28 knots

"a ship in harbor is safe, but that's not what ships are built for"

Thoughts about fashion, life, and love from around the world and across the country
At Last! I have been in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for 6 days. While it is a lovely place, it is not the destination of choice. On Wednesday, I moved to the Holiday Inn to meet up with 26 other visa-less travelers. Every day Pinnicle promised us that Brazil would release all of our passports and we were all (except for Dennis!) left disappointed. Each day about three people would get the lucky news that they would make it onto the ship. This left 10 of us to still be stranded Thursday night-the day that the ship was scheduled to sail. Semester at Sea said that they would hold the ship in the Bahamas for one more day for us, costing about $25,000. They phoned us in so that we could listen to part of the opening ceremonies Honestly, it was a little heartbreaking hearing 700 students cheering without us. As a last resort, we decided to drive to Miami at 6 this morning for new passports. By some miracle, it actually worked!! The remaining 10 of our 26 are all sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport waiting to board our 5:30pm flight to Nassau. None of us thought that we would be able to get on the ship in time and I can’t even explain how excited we are to join our new shipboard community. Bon Voyage at Last!

At Last!


I have been in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for 6 days. While it is a lovely place, it is not the destination of choice. On Wednesday, I moved to the Holiday Inn to meet up with 26 other visa-less travelers. Every day Pinnicle promised us that Brazil would release all of our passports and we were all (except for Dennis!) left disappointed. Each day about three people would get the lucky news that they would make it onto the ship. This left 10 of us to still be stranded Thursday night-the day that the ship was scheduled to sail. Semester at Sea said that they would hold the ship in the Bahamas for one more day for us, costing about $25,000. They phoned us in so that we could listen to part of the opening ceremonies Honestly, it was a little heartbreaking hearing 700 students cheering without us. As a last resort, we decided to drive to Miami at 6 this morning for new passports. By some miracle, it actually worked!! The remaining 10 of our 26 are all sitting in the Fort Lauderdale airport waiting to board our 5:30pm flight to Nassau. None of us thought that we would be able to get on the ship in time and I can’t even explain how excited we are to join our new shipboard community. Bon Voyage at Last!

Beach Day with my mom in Fort Lauderdale. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid is our common reading.

Beach Day with my mom in Fort Lauderdale. A Small Place by Jamaica Kincaid is our common reading.

My big suitcase ended up weighing 66lbs. While struggling to get the thing onto the airport scale my mom said “What on earth did you bring?!” The answer to that question would be well, a lot. I’m a retail major. Thus, I obviously couldn’t stop at the bare necessities and a few old t-shirts. Some guilty extras include my gopheralls, an American flag, “On a Boat” tanks to give away, and lots of foodsies.

My big suitcase ended up weighing 66lbs. While struggling to get the thing onto the airport scale my mom said “What on earth did you bring?!” The answer to that question would be well, a lot. I’m a retail major. Thus, I obviously couldn’t stop at the bare necessities and a few old t-shirts. Some guilty extras include my gopheralls, an American flag, “On a Boat” tanks to give away, and lots of foodsies.

My Life in Suitcases: I’m heading to the airport today after 48 hours of non stop SAS drama. There is a group of about 26 of us whose passports are being held hostage by Brazil. Although I was supposed to have my passport and visas back last week, I am still empty handed. The new plan is to fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (instead of Nassau) and wait with the others for out passports to (hopefully) come on Wednesday. As soon as that happens, we will be able to get on a flight and jump the boarder. It’s not ideal, but as long as I am able to board the ship in time it is fine with me. #bahamasbound!

My Life in Suitcases:

I’m heading to the airport today after 48 hours of non stop SAS drama. There is a group of about 26 of us whose passports are being held hostage by Brazil. Although I was supposed to have my passport and visas back last week, I am still empty handed. The new plan is to fly to Fort Lauderdale, Florida (instead of Nassau) and wait with the others for out passports to (hopefully) come on Wednesday. As soon as that happens, we will be able to get on a flight and jump the boarder. It’s not ideal, but as long as I am able to board the ship in time it is fine with me. #bahamasbound!

this is happening in 1 month! basically, i still can’t believe that this is happening at all!

Upcoming Voyage: Spring 2012

I have been obsessively frequenting the Semester at Sea website for a year now. When I would click on “Upcoming Voyages”, Spring 2012 was nowhere near the top of the list. Now when I click on it, we are next in line! The excitement and pre-departure stress is definitely building; there is so much left to prepare! I created this blog in addition to Pretty Little City to share my experience abroad with everyone. The title is 28 knots because that is the maximum speed of my future home, the MV Explorer. Follow me as I figure out next semester and gain my sea legs. A whirlwind of adventure is in the works. :)