Take a "Semester at Sea".

http://breathepacific.blogspot.com/
This is the blog that I will be keeping while I’m on my voyage! Read up if you’d like!

Semester at Sea’s 100th Voyage
Voyage Theme: Globalization and The Post American / Flat World

Itinerary:
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Casablanca, Morocco
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Istanbul, Turkey
Alexandria / Port Said / Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt
Chennai, India
Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
Hong Kong / Shanghai, China
Kobe / Yokohama, Japan
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
San Diego, California, USA

I will be in Egpyt on my twenty-first birthday! Halloween will be spent in Viet Nam – and I wonder if it will be celebrated. I will be out at sea for my parent’s one year anniversary, but will just be leaving Hawaii – which is where they spent their honeymoon. How cute! I’ll be sure to send a special postcard.

I meet with Jackie tomorrow to discuss our excitement!

I’ve put down my deposit, and requested Jackie as a roommate. I’ll be applying for my passport soon, and I’ll be spending a lot of my time applying for scholarships/grants/etc. I’ll also be looking for some loans. I hope to at least get $3,000 off the total cost. I need to be saving, which means I need a job! I also need to talk to SPC about the trip. I’m so absolutely stoked about the voyage.

“Dear Brooke,

Congratulations on your academic admission to Semester at Sea. In the coming days, you will be receiving additional information from us about your admission and how to reserve your space on the MV Explorer for your voyage. Please remember that admission alone does not guarantee a space for the voyage; to expedite the reservation process, you can reserve your cabin space with a credit card by logging on to your MyVoyage page (http://www.ise.virginia.edu/mylogin.html) or calling Student Services at 800-854-0195.

If you have questions, please contact Student Services at the above number or email us at info@semesteratsea.com. We look forward to seeing you onboard the MV Explorer in the near future!

Cheers,

Office of Admissions and Financial Aid
Semester at Sea
Institute for Shipboard Education”

I was accepted. Now, all I need to do is reserve my spot, get my passport, take out a loan, save money, buy my books, book my flights, apply for scholarships and have a bon-voyage party!

Jackie was accepted, too! There’s a possibility of being roomies!

• To be accepted to SAS for fall/spring semester 2009/2010.
• To apply to SAS by the end of fall semester 2008.
• To maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher.
• To apply for as much financial aid/scholarships as possible when accepted.
• Get my passport and visas when accepted, if not sooner.
• To save $200+ a month.
• To get a sick ass camera by departure.

This will not only give me a chance to travel, I will also be getting college credit. I’m undecided if I want to go in the summer of 2008 or wait to see what 2009 has in store. I hope I can get a decent amount of financial aid for this; but either way, I’m going.

Summer 2008:
Nassau, Bahamas
Bergen, Norway
St. Petersburg, Russia
Copenhagen, Denmark
Antwerp, Belgium
Naples, Italy
Istanbul, Turkey
Piraeus, Greece
Dubrovnik, Croatia
Norfolk, VA

Fall 2008:
Nassau, Bahamas
Salvador, Brazil
Walvis Bay, Namibia
Cape Town, South Africa
Chennai, India
Penang, Malaysia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hong Kong
Shanghai, China
Kobe, Japan
Yokohama, Japan
Honolulu, Hawaii USA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Transit Panama Canal
Miami, Florida USA

Spring 2009:
Nassau, Bahamas
Cadiz, Spain
Naples, Italy
Istanbul, Turkey
Alexandria, Egypt
Chennai, India
Bangkok, Thailand
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hong Kong
Shanghai, China
Kobe, Japan
Yokohama, Japan
Honolulu, Hawaii USA
Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Transit Panama Canal
Miami, Florida USA

I’m so excited just looking at this. I’m going to apply for one of the 2008s or 2009s by the end of the year, once I have my fall class grades.

http://www.semesteratsea.com/index.html