of us is thinking about taking a train to Hiroshima! If I could pick only one thing to do/see in Japan, that would be it. We're still working out all of the details but I'm pretty sure that we will end up going! I can't wait!

 I'll probably do another post or two before we get to Japan. We have a "study day" with no classes coming up the day after tomorrow. That is going to be the best day. We also gain another hour of sleep tonight. Yay! :)

Thanks guys!

Quick Update!

Hey everyone!

I'm sorry I haven't posted in a while! Things have been a little bit
crazy. We ended up staying the night in Honolulu, Hawaii due to storms,
and we are currently trying to avoid some 30 foot waves while on our way
to Japan. :/

I had such a great time in Hilo and I will soon post some pictures and
tell you about my experiences!

Thanks!

Almost There!

We will be arriving in Hilo, Hawaii tomorrow morning around 8 a.m. I'm so excited! I don't have any field labs or trips for this port, so my biggest plan is to buy things that I forgot and to stock up on food and snacks! Everyone else I've talked to seems to have the same idea. Me and a group of people are going to do a little exploring of the island, go to the Farmer's Market and just hang out on the beach. This will be my most "relaxed" port. We'll be there for 2 full days.

As part of an assignment in several of my classes, I have to keep a "field journal" where I make entries about what I see and experience that relates with course material in each port. For example, one of my courses is "Music Cultures," so I'll look for specific examples of music in Hawaiian Culture. "Anthropology of Religion" and "Intro to Anthropology" are the other two courses that have that requirement. All of my classes have been very interesting so far, and I think I'm really going to enjoy them! Having the opportunity to be taught by some of the greatest professors from all across the country (and even the world) is just incredible. The ocean view out the windows during class isn't so bad either. :)

I still haven't been seasick, and I've surprisingly been sleeping very well! I've woken up a few times during the night when the ship hits a random big wave, but other than that it's been great! I talked to someone today that told me this was the first day they have even come out of their cabin because of how seasick they were. :/

I had an actually conversation with Archbishop Desmund Tutu yesterday!!! Me and my friend Kaitlynn walked into the campus store to look at sweatshirts and he was the only other person in the store. We only talked for like 2 or 3 minutes, but it was still amazing to even have the chance to speak with him. That's definitely something that I will never forget.

There is a group of mentors and entrepreneurs called "Unreasonable at Sea" traveling with us on this voyage. I would definitely recommend looking them up on the Semester at Sea webpage. (If I had global internet access, I would give you the link). For the next couple of weeks during the times we are at sea, they are going to have different mentors give presentations in the evenings. Last night, the speaker was Hunter Lovins, Time Magazine's "Person of the Year!"

 Also, I heard there is the possibility of the Dalai Lama joining us!!!

We have our first pre-port mandatory meeting tonight! There will be one on the night before we get into each port. They're going to tell us what we need to know about health and safety, travel, and other important information.

Here are a few pictures that I have taken since the first day. They'll get more exciting when I actually have pictures from in-country travel to share!

Hawaii Bound!

Hey everyone!

I'm currently out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean sailing towards
Hilo, Hawaii aboard the MV Explorer!!!! :)

The first two days have been absolutely crazy! I'm pretty exhausted and
a bit overwhelmed from trying to adjust to living on a ship and taking
in all of the new information that has been piled on us, but I am having
an absolutely incredible time! I can already tell that this is going to
be the best 4 months of my entire life.

I was on the first bus to Ensenada along with all of the other work
study students. It took about 2 1/2 hours to get down there. Meeting
everyone on the bus was so exciting. I could literally feel all of the
excitement and energy! There was not one single second of silence.
Luckily, it didn't take us very much time to go through security since
we arrived first. After I checked in I went to my cabin to put down my
stuff, and then was put to work checking in all of the other students as
they arrived. I really enjoyed getting to meet everyone! It wasn't until
mid-afternoon that I was able to go back to my cabin and start
unpacking, which I was absolutely dreading. These cabins don't have a
whole lot of storage space. Somehow I've been able to find spots for the
most important things, and the rest is still in the duffle bags under my
bed. :) It works!

The rest of the first day was filled with introduction assemblies in the
Union (the largest room on the ship), eating dinner and meeting new
people! I've met some pretty incredible people that I can already tell
will become great friends. We also had a lifeboat drill right before the
ship left port. We each have a designated place on the ship to go during
an emergency, and we'll practice those about once each month.

