144 Days and Counting

It's 2pm on Saturday, April 5th and I can't get Semester at Sea off my mind. I haven't been able to get SAS off my mind since, well, my acceptance came through back in October. Now though, reality is setting in because in approximately 50 days, 100% of my voyage payment is due, minus whatever I have covered by financial aid. I'm trying to get the financial stuff under control, but I have a feeling it's just begun. Hopefully, CNU will transfer my parents PLUS loan to Semester at Sea so that $5k will be applicable towards my journey. As of now, this is the breakdown that I'm hoping to have:

• $5,000- Parent PLUS Loan


• $1,700- Student Loan


• $3,250- Lucent Scholarship


• $5,000- Semester at Sea Scholarship


• $5,000- My own money (savings and Certificate of Deposit $)


• $2,000- Sponsorship money

That total would come to just around $22,000. My budget for the trip is $30,000 so I'm probably going to take out a $10,000 loan, which my dad said he'd cosign for so I most likely will get it without a problem. My mom mentioned that I should take out a $15,000 loan and then just keep whatever I don't use in the bank and then pay the loan back with the money I don't use. Who knows, this whole loan thing is a completely new area that I've never had to deal with directly before.

As for sponsors, mom's been seaching Google for the addresses and names of people to send sponsorship packets to. Who knows, this can turn out either really good or really bad. I set my goal to $2,000 from my original goal of $5,000, just so if I don't hit $5,000 I won't be disappointed. It's going to be interesting to see how much support I get. I'm also going to send emails to all friends and family in my contact list...maybe that will get me some support? I'm not too worried about the money. As I see it, it's just money. Yes, the money doesn't pop out of thin air, but hey, if I have to take out a bigger loan, I'm not worried about it. Yes, I'll have to pay more money back eventually, but hell, this trip is going to be worth every penny I spend.

As far as field trips go, I'm completely psyched. A bunch of us are talking about renting out like 10 rooms at a hotel in the Bahamas for 2 nights prior to setting sail. There are about 20 of us that are interested right now, and I'm sure once the itinerary is set in stone, more people will jump on board as well. SAS has a travel agent that gets rooms at the Atlantis discounted for group bookings, but I'm not about to pay $200 a night just to stay in the Atlantis. I've stayed in hostels...I don't need a 4 or 5 star hotel to make me happy. Plus, I've been to the Bahamas before so I don't have to worry about running around like a kid in a candy store. But either way, I can't wait. I've already started building relationships with a bunch of people through Facebook and I can't wait to meet them all.

We're visiting 10 different countries in 108 days and I am beyond excited:

• Salvador, Brazil


• Walvis Bay, Namibia


• Cape Town, South Africa


• Chennai, India


• Penang, Malaysia


• Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam


• Hong Kong, China


• Shanghai, China


• Kobe, Japan


• Yokohama, Japan


• Honolulu, Hawaii


• Puntarenas, Costa Rica

It's really hard to decide which country I'm looking forward to the most because their are different reasons as to why I'm excited. Namibia and South Africa are definitely on the top of my list for adventure reasons. I can't wait to surf the sand dunes in Walvis Bay or tour the winelands of Cape Town. Who knows, I might get up enough courage to jump out of a plane, go bungee jumping, or shark cage diving. The Asian countries are going to be a completely new world to me. I honestly haven't a clue as to what I will experience while over there. I have a feeling that I will walk away from India with my head hanging low and my mind spinning from the poverty and dispare that I see. I've heard that professors have cancelled class in the past the day after India to give the students time to comprehend and digest all that they saw. I know it's going to be difficult walking away from such poverty at times, so I will have to mentally prepare myself for it. Japan is also going to be quite the experience. A huge group of us are going to purchace Japan Rail passes and just travel from one part of the island to the other part of the island for the 5 days that we're there. Supposedly it's much cheaper and easier to do independent trips in Japan then through SAS. Actually, it's that way for many of the countries we visit.

The finailzed Field Program listing isn't up, nor do I think it will be for a few weeks yet, but I'm going to post some of the things I'm looking forward to doing in each country based on what is posted already. The prices given are through SAS and are just rough estimates. Also, I haven't really listed anything I want to do INDY...that's going to be a different blog entry.

Salvador, Brazil- Itaparica Island ($100), Iguacu Falls ($1,200), Amazon trip ($1,300), Lencois ($800). I would LOVE to do either the Iguacu Falls or Amazon trip, but quite frankly, I don't know how many trips I can do that are over $1,000.

Walvis Bay, Namibia- Desert 4x4 Tour ($150), Sea and Sand Dunes ($250), Seal and Dolphin Encounter ($100), Camping and Stargazing in the Desert ($350)

Cape Town, South Africa- Operation Hunger ($ 50), Hiking Table Mountain ($30), Robben Island ($500), Kirstenbosch/Seal Island ($75), Cylcling in the winelands ($100), Breede River Rafting w/ Overnight ($150), Safari (anywhere between $500-$1700)

Chennai, India- Rural village and Farm visit ($50), Welcome Reception ($40), Missionaries of Charity service visit ($20).