New Years!

WOW! 2013 Already?

It surprises me that its been thirteen years since the turn of the century, it all started out being in the 3rd grade and now here I am a Junior in college! Most people start their new years out with a bang...Mine not so much. Although it was my mom's birthday on New Years day (which went very well) I was leaving for semester at sea only two days after! Time was winding down as I spent time with my family as it would be my last for a very, very LONG time. The excitement had been building since be beginning of December along with the dreadful idea of all the things that could possibly go wrong on a trip of this magnitude...

And things started to go downhill two hours into the start of my lengthy journey.

I started missing flights, weather got bad, 100 mph head wind (don't know what that means) and being stuck at O'hare International Airport! Being in Chicago has it's perks, especially if you have family, which in my case I did. I took the train into downtown which took nearly an hour after going through what may have seemed like the projects, I made it safely to my cousin's apartment! What an amazing view, right next to the John Hancock tower and a great view of the Chi-Town Skyline.

Thankfully Nina, (my cousin) had not for left rochester that evening, surprisingly we walked to her mall in less than 5 minutes and got some food. We chatted for about an hour and caught up on each other's lives before she headed out taking an overnight train to new york.

After spending a night in Chicago, I made my way back to the subway, going through some sketchy parts of town to make it back to the airport and then finally boarded my flight to phoenix!

Man was it cold when I got off the plane! Who would have thought Arizona would get cold? I decided to go shopping yesterday with a few friends at fashion square in phoenix, talk about hurting the wallet! Seeing the various types of stores compared to what we have back home may have scarred my mind. Who would have thought they started to sell cars inside the mall? This tesla to the right has pretty much turned into my dream car…which in the near future will hopefully turn into reality!

Only 3 days away from boarding the MV Explorer and starting my worldly travels, although my nerves are on edge, I am prepared to face the challenges yet to come and possibly have the best time of my life! I am looking forward to meeting lots of new friends, learning new things, and most importantly figuring out how Social Enterprise will change the world. Getting to know some of the brightest minds on earth has always been a dream of mine and in just a few days will become reality, who would have ever thought I would possibly be attending a formal dinner with Desmond Tutu? Or maybe helping multiple tech companies achieve their goals developing life changing technology such as artificial vision for the blind, or Carbon Nano-tubes that capture the carbon product from automotive or industrial exhaust and converts it into nano-tubes that can be used to build cars, space ships, buildings, laptops and mobile phones!

I am very excited to begin this chapter of my life, I am ready to expose my self to the world and see what I can do to help change it. I'll miss everyone plenty, hope a lot of you try to keep in touch! I will try to update this blog when I can or if I have something cool share since these last few posts have been pretty dull.

I will follow up with one more post until I reach Hawaii and hopefully all goes well all the way there.

Take care everyone!

Can You Imagine?

After around 6 months of paperwork and prep, the logistics side of things is done. I have one week before I begin my journey around the world! All that’s left to do is email SAS my transcript whenever grades are posted. Beyond that, it’s time to start collecting gear and packing up. There’s an immense list of things that need to be addressed, not to mention I need to buy my books. I’m afraid with limited internet access, my usual method of total book avoidance won’t function as well at sea. The timing isn’t very good either, as my Amazon Prime subscription just expired, which makes me a sad panda, but I don’t think having free two-day shipping is going to benefit me much while I’m in the middle of the ocean.

Soon, I’ll be anxiously boarding a plane to San Diego, and the next time I set foot in Kentucky, it will be coming from the other side of the world. I don’t know what to expect at all, but that’s a nice feeling. While I love living here, I’ve been here long enough for most things to be predictable. I’ve become comfortable, and it’s about time I got a little less so.

Also, I’m working on my writer’s voice and the way I deliver content. I don’t write much, so establishing a “personality,” so to speak, will be challenging. Bear with me.

