First Post from the Ship!

Sorry it’s been too long since I’ve updated. I’m currently on the ship in my cabin, and honestly I’m pretty tired, for it’s been a long couple of days (plus I have 8 am class tomorrow, plus we move the clocks forward as always).
Anyways, just to fill you in briefly on my escapades (definitely utilizing my summarizing skills to the max).

DAY 1

I arrived at Pittsburgh International very early Friday morning (the 2nd), and waited and waited and waited for the plane to take off while aboard. It ended up being delayed for over an hour which caused me to arrive at Philadelphia (my connection) late. I was then forced to massively sprint to my gate (on the entire opposite side of the airport) to catch my flight to the Bahamas on time. Unfortunately I missed it, but met someone else who also missed it, who’s also on Semester at Sea.
We both booked a flight to Miami, and then to connected to the Bahamas (my final destination). Of course THIS flight was also delayed for over an hour, and by the time we made it to Miami (after successfully sleeping through a plane full of rowdy Super Bowl fans) I missed the Bahamas flight (we actually sadly saw it leaving the terminal from the airport glass windows). Fortunately I did meet Jarred and Jamie (along with Matt who I met earlier), who are also on the ship with me too.
We also met Bee, who’s an awesome lady who lives in the Bahamas, but was visiting family in Philly. She hung out with the four of us as an airport employee booked us new flights that left Miami at 6:30 PM (keep in mind that we were supposed to arrive in Nassau, Bahamas at 12:30).
After me, Matt, and Jarred survived some intensive security checking (I know…we looked really suspicious) we boarded a bus that took us to the airport runway. We boarded a very small plane that flew us directly to the Bahamas (on time finally).
Unfortunately when we entered the baggage terminal, we realized that all of our luggage was nowhere to be found--it was completely lost. We spent over an hour and a half filing missing baggage reports. We met Corrin (sp?), and she waited for us while going through this long process; me, her, and Jarred all were staying at the same hotel, so we decided to catch a taxi van together.
The taxi ride was unbelievably fun, as the driver decided to bolt through corners and one-way streets at over 60 mph, dodge oncoming traffic, and laugh manically the entire way…it made up for lost time at least.
The Nassau Beach hotel was fairly nice. I met my roommate Tommy (who I met online), and the two of us met Corrin and Jarred for dinner at this Bahamian restaurant nearby. The food was great and the live band was kicking. We explored the area afterwards, which included an elegant casino and modestly-impressive hotels, and then went to bed after a long day.

TOTAL LUGGAGE: 0

DAY 2

I woke up and met Jarred in the lobby to figure out how to obtain our baggage. I called my mom and gave her much of the information needed to (hopefully) find my baggage. About five of us hung out on the elegant beach behind the hotel, but unfortunately I had no swimming trunks OR extra clothes, so I had to hang out in my shirt and jeans (my Pittsburgh winter clothes). I then decided to take a bus into town and buy a few toiletries (I had NO contact solution or anything to hold contacts), a shirt, and a pair of shorts. The bus was awesome, as it cost only $1 and the driver was playing this crazy religious radio show with some Caribbean woman screaming “Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus” with an awesome accent for the whole ride.
The market area of Nassau is pretty cool. I just took in all the sites, sounds, colors, and smells the best I could. I bought some stuff for my contacts as well as a plain green shirt and some khaki shorts (which felt MUCH better than strolling around in jeans). As I headed back to the buses, I caught a short parade rumbling through the town that consisted of tons of overweight black women in scandalous outfits dancing on the back of pickup trucks…alittle different, yet somehow hardcore in the same way.
The bus on the way back had a television in front and the driver entertained us with some standup comedy (I think it was Bernie Mac or someone). Upon returning to Nassau Beach hotel I changed and met up with everyone back on the beach. Within an hour of hanging out, our group grew to about 11 or 12 people (all SASers). We decided to meet up for dinner that night at the same Bahamian restaurant as the night before.
After eating an excellent meal and meeting tons of people (I’m surprised how many Pittsburgh people I’ve been meeting), we all adventured out to the Atlantis, which is on Paradise Island.
The hotel/resort was huge, and a grand total of 14 of us explored the labyrinths of aquariums and beautiful sites. The 14 of us ended up in the lobby and remained there for an hour or so as Semester at Sea students were bombarding us from all directions. Afterwards the group split up, and half traveled back to the hotel, while half of us went out to Senor Frogs.
I met even more people on the trip to Senor Frogs (it was only around 7:30 PM or so), and a bunch of us hung out there until 11:00 or so. I had a great time here, for it surprisingly wasn’t too crowded, and was able to just chill in the back and talk to others. About eight of us caught a taxi back to the hotel after being forced to carry and drag a few members of our group out of the bar. Only SOME vomiting took place on the ride back, yet I’m happy to say that I was merely a witness to this as I only had three or so drinks (though my tab was still ridiculously around $15 bucks to so), but I’ve vowed not to really drink too much on this trip (I yearn to remember everything).

Oh, I forgot to mention…before we left one of my luggage bags was delivered to the hotel. Everyone commented all night how calm I was handling the luggage situation (we were disembarking tomorrow afternoon), though I knew it would all somehow work out.

TOTAL LUGGAGE FOUND: 1