First Post!

I finally set up my Semester at Sea blog! For those of you who are not aware of what I am doing this summer, make sure to check out this website. I will be studying abroad through a program called Semester at Sea. I will be spending my summer on a ship that travels from the Bahamas, all throughout the Mediterranean, and then back into Boston. I am leaving in a couple days, and won't return until a few days before school starts back in the fall! Because I will only have very limited contact with everyone back in the States, I have set up this blog as a way for everyone to stay up to date on my adventures around the world! I would love for you guys to leave me comments as I begin posting about my experiences--it would be nice to hear from everybody back home!

Participating in Semester at Sea has been a dream of mine since I was 16 years old. I am still in disbelief that I have managed to make this become a reality. It truly is a dream come true, and I couldn't be more appreciative. With that being said, there are several people that I feel it is important to acknowledge and thank. The Aurora University community has been nothing but helpful in making this happen for me. Thank you, Heather McKane, Dianne Zmolek, and everybody else in financial aid, for doing everything you could to make sure I was eligible for and received as much financial aid as possible for this summer. Thank you, Ellen Goldberg, for going out of your way to make sure this experience could happen for me. Thank you, Dr. Franiuk, for taking the time to help me with my scholarship application essays. I was told that I received one of the largest packages of aid they awarded to any student, and I also received one of a handful of work-study positions. Thank you, Al Benson, for taking an interest in my story and writing an article about me. I look forward to seeing the finished result. Thank you to everybody else in my life, my professors, friends, family, bosses, co-workers, etc., for supporting me in my dream of participating in Semester at Sea, and for being there for me during the long and sometimes discouraging road to making this become a reality. It's finally here!

It is impossible to believe that I will be leaving so soon! My friend Christine is driving me up to Dayton Tuesday night, and then I will be flying from Dayton to Nassau, Bahamas at 5:30am! It's going to be an early morning! I will get to spend all of Wednesday and part of Thursday exploring and relaxing in Nassau before I board the MV Explorer (Semester at Sea's ship) Thursday afternoon. As a work-study student, I have to board the ship a day early to go through some training. The work-study students will also help run the regular boarding process for all of the other students on Friday. That evening, once all of the students have boarded, we will embark and set sail for a full week at sea on our way to our first destination--Barcelona, Spain!

(This is the resort I am staying at in Nassau!)

(The MV Explorer, my home for the next 9 weeks!)

I will be taking 3 classes this summer. The first is the required seminar, Global Studies: Art in the Mediterranean. I think it should be interesting. It is different from anything I would have chosen to take, but I think I will definitely get a lot out of it. The other interesting thing about this class is that it will be a lecture hall with 400 people! I have never had a class with more than 30 at AU, so it will definitely push me out of my comfort zone a little, and be a new experience! I will let you know what I think of being in a class of 400! The second class I'm taking is Psychosocial Development of Adolescents. This is the class I'm most excited about (go figure). My third class is Race, Class, and Gender. I'm pretty excited about this one too. Both of these classes have just 30 students. I'm looking forward to learning in a new environment, gaining new perspectives, and experiencing things I never would have imagined.

This summer is going to be the greatest experience of my life. I am certain that it will change me forever. I look forward to sharing it with you!