40.02°N 82.46°W

I'm sitting here in Olin at Denison on a sunny, cold Saturday afternoon trying to think of a clever way to start the blog that will keep you appraised of my shenanigans and with me on my adventures to the Pacific Ocean in a couple weeks. This is the best I can come up with.

You might ask, "The Pacific? Does that even count as study abroad?" Well yes, yes it does. I will be spending January 3-March 25, 2012 exploring the Pacific by way of a 134' ship, the Robert C. Seamans. My program, Sustainability in Polynesian Island Cultures will take me and my 20-some classmates to sea for 6 weeks after spending a month in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. (In case you were not aware, I have a rather strong passion for the environment and for the water. I could not have thought up a better program.) So, where am I going? After a month on the East Coast, I'll be flying out to California to visit Hannah Wertheimer for a couple days, then meeting up with my class at LAX (I refuse to jump in a cab at LAX with a dream in my cardigan) and flying to Papatee, Tahiti where the Seamans will be waiting. Tough life, right? Just wait. After setting sail from Tahiti, we'll be learning the ropes (quite literally) aboard the ship and adjusting to life on the high seas, making a few port stops on our way NW to Honolulu, Hawaii. Oh, and I promise I'll be studying throughout all this.

Want to see the ship I'll be living on? Ship Tour. Make sure to check out the bunks.
Want to check out the courses I'll be taking? Academics (really!)
I tried Mapquesting our journey, but Mapquest was "having trouble getting my directions" but here's a satellite image of where I'll be: Tahiti to Honolulu

I will not have cell service at sea (something which I am looking forward to!) and only fairly limited Internet access, but check back often and I'll update when I can. Of course, look for photos because I'll be taking 248607042 of them. And that's not an exaggeration.