Prelude

In just about 12 hours I will be boarding a plane to London and getting ready to start my new position as a Resident Director on the Fall 2013: 50th Anniversary Voyage for Semester at Sea (SAS). I'm very excited for this opportunity and am looking forward to all the adventures to come! However, once I land in London, I'll actually have the next 11 days or so to explore the United Kingdom (and possibly elsewhere) before reporting for duty with SAS in Southampton on August 21st. That will be my last hurrah before...well...I guess my big hurrah!

The MV Explorer, the SAS ship, will travel to ports in Europe, Africa, and South America starting August 24th and lasting through December 16th. With four months traveling the world, one would think it would be hard to pack for such a trip. Luckily, the MV Explorer will basically serve as our "base" for the students, faculty, and staff, as we go out and explore the world. Below are the clothes (as I started packing and after taking this picture, I removed about 15 articles of clothing from this pile...they just didn't make the cut) I will be wearing for the next 4 months (get used to seeing numerous pictures with me wearing the same thing). 

The second picture is of my packed bags! Here's the breakdown of the 3 bags:

1- Gray backpacking pack: All the clothes I will be wearing till December 16th

2- Rolling suitcase w/soft top: Mainly toiletries (4 months worth!), shoes (only bringing 4 pairs total), and medications

3- Backpack: Electronics (Laptop, Nook, DVDs, ipod, and my new camera (a Nikon d3100) 

I'm not looking forward to hauling these bags around London, but what's nice is once I report to the ship (August 21st), I will practically "move-in" to a room and these bags won't get packed again (except for small side trips) until I disembark in Fort Lauderdale on December 16th and fly back to Cleveland that evening.

I find it fitting I studied abroad/traveled in 2003 to Australia and New Zealand to complete my teenage years and now find myself on Semester at Sea, traveling the globe, in 2013 to complete my 20s. I think I may just have found a new trend that will have to continue in 2023!


"It is better, I think, to grab at the stars than to sit flustered because you know you cannot reach them."