Dominca Day 1:
The first stop of this incredible voyage is behind me, but I will absolutely be going back.  Dominica was beautiful.  I woke up on the ship to a picture perfect view of the city of Roseau.  The city sits with the ocean on one side and continues into the gorgeous rainforest with hills all around.  A group of about 12 of us got off the ship with zero plans.   We found a tour guide/taxi driver to take us around the area for ten dollars! It was funny actually to watch the taxi drivers pretty much bargain for us…. They were fighting to get to be our guides and brought it down to ten all on their own.
The roads in Dominica are skinny and windy to say the least, and everyone drives very fast with no care in the world.  On more than one occasion I swear we came about feet away from being smoked by another vehicle (I may be overexaggerating a little) But a few times we actually had to stop and back up the way we came to let someone else through. 
Our taxi driver’s name was Benge.  He was really nice.  He made numerous stops for us to take pictures and look at the beautiful scenery around us.  It was even hard to take in, it was that amazing!  Our first stop was the Ti Tou Gorge.  A quote from my new friend Dan pretty much explains the day.  At the beginning of the hike he looks at me and says, “I am so happy right now” with the biggest smile on his face. We hiked across a skinny little bridge and swam through the gorge (cave like) to a waterfall within it.  There we got to sit right under the waterfall and jump off another area of it.  After swimming back out we found a different spot for the more adventuresome of us (me of course!) to jump off a 35 foot area. Thrilling to say the least.
Next Benge brought us to Trafalger Falls.  Where we parked was a little market area where some people shopped around for ten minutes.  We all grabbed a local beer and hiked to the bottom of the falls.  Trafalger falls consists of two huge and amazing waterfalls about 300 feet away from each other.  I know I am using the same words over and over again but that’s how great this is!  We hiked by hot springs and huge rocks to get to the bottom of Trafalger.
On the drive to our next attraction we stopped on the side of the road where a local man named Bub had just caught a boa constrictor.  He let us take pictures with it around our shoulder. Don’t worry, he was holding the head of it so it wasn’t going to bite us! Then we stopped at a sulfur pool area just to check it out.  Smells.
Benge brought us to a grocery store to buy some food because nothing is open on Sundays in Dominica.  Jake got ice cream, which melted in about five minutes because he didn’t have a spoon to eat it. We then drove us to a lookout area where we could see the entire city.  It was really beautiful.  Our ship looked very awesome from there.  We hiked down to the bottom of the hill and Benge met us there.  I collected about ten flowers to press, one time even made Benge stop the van because I saw the most amazing one ever!  My journal is going to be quite full.
Our tour ended there and a few of us went to jump off a pier right next to the ship.  I did some flips into the ocean.  We showered and ate dinner on the boat and went out on the town.  A club called Krazy Koconuts opened last night just for Semester at Sea kids and it was a hell of a time.  Day one in Dominica: Success.

Second day of classes on the ship. It was nothing less than amazing. I woke up and went to global studies, which is a geography based course we’re all required to take based on the countries and areas we will be traveling to. Random fact: If the Great Wall of China were to be placed in the United States it would stretch from New York City to mid Texas! We were put into groups of 6 to 7 to prepare for a research project we’ll be doing, which is about a 30 page power point. My group decided to study why and how there are so many inequalities in South Africa; for example: technology, health care, education, government, gender… I’m pretty excited about it!  Then I ventured around the ship for a while and had lunch with Rachel(Best friend so far from Rhode Island). My next class was from 12:12-1:30: Environmental Philosophy. It’s one of those classes that you sit in and your head just spins with questions… Philosophy is a crazy subject. I loved it though. After that I layed by the pool for about 2 or 3 hours.  Last class of the day was Abnormal Psychology, and of course I loved that one too! In every class we have a field component which means we have to integrate what we do in port with what we learn in class.  I’m going to try to do something with the elderly population in abnormal psych…. I just love old people:) That’s about all I got about classes right now… All good stuff

My mom wanted me to write about my room in my blog so here we go… You walk into a 2’ x 3’ walkway with a closet on your right and a bathroom on your left.  The shower is good sized and now that we have hot water in our room it’s even better! (I took three freezing cold showers) Then the room is about 16’ x 10’. A bed on each side, desk, small circle table, a table in the middle, some shelving behind out headboard area, and a circular sub marine-ish window. It’s not bad at all and my roommate ROCKS. We get along great!
So the two girls I’ve spent the most time with are Mel and Rachel.  I roomed with both of them in the Bahamas. They are so great. Both from Rhode Island.  Ray is exactly like me. It’s pretty crazy but I love her. I spend a lot of time in their room.