Close your eyes and try to imagine this…oh wait, you can keep your eyes open so you can read this. You’re leaving home for 4 months. LEAVING. 4 MONTHS. You will have very limited and sporadic internet. You’re not allowed to use Skype (not enough broadband). NO cell phone (service WAY too expensive). You have only email with which to communicate with the outside world. Those emails are text only, no pictures or attachments. We could stop right there – some of you probably have increased heart rates already. Who’s going to handle your bills and run your life while you’re gone?! No phone? What?!

Now, the places you’re going will range from 20 degrees and probable snow, to 100 degrees with horrific humidity. There is potential for torrential rains in some places and scorching sun in others. There are approximately 8 different currencies involved and the risk of being robbed in many of the places. There are malaria-carrying mosquitoes and lots of food that is, um, strange and may not agree with you…I mean, really not agree with you.

Wow. You wanna stop?

Nah, let’s keep going.

You will be swimming in the ocean and rivers. You’ll be doing some strenuous hiking, kayaking, riding a bicycle over long distances and tons of walking. You’ll go into temples where your legs and shoulders must be covered. You may be walking through very unclean water and trash at times. You will be sleeping in places that are not super clean or have any amenities. You may have to use the bathroom squatting over a hole. You will attend a formal dinner with Desmond Tutu. You may be going into Universities, banks, hospitals or corporate offices. You will be staying in the homes of local people. You will be riding on camels and elephants. You will be planting gardens and teaching school children. You may be crawling through tunnels or helping build a house. You will be attending classes. You will participate in fitness classes. You’ll go to puppet and acrobat shows. You will go dancing in clubs. You’ll shop in markets. You will do your laundry mostly in the sink. You will be eating the exact same food every day for about 95 of your 106 days. You’ll be studying, reading and writing papers. You will want to take pictures of every moment of every day.

Now try to Pack!

First Post!

Hey!

Welcome to my blog. I am going to try my best to entertain and update you while I embark on this crazy adventure. It is November 29th, or more importantly, THIRTY THREE days before I begin my worldly travels, Lexington Bluegrass Airport is where my journey begins. The MV Explorer (my home for next 4-5 months) is scheduled to leave San Diego at 5pm on January 9th. I'd like to give a big shout out to the world’s most loving and generous family members (parents, cousins, aunt's and uncles and ESPECIALLY Farah; my sister in law that helped me get this show on the road! I really appreciate you helping me!! Expect tons of awesome things!) and friends for helping me get to where I am today and for giving into without a doubt, the craziest idea I've come up with over the past 20 years. After weeks of pestering you via all media platforms mixed with my finest powers of persuasion and a crafty video presentation, you really made my wildest dream come true. Over the next 160+ days, I will be taking classes aboard the ship and visiting 12-15 different countries along the way. I will have limited internet usage on the ship but unlimited email through our SAS email addresses, so please contact me!

raj.patel.sp13@semesteratsea.org

HERE WE GO!

PHOENIX, ARIZONA
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA
ENSENADA, MEXICO (BAJA CALIFORNIA)
HILO, HAWAII
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN
KOBE, JAPAN
SHANGHAI, CHINA
HONG KONG CHINA
HO CHI MINH, VIETNAM
SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA
ANKGOR WAT, CAMBODIA
SINGAPORE, SINGAPORE
RANGOON, BURMA
COCHIN, INDIA
PORT LOUIS, MAURITIUS
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA
TAKORADI, GHANA
TEMA (ACCRA), GHANA
CASABLANCA, MOROCCO
BARCELONA, SPAIN
TBA...

My biggest pre-trip anxieties: getting sick from rough seas and proving my pops right, forgetting something important, tropical storms, friends ruining the ends of tv seasons before I get caught up and not wanting to come home.

I will follow up with a post in the coming weeks as I wrap up my fall semester with finals and begin packing for my best semester of college yet! Still need to look for airfare, hotels, figure out how to take enough clothes but not to many, buy books, take tons of movies, and learn how to PROPERLY use a DSLR camera!

Until we meet again!