Travel Letters

Dear lovely reader, Aloha from Hilo, Hawai’i!! Our very first and beautiful port we docked at greeted us with warm and rainy weather, morning of Tuesday, January 15. After 5 days at sea, we finally made it all together as the MV Explorer slowed down into port. Our first week has gone by. And I think every single person on the ship was so eager and so motivated to get to dry land and experience everything that Hilo has to offer. Unfortunately, it did take us a little while longer than expected to get to the gangway and leave the ship. You have to go through customs and immigration (passport check), security, line waiting, and all that good stuff. But I don’t think 2 or 3 hours of delay could rain on the Hilo parade. I literally gave the ground a kiss when I got off the ship. Day 1 of Hilo : Chelsea, Angela, Bea, and I took a minute to decide what we really wanted to see. A lot of students were just eager to head to the beach. But being the SoCal girl that I am, beaches can wai...

Dear lovely reader, Greetings from the Pacific Ocean! The past few days have been a whirl wind. But I’m really excited to let y’all know that I made it on the ship, MV Explorer! All the anticipation, excitement, nervousness has subsided. It’s been exactly one week since I boarded but it really does feel like one month. I can’t explain it, but time feels both long and quick at the same time. Days at sea can be exhausting sometimes but so thrilling. I do apologize that I can’t find the time to blog as frequently. But I’m promising myself to make my way around it. This suite life on deck can’t mean a lot if I don’t have anyone to share it with. :D Day 1, January 9, 2013: The drive down to San Diego was so smooth and easy, no traffic at all. Once we got to the Hilton Hotel for check-in and bag drop-off, all I had to do was to wait for the buses to take me to Ensanada, Mexico, where the MV Explorer will embark. Said deuces to the family, see y’all in 4 months J (I just learned that deu...

Dear lovely reader, Tomorrow is the day. January 9, 2013 is the day I embark on this incredible journey. And April 25, 2013 is the date where the voyage will end. For many Semester at Sea students, the itinerary is one of the main reasons why s/he wants to apply. The Itinerary Embark: San Diego, CA, United States Hilo, Hawaii, United States Yokohama, Japan Kobe, Japan Shanghai, China Hong Kong, China Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Singapore, Singapore Rangoon, Burma Cochin, India Port Louis, Mauritius Cape Town, South Africa Takoradi, Ghana Tema (Accra), Ghana Casablanca, Morocco Debark: Barcelona, Spain The Gist Every day I am at sea, I attend my classes on the ship. Every day I land in port, it's an exploration. The Classes I enrolled in 5 classes (min. 4/ max. 5) because I didn't want to be too behind on units when I come back to school. Since SAS/UVa is run by a semester system, while UCI is run by a quarter system, I won't be enrolled at...