Pre-Trip part 1

Ok, here we go! I’m Rick, and this is my blog for the Spring ’07 semester.

Now what’s the big deal about this semester? Well I’m going to be embarking on a voyage around the world via the Semester at Sea program (a program run through the University of Virginia). I’ve created this page as a resource for my friends, family, and other acquaintances to read as I’m traveling and see what I’m up to. I've been told that pictures help keep people's interest...so...

I’m leaving (Pittsburgh) within the wee hours of February 2nd via an (airplane...obviously) and will travel to (Nassau, Bahamas) where I will meet up with the ship and the 600-700 other students that I’ll be journeying with. I’ll be away from the USA until May 14^th, when I’ll (hopefully) be arriving in San Diego. My shabby itinerary looks alittle something like this:

04 Feb to 14 May

Nassau, Bahamas
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Salvador, Brazil
Cape Town, South Africa
Port Louis, Mauritius
Chennai, India
Penang, Malaysia
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Hong Kong
Qingdao, China
Kobe, Japan
Honolulu, Hawaii
San Diego, California

Pretty sweet if I do say so myself. Pleeease don’t call this a “cruise” or a “vacation.” I have college classes every day on board the ship, so it is indeed a semester of school. Here's a picture of the ship I'll soon be calling "home:"

(obligatory ship photo)

Now you may be wondering WHY I’m doing something like this. Hmm...well to answer your question:

#1 – Why wouldn’t I? This is an opportunity of a lifetime!

#2 – I honestly haven’t really been too happy in Pittsburgh lately…I don’t know why. It’s waaay too late in my college career to transfer somewhere else, so I might as well study abroad for a semester and get away from everything for awhile.

#3 – I’ve wanted to study abroad for awhile now. Though I HAVE wanted to travel to England for many, many years, my school offers no study abroad programs in England that correspond with my major (of course); but hey let’s face it, this is even better!

#4 – I’ve always been interested in different countries, cultures, religions, languages, etc. I’m sure I’ll learn more about the world, other people, and myself in this one semester than I have all my other years of school.

#5 – I just LOVE accumulating debt it seems!

I’ll be honest and say that I’m incredibly excited, but I still have a lot to do before I leave.

Feel free to comment on this page (probably the easiest) or e-mail me while I’m gone: rick.moslen@gmail.com. At least comment or something so that i know that a few people are actually reading this thing :)

-Honestly I don’t know how often I’ll be able to check e-mails or update this thingy, but I’ll try to log on at least once a week (we have veeerry limited internet hours).

Now if you want more info on the Semester at Sea program itself you should check out www.semesteratsea.com or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semester_at_Sea. Any other questions, definitely ask me if you like.

Alright, well I’m kinda sick at the moment, so that’s all for today.

rick