First Post! *Bahamas*

I am in the Bahamas and I just finished my open water scuba certification today! Yay! Basically for the last two days all I have been doing is diving and I am exhausted. But now that I am scuba certified I am looking forward to a couple days of sun and relaxation before the voyage sets sail on January 23rd. My scuba certification is really going to come in handy on the trip because I heard the diving in Mauritius and Malaysia is absolutely beautiful this time of year.  Lucky for me, it was raining today so no one got tan and I wasn’t affected considering I was 40 feet below the surface! Also, I met my first Semester At Sea person on our way to the dive shop. Her name is Nicole and she is a much more experienced diver than I am considering she has been diving for 10 years, but she was so nice and was interested in diving with me in some of the counties, so now I have a dive buddy! We were able to see the MV Explorer (our ship) on the way to the dive shop and we were talking about how weird it was that it would become our home on this voyage. It still seems so foreign to me at this point, but I know it will be hard to say goodbye to it by the end.

So here is a little update about what has been happening. The week before I arrived in the Bahamas was extremely stressful with all the pre-voyage preparation. Some of the particularly stressful parts included 1. trying to pack almost 4 months of clothes and supplies into 2 duffel bags (a seemingly impossible task – one that my dad was sure I was going to fail) and 2. attempting to get my malaria medication before leaving Chicago (yes, I actually almost left my medication at the pharmacy so we had to go and get it on our way to the airport – talk about a close call). Needless to say, it was a long week.

But I was able to get some much needed relief from all the stress when I got to see some of my friends from school before I left. Although it was a hectic time (after all, it was the last two days before I was leaving) it was exactly what I needed to forget about the stress of it all. So Dana, Anna, Sarah, Alyssa and one of my best friends from home, Kate, had a great dinner and then continued to go to our local bar Wool Street. Granted we were the only ones in there, but lets just say that the Irish bartender did not neglect us (hah right Dana?). And so, after a slow and for some painful morning we said our goodbyes knowing all too well that in 4 months we would all be reunited in the wonderful city that is Madison. I couldn’t help but feel a little jealous that they were all going back to the city that I love so much – but then I realized I am about to sail AROUND THE WORLD!! 

Sidenote: After I decided I was going to do Semester At Sea in August I started keeping a list of places I wanted to go, things I needed to bring, and quotes that reminded me of the voyage I was about to experience. So I figured some of the quotes could be a good supplement to my posts…

"The person who goes farthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare. The sure-thing boat never gets far from shore."
• Dale Carnegie

I miss everyone already!

Love your little traveler,
Brittany xoxo