The rocking of the ship will definitely take some getting used to!
Luckily, I have not been seasick yet. Thank goodness for Dramamine! I
wasn't expecting it to rock this much, but the Captain told us the
waters will be a little bit rough between here and Hawaii and also
between Hawaii and Japan. Hopefully it gets better after that!

I can't believe I didn't mention this in a previous post, but Archbishop Desmund
Tutu is sailing with us on this voyage! We were all
introduced to him on the first night. He's going to be giving some
lectures and seminars along the way. He said hi to me today as he passed
my table during lunch. I hope I have an opportunity to actually
introduce myself and have a conversation with him sometime soon!

The second day (today) was our official orientation day. We all met in
the Union to go over community standards, the honor code, academic
resources, global lens courses, field programs and health and safety. We
also had the Involvement Symposium, which was a time where we could sign
up for and create clubs or organizations we might be interested in being
involved in on the ship! There were so many options to choose from. I
signed up for Singers at Sea, Service Learning, Zumba, Yoga and Extended
Family. With the Extended Family Program, I'll be put in a group with
several other students and a Lifelong Leaner and/or faculty member.
We'll get together for dinner, have game nights and just spend some
quality time as a "family". I'm pretty excited for that, and for all of
the organizations I've signed up for!

Classes and work study officially start tomorrow. I'm actually really
looking forward to it! This is just such an incredible opportunity. As
crazy as these first two days have been, I've had such an amazing time
so far. But I definitely am ready for things to (hopefully) slow down a
bit once classes begin and not every second of the day is scheduled.

I will try and post some pictures soon, but right now it's time for bed.
:) We gain an hour of sleep tonight!

Thanks guys!

Let the Adventure Begin!

It's FINALLY here!!!!!! :)

I'm taking the bus down to Ensenada, Mexico to board the MV Explorer early tomorrow morning. I am so excited for this incredible adventure to begin! My parents had nothing but good things to say after they got back from the reception on the ship last night. They got to tour the ship and hear some of the faculty and staff speak. They are now actually more excited for me than they are nervous, which has helped ease my nerves going into tomorrow. I am so grateful for this incredible opportunity and I can't wait for it to begin!

Thank you all so much for the support and I'm glad you want to follow this blog to keep up with me! The posts are definitely going to start getting more exciting. :)

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

                                                                                          - Mark Twain

Photo Courtesy Of:
www.itmakessenseblog.com

Hello from California!

I made it to San Diego with my parents last night and I can't believe that I will be boarding the ship in just two days! It has finally started to sink in that this is actually happening and I am incredibly excited. :)

I was actually able to get everything I need packed into 2 duffel-bags and a backpack. I had to put back almost everything that I thought would be "fun to have," and just stick with things that I absolutely need. There really isn't a whole lot of room in those bags! It was difficult, and we even had to do some re-packing in the hotel room this afternoon, but I feel ready to go! The only thing I wasn't able to fit is a pillow. I'm going to try and just carry that onto the bus with me.

The ship is actually embarking from Ensenada, Mexico, not San Diego. All of the students take buses from the Hilton Bay Front Hotel down to Ensenada where we will board the ship! I'm on the first bus, which leaves at 7 a.m. It will be an early morning, but I can't wait!

For those of you that mentioned wanting to see my final packing list, here it is! :)

