[Repost from 8/25 9:00pm]
Dear Dad,
Thank you so much for taking me to London and ensuring I got off to sea okay! I had a truly wonderful time.
I got on the ship yesterday morning safe and sound, and about two hours ago (17:00) we set sail for Russia. This is my first real letter from sea!
Since getting on the plane for London, everything has happened so fast that I can barely keep up. One minute I was in New York, and now here I am all moved into a ship.
Maybe it's because everything has moved so fast. Maybe it's because they speak English. But in my mind, I don't think I realized I was traveling to a foreign country when I landed in London. It's not so different, but some things are. Like driving on the other side of the road. It wasn't until shortly after landing that it hit me. Not a car, but the realization that for three months I would be on the complete other side of the world from everything I'd ever known.
So I thus write this letter to my dad, to thank him for saving my life on numerous occasions. Because without his reminders, I surely would have stepped out into traffic without looking both directions more often than I did the days we were there. I won't ever forget it - England is NOT the US, and they drive on the other side of the street there.
I would also like to thank him for buying my first drink, because the other nice thing about England is that you only have to be 18. So thank you for the drink as well as a marvelous few days!
Love,
Nicole
PS: Update from sea! It's been crazy meeting 625 fellow passengers. The conversations all go the same: what's your name, major, home school, and oh-my-gosh-this-is-so-surreal. I kid you not, I've heard the word surreal so many times that the word has lost all meaning. But I still use it, because I can't think of a more perfect description of the experience so far. It has been surreal.
August 25, 2014
August 18, 2014
New York, NY: Final Preparations
Dear suitcases,
Boy am I glad you're packed.
The voyage is only a few days away. On Wednesday the 20th, I fly to London, and this Saturday I will board the ship! I'm incredibly excited. Fortunately, as of yesterday morning I am 98% packed. It was far from easy, and the last 2% is driving me crazy.
I'm a big list-maker, so I started by making lists upon lists of things I would need to do, buy, and pack. As time wore on, I would spend more time pouring over my lists frantically wondering if I'd forgotten anything than actually accomplishing the tasks. Even today, two days away from taking off, I can't help but re-write the lists I so eagerly made back in June.
Before I could start packing, I had to tackle my "things to buy" list. This involved numerous trips to CVS to buy all the drugs and toiletries I'd need for the next three months. Buying the drugs was, well, an uncomfortable experience. I'd been warned of the perils of local food that just doesn't agree with sensitive stomachs. So when I went to the drugstore, I spent my time wandering the aisles tossing tums, pepto bismal, motion sickness medicine, and diarrhea meds into my little basket. People would turn and look, and I'd surreptitiously stash another gastrointestinal-focused drug into the basket. "I don't have some freakishly intolerant stomach!" I wanted to say. I'm just traveling.
I went to the pharmacy so frequently as I realized I'd forgotten something like toothpaste or, say, a notebook for class, that I started trying to vary the stores I went to so I wouldn't get recognized. I was deeply, albeit irrationally, afraid of being recognized as that girl who is suspiciously amassing a three month supply of body wash.
It was because of this that I found myself at a CVS I don't normally go to buying all the snacks I would need throughout the voyage. Let me preface this by saying I eat a lot. I tell myself I'm still growing so it's okay.
I went to the register with a large basket full of snacks and began unloading them at the counter.
"You really like chocolate don't you?" the cashier said, not without judgment as she scanned 10 packets of peanut m&ms.
"Yeah, I guess," I said.
"No really. This is an insane amount of candy."
"Er yeah. I won't have access to this kind of junk for 3 months. I'm going on a trip," I said.
"'But like this has gotta be a candy bar per day. How can you eat this much?"
"It's not all for me," I mumbled. I tell this lie often.
I feel the need to emphasize this: It was not that much candy. Honestly, I was looking at the bag thinking it wouldn't be enough. Please don't start imagining a suitcase full of Hershey bars because it wasn't even close. It was nowhere near a candy bar per day. Maybe, realistically, one snack per week.
