Departure Set For Sunday

    Everything is starting to get closer and closer. I am getting to the point where I just want to be done with all the BS and have this thing started already. Things this week have been a lot harder than they needed to be. I always thought that Elon University was a very "study abroad friendly" school or that's at least what your made out to understand. That is a story for another time however, probably after I get my diploma. Also, my Visas have not arrived and the encounters this week with Pinnacle have been a real pleasure (Insert sarcasm here). After countless lies of when the Visas actually will arrive, we are told they will be here tomorrow. So besides the fact that I still need my Visas and will be traveling with less funds than anticipated, mostly everything is set to go. Packing is one major final hurdle that remains.


    I wanted to post the classes that I will be taking this semester. These take place as we travel from each port. All the time in port is yours to decide:


~Foundations of International Business
~Globalization through Cinema
~Theories of International Relations
~Global Studies (Everyone takes this class)


    For each port, I have been trying to get a solid idea of what I want to do at each stop. Here are some of my tentative plans:


Dominica - Explore island
Brazil - Amazon and Trip to Rio de Janeiro
Ghana - TBD but definitely headed to slave dungeons one day
South Africa - Plan to travel separate from SAS around Cape Town
Mauritius - Only one day so looks like just a beach day for now
India - Leaning toward the tour that goes to Agra and Varanasi
Singapore - Head to the food markets and check out the Mariana Bay Sands Hotel
Vietnam - Ha Long Bay exploration
China - Deciding if I want to go to Beijing or just explore Hong Kong and Shanghai
Japan - Check out Kyoto before heading to Tokyo


    It will be interesting to see how those overall general plans look four months from now. The only trip written in stone is the trip to Rio in Brazil.


    That's it for now. I probably really need to go start packing and keep your fingers crossed that the Visas come tomorrow. We head out on Sunday and plan to spend a few days in Nassau before embarkation on Jan. 19. And keep your fingers crossed on that one too, a Winter Storm Warning has just been issued for Northeast Ohio through Sunday morning. Exactly one week from today the ship will be departing from Nassau on our way to Dominica and around the world. Hard to believe!