Sandals (1 pair)
Flip-flops (1 pair)
Slippers (1 pair)
Tennis Shoes (2 pairs - 1 to ruin)
Nice Flats (1 pair)
Airwalks  (1 pair)
Sweatshirt (1 - I'm planning to buy a Semester at Sea one too)
Long Sleeve Shirts (5)
T-Shirts (6)
Workout Shirts (2)
Cami's (6)
Nice Short Sleeve Shirts (5)
Coat (1)
Cover-Ups for layering (4) (2 short sleeve, 2 long-sleeve)
Tank-Tops (5)
Jeans (3)
Jean Shorts (2)
Sweatpants (1)
PJ Pants (1)
Athletic Shorts (2)
Workout Pants (2)
Bras (8) (4 sport, 2 regular, 1 strapless)
Underwear (15 pairs)
Leggings/Tights (4 pairs)
Long Skirts (2)
Long Dresses (3)
Nice Dress (1 - for the Ambassador's Ball)
Scarf (1)
Gloves (1 pair)
Socks (10 pairs)
Swimsuits (2)
Beach Cover-Ups (2)
Nikon CoolPix P150 Camera
Canon Powershot Elph 110 HS
Camera cases, chargers, and 2 extra batteries for each
Memory Cards (3 16GB and 2 8GB)
Flash Drives (3 8GB and 2 16GB)
Outlet Adapters (1 European, 1 Universal)
All-In-One Outlet Adapter and Voltage Converter
Earphones (4 pairs)
iPod and Charger
DVD Travel Case (24 DVDs - movies and Criminal Minds) :)
Batteries (30 AA, 10 AAA, 4D)
Flashlight
Blanket
Bed Sheet (for homestays)
Binoculars
Cards (2 decks of playing cards, spoons and mad gab)
Around the World Game
iPhone and 2 Chargers
Laptop, Laptop Case and Charger
Travel Laundry Detergent (I will be doing laundry in the sink sometimes)
Shout Color Catchers
Shout Swipe and Go Stain Removers
Sleeping Mask
Earplugs
Kleenex
Water Bottles (1 with filter, 1 without)
Gum (18 packs)
Water Flavor Packs (3 boxes)
Clif Energy Bars (1 box)
Kashi Bars (2 boxes)
Nut Mix Packages (1 box)
Protein Bars (1 box)
Peanut Butter (All food had to be packaged and sealed in individual portions. :/ But I was able to find some to-go packs! Thank goodness! I am addicted to peanut butter)
Dove Peanut Butter Chocolate (1 bag)
Beach Towel
Dry-Fast Travel Hair Towel
Small Purses (2)
Passport Holder (1)
Passport
Yellow Fever Card
Empty Duffle Bag (for homestays and collecting things)
Books to read (2)
Journals (3 - I plan on writing a lot!)
Planner
Textbooks (4)
Notebooks (4)
Folders (5)
Coloring Books (2 - coloring is a good stress relief)
Twistable Crayons (24 pack)
Colored Pencils (24 pack)
Magnets (50 - The walls in our rooms are magnetic)
Pencils (20)
Pens (10)
Sharpies (4)
Highlighters (5)
Sticky Note Pad
Note Cards (1 Pack)
Glue Stick
Whiteout
Wallet
Foreign Currency
150 $1 Bills (It's good to have a lot of these)
Bath Sponge
Q-Tips (100)
Make-Up (4 month supply - foundation, powder, blush, eyeliner, etc.)
Travel Mirror
Hygiene Wipes (2 packs)
Oil-Absorbing Sheets (5 packs - These are life-savers)
Dove Soap (4 bars)
Cotton Balls (50)
Toothbrushes (4)
Toothpaste (2)
Deodorant (2)
Feminine Products
Hair Ties (30)
Bobby Pins (40)
Headbands (10)
Chapstick (10)
Lotion (2 bottles)
Hand Sanitizer (1 big, 2 travel size)
Body Wash (1 bottle)
Shampoo (2 bottles)
Conditioner (1 bottle)
Manicure Set (nail clippers, nail file, tweezers)
Hair Gel
Hair Brushes (2)
Perfume (1 small bottle)
Hair Straightener
Razor and Razor Heads
Sunscreen (2 6 oz. bottles)
Bug Spray (1 6 oz bottle)
Gifts for children at schools and orphanages I visit (sticker sheets, punching balloons, smarties and slinkies)
Extra Pillow
Umbrella
Band-aids (1 box)
Antibiotic Cream
Vitamin C (1 bottle with 100)
Zicam (2 bottles with 25 each)
Pepto Bismol (80 pills)
Mucinex D (1 box)
Ibuprofen (200 pills)
Dramamine (16 pills)
Allergy Relief (100 pills)
Anti-Malaria Medication (58 pills)
Cipro (Anti-Diarrhea Medication)
Sea-Sick Patches (10)
Imodium (40 pills)
Regular Prescription Medicines

Yes, I fit all of that into 2 bags and a backpack! I have no idea how I did it. I have my mom and sister to thank for all of the help. We re-packed so many times and I had to put back at least half of what I would have liked to take. I'm sure there are still some things I'm forgetting, but I can pick stuff up along the way if I need to!

The ship, the MV Explorer,  is in San Diego right now for the parents reception this evening, so we walked down to the port to see it earlier this afternoon. It was very exciting to finally get to see it in person! I can't believe that it's soon going to become my home for the next four months. It has all finally started to set in and I think I freak out a little more with each minute that passes. Here are a few pictures we took of the ship!

My parents are going to the reception on the ship tonight, and I cannot wait to hear what they have to say! It's getting so close! :)