So after the joys of stocking up for the voyage, I turned to packing. By packing I mean laying out all the clothes I'd need on the bed, and then proceeding to leave them there for three days. Of course, like any good lazy college kid, I slept under them until I was ready to pack them.
I share all my struggles just to say: packing for a big trip is pretty challenging. I definitely found it difficult, and I know some other people going abroad this fall who could say the same. BUT: I'm all packed now! Two days early! I was lucky to benefit from the blogs of past SAS voyagers to craft my packing list. I will share my own list once I return and know what was actually needed.
Next time I post I will be in London!
Best,
Nicole
PS: Communication update. The BEST way to reach me will be by email. Please email me! I will not be on Facebook, Skype, text message, etc. Contact me if you don't have my email address.
Boy am I glad you're packed.
The voyage is only a few days away. On Wednesday the 20th, I fly to London, and this Saturday I will board the ship! I'm incredibly excited. Fortunately, as of yesterday morning I am 98% packed. It was far from easy, and the last 2% is driving me crazy.
I'm a big list-maker, so I started by making lists upon lists of things I would need to do, buy, and pack. As time wore on, I would spend more time pouring over my lists frantically wondering if I'd forgotten anything than actually accomplishing the tasks. Even today, two days away from taking off, I can't help but re-write the lists I so eagerly made back in June.
Before I could start packing, I had to tackle my "things to buy" list. This involved numerous trips to CVS to buy all the drugs and toiletries I'd need for the next three months. Buying the drugs was, well, an uncomfortable experience. I'd been warned of the perils of local food that just doesn't agree with sensitive stomachs. So when I went to the drugstore, I spent my time wandering the aisles tossing tums, pepto bismal, motion sickness medicine, and diarrhea meds into my little basket. People would turn and look, and I'd surreptitiously stash another gastrointestinal-focused drug into the basket. "I don't have some freakishly intolerant stomach!" I wanted to say. I'm just traveling.
I went to the pharmacy so frequently as I realized I'd forgotten something like toothpaste or, say, a notebook for class, that I started trying to vary the stores I went to so I wouldn't get recognized. I was deeply, albeit irrationally, afraid of being recognized as that girl who is suspiciously amassing a three month supply of body wash.
It was because of this that I found myself at a CVS I don't normally go to buying all the snacks I would need throughout the voyage. Let me preface this by saying I eat a lot. I tell myself I'm still growing so it's okay.
I went to the register with a large basket full of snacks and began unloading them at the counter.
"You really like chocolate don't you?" the cashier said, not without judgment as she scanned 10 packets of peanut m&ms.
"Yeah, I guess," I said.
"No really. This is an insane amount of candy."
"Er yeah. I won't have access to this kind of junk for 3 months. I'm going on a trip," I said.
"'But like this has gotta be a candy bar per day. How can you eat this much?"
"It's not all for me," I mumbled. I tell this lie often.
I feel the need to emphasize this: It was not that much candy. Honestly, I was looking at the bag thinking it wouldn't be enough. Please don't start imagining a suitcase full of Hershey bars because it wasn't even close. It was nowhere near a candy bar per day. Maybe, realistically, one snack per week.
So after the joys of stocking up for the voyage, I turned to packing. By packing I mean laying out all the clothes I'd need on the bed, and then proceeding to leave them there for three days. Of course, like any good lazy college kid, I slept under them until I was ready to pack them.
I share all my struggles just to say: packing for a big trip is pretty challenging. I definitely found it difficult, and I know some other people going abroad this fall who could say the same. BUT: I'm all packed now! Two days early! I was lucky to benefit from the blogs of past SAS voyagers to craft my packing list. I will share my own list once I return and know what was actually needed.
Next time I post I will be in London!
Best,
Nicole
PS: Communication update. The BEST way to reach me will be by email. Please email me! I will not be on Facebook, Skype, text message, etc. Contact me if you don't have my email address.
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