1 month from today we'll depart from Montreal towards Morocco. 111 days later we will end our trip here at Port Everglades,  Ft. Lauderdale, FL. We'll be new people with endless stories to tell.

One month from today...

In one month I will be waking up at the butt crack of dawn on my 26th birthday to catch a flight to Montreal. 2 days later I will embark on the trip of a lifetime! 

I have already started packing and buying last minute supplies. Reality is starting to set in! 

My whole life is supposed to fit into these 2 bags? At least Stella fits!

Shots, finals, and shipmates

The past week has been a very productive one. I'm happy to say that as of an hour ago I'm officially done with the summer semester! It was a gnarly one! I nearly failed my algebra class, which put this entire trip and my future as a student at NSU at jeopardy. Blood, sweat and tears...lots of tears later...I managed to pass. I've never been so happy with a "C" in my life!

This is my happy jump

In addition to my achievements at school this week I also got my physical and medical history form done for Semester at Sea. However I was totally mentally unprepared to get some of my travel vaccines in that same doctor's visit. I cringed as the nurse assumed her position and aimed at my arms as if she was playing a game of random darts. Hep A and Typhoid in my right arm, TDaP in the left. My doctor also provided prescriptions for Malarone (Malaria pills) to be taken while I'm in Africa and other affected areas and Cipro  to be taken if I catch some sort of weird bacterial stomach situation. Interesting random fact...Cipro is also used to treat Anthrax. Great! Totally prepared for anything. I have my appointment at the Health Department tomorrow to get my Yellow Fever (Yellow Card) vaccine. I will not be allowed on this trip if I don't have it. I also found out I will have to go back to my primary doctor for more shots. Not excited as my arms were so sore this week I did not sleep for 2 nights. But the pain is well worth it!

Lastly the highlight of this past week was meeting up with a few of my future shipmates! We had a little South Florida meet up in downtown Ft. Lauderdale (where our voyage will end) last Sunday. We had dinner together and had the opportunity to meet a girl who had been on the Spring 10' voyage of SAS. We grilled the poor girl for like 2 hrs but it made us that much more confident in going forward with this trip. Between the vaccines and meeting my shipmates it really put things into perspective...this is real...this is REALLY happening!

My future shipmates and I in downtown Ft. Lauderdale

Around the world in 111 days...

Ever since I was a little girl I dreamed of traveling the world. Hiking the Great Wall in China, seeing the Taj Mahal and having a life changing experience at the Ganges River in India, tasting the spices and sipping mint tea with locals in Morocco, trying on a Kimono in Japan, and seeing the island of Cuba first hand and not by what we are being fed by the media. I thought to myself, "Maybe one day if I win the lotto I will get to do these things" or eventually I would save up enough money to do one or 2 of these things. NEVER in my wildest dreams did I ever think that I would have the opportunity to visit all of these places in one trip. In a little less than 2 months all my dreams will come true as I embark on the journey of a lifetime aboard the M/V "Explorer" as a student on the 107th voyage of Semester at Sea. We will circumnavigate the globe in 111 days making stops in 13 different countries and traversing the Panama Canal. The ship departs from Montreal, Canada and the voyage ends nearly 4 months later in my hometown of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. In between we'll be making stops at the following ports:

• Casablanca, Morocco
• Tema, (Accra), Ghana
• Cape Town, South Africa
• Port Louis, Mauritius
• Chennai, India
• Penang, Malaysia
• Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
• Hong Kong / Shanghai, China
• Kobe / Yokohama, Japan*
• Hilo, Hawaii, USA
• Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• Traverse Panama Canal
• Havana, Cuba**

Aaaah! Its still all very surreal at times. This blog will serve as a diary as I prepare for the trip, documenting my adventures, experiences and feelings while exploring the world and as a communication tool for everyone I'm leaving behind at home. Phone calls will be very few and far in between but at least you'll all know I'm alive and kicking!

<3 Ionna

Disclaimer: As this is my diary sort of speak, there will be no filter about some of the things I say, I did, felt, and think of. I also have a sick sense of humor. With that being said my thoughts, actions and writings do not reflect those of my employer, school, and parents/family. And unless your name is God, don't judge! Just saying ;)