|  |
 |
|
| Aboard the Scholar Ship, Part One |
| Randi Andersen | 9/19/07 |
| |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
From now till Christmas morning, PSHS graduate Randi Andersen will be studying world culture and international issues aboard The Scholar Ship, sailing with college students from 50 countries. Her dad, Pagosa photographer Bruce Andersen, will be editing a favorite blog entry exclusively for the Post each week. We’ll have a chance to travel the world with Randi as she sails from the Mediterranean to the Panama Canal and from the South Pacific to Hong Kong.
Hey everyone! Welcome to my travelogue, or travel blog. It's not quite as good as stowing away in my suitcase, but I'll try to make it the next best thing. This trip starts in Athens, Greece, and moves on through Portugal, Panama, Ecuador, Australia, New Zealand, Tahiti, and Japan, ending Christmas Day in Hong Kong. I will have limited access to the Internet, but I will do my best to update my blog weekly at the very least. I imagine I will have a lot to say!
Let me back up a bit. I’m a 2005 Pagosa graduate and a junior at Western State College in Gunnison, CO, majoring in theatre and music (voice performance). I discovered The Scholar Ship while investigating study abroad options in Australia and New Zealand. TSS is an international semester at sea where 600 college students from around the world attend classes aboard ship and in some of the ports we visit. Check it out at thescholarship.com.
I’ve always been a journaler and kept a diary, of sorts. I will keep an electronic journal, or blog, throughout my semester at sea. Sometimes it’ll be a rundown of the days events, sometimes my personal observations or thoughts, and always a bit about the people and places along the way. This version is being edited by my dad, Bruce Andersen, a photographer and writer in Pagosa. The whole blog, which is really my only communication with friends and family for a while, is online at travelpod.com
Here we go.
One week to go: Creede, Colorado, USA
Aug 25, 2007
Well, we are one week out and everything is coming together. I have my plane tickets and boarding pass and everything seems to be in order for an amazing adventure. My roommate found me on Facebook, and I can tell she’ll be awesome. Her name is Lucia and she's from Costa Rica. She's into photography and outdoor activities. She'll already be in Athens when I get there, but she won't be my roommate for the first few days or orientation in Athens. Lucia will be my roommate on the ship.
My roommate for the hotel in Athens is named Alaine, and she's from Switzerland. She's into theatre and music too and sings at her school. I'm admittedly very relieved to have someone there who I will know by name and who will know mine when I come off that plane. It makes everything a little less terrifying.
 This is the first blog, and I’m still figuring it all out. I will have satellite Internet on the ship, but it’s expensive, so I’ll be using mostly my laptop and Internet cafes in port. Most of my correspondence with all my friends and family will be through this travelogue rather than trying to deal with individual emails. I can send letters and postcards but unfortunately cannot receive them until I get to a more semi-permanent living arrangement once I start school the spring semester in New Zealand.
I think that's it for now, friends. Thanks again for your amazing support and for taking such an interest in my endeavors. Thanks for making this trip possible. You guys rock!
Stay tuned.
Packed (finally) and two days to go: Pagosa Springs, Colorado, USA
Aug 31, 2007
Well, here we are at two days and counting and I am finally packed. Two suitcases (one large and one small) and my backpack carry-on, not bad eh? I can't believe that in 48 hours I'll be going to bed in my own room for the last time in almost a year. It's hard to think about.
On a lighter note, I have been talking quite a bit with both Alaine and Lucia, and Lucia is going to visit the Temple of Poseidon on Monday and invited me to come. I won't be in Athens to catch the group, but Alaine and I might try to go out later and catch up with them. Lucia says the sunsets are amazing, and since the temple is built to the god of the Sea, the view of the ocean is particularly good. It's out on the end of a peninsula with a name I can't pronounce but sounds like an exciting introduction to Greece and a great way to meet some people. I hope Alaine and I can make it out there for the sunset.
I'm going to try some pictures as soon as I have some, even if they're the Atlanta airport or some ridiculous thing like that.
I don't think I have anything else to say! I'm sure I'll think of something as soon as I post this. But for now, goodbye and goodnight. |
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| |
|