We arrive in Dominica tomorrow morning at 8am.  A bunch of us that didn’t sign up for any SAS sponsored trips are just going to meet up, have breakfast, and go free.  We want to find somewhere to hike; there are tons of waterfalls and beautiful sights. Come back to the ship and shower and meet some people that are just arriving due to the storms in the US (they didn’t make it to the Bahamas in time), then out on the town in Dominica! Then on Monday we’re probably going to find somewhere to snorkel. Gotta be back to the ship by 1800 on Monday. Ship time is a pretty big deal. For every fifteen minutes you are late you get an hour of “dock time” at the next port (You have to stay on the ship that long). But I don’t plan on being late☺
I wore my Packer jersey all day and it helped me meet tons of new people! My mother and Spencer have been updating me on Packer scores and now I have friends calling my room asking for the final score☺ GO PACK GO!

Alright, well I am going to go venture around the ship and go to bed. First port tomorrow! Thanks for listening (or reading).

Love you all!
Hannah<3

First day of classes and Ship Life

Today was our first day of classes. Every day at sea is either an A day or a B day. I have one class on A's and three on B's. So I rolled out of bed around 10 and went to my first class. As I sat next to the window and learned about the biomes of the world I realize this has barely even hit me. I am sitting in a class in the middle of the ocean! No land in sight! It is unreal and the craziest thing ever.  After class I met up with my roommate, Lilli and friend Ray and got some lunch, immediately changed into my swim suit and sat by the pool until 4:30. Rough life, I know:) I am in love with this! Also...... Tons of CUTE boys! Tomorrow I have Global studies, Abnormal Psychology, and Environmental Philosophy so my day will be a little bit busier..... I mean every class has about 5 papers and a research projects, so you can't give me too much crap about never studying!

The waves are absolutely incredible. I am reminded of my sister/best friend every time I stop to observe them.  I remember she couldn't stop talking about the waves when she came home from Australia. I was also reminded of her when I watched the sunset tonight. Every sunset its so awesome and the one over the ocean tonight was pretty sweet. LOVE YOU KIM

So, I have realized that it is ME who has the accent around here.  I think all my new friends have started a little "make fun of Hannah and her midwestern accent" club. haha just kidding, but they do like to give me shit for it.  Two boys, though, have told me they love it.  It's crazy... now that I've been called out on my "long O's and vowels", my "ya knoooowws" I actually realize how much I say it! They also like to throw the occasional "EH?" in their humor just for kicks, even though I don't say that....

Ship life is really fun. They food is okay... a lot of carbs. Ray and I ran sprints on the basketball court today because trying to run on a treadmill while on a rocking ship is NOT easy, we did abs, and lifted some weights. I'm happy to have a workout partner!

Well Family and Friends, I have a meeting to go to.... I will be back soon! I might start some actual thoughtful blogs here soon.... I will give you guys a little slice of what we are talking about in our discussion groups and in my global studies class:)

Hugs and Kisses,
Hannah

ABOARD THE SHIP

Hello everyone!
I had a wonderful time in Nassau. I stayed with three wonderful ladies at the Quality Inn. It was right across from the beach and only a walk from downtown and a friendly internet cafe. We had so much fun walking the town and laying on the beach.  We boarded the MV Explorer yesterday, January 12th.  It was a pretty fast process.  We were scheduled to depart at 5pm Eastern time, but due to the storms in the states we did not depart until 8pm.  Most kids got on the ship on time but I know we did leave a few behind, who are planning to meet us in Dominica.  I woke up this morning to nothing but sea.  It is amazingly relaxing and simply beautiful.  The water is so blue! I was a little queezy last night, but never actually got sick and today I am much better. I wasn't too worried.  The nurse on board is in my small reading and discussion group and I talked to her.  Apparently we have a group of physicians from UVA joining us after India and they will be doing projects in numerous children and family hospitals.  She said they do their own work but if there is room for others she will keep me in mind.  I plan on talking A LOT with her.  I've met a few people from Wisconsin, we are pretty well represented on the trip! I am absolutely the one with the accent around here, but I have been told they love our Midwestern talk.  Yesterday and today are full of orientation and meetings, but I start class tomorrow. And I really need to get out on that deck and tan a little! I'm having so much fun and meeting more people than I can keep names straight. I love you all very much and I'm sorry this was all rambling... Take care. I will post again soon.
Good Things,
Hannah
P.S. I may have dreadlocks by the end of this trip. :)

Boarding Tomorrow

Woke up, came to an internet cafe, about to head to the beach, take the ferry over to Atlantis, walk back, go out to dinner for Mel's birthday, and then to Senor Frogs for celebration! I get on the MV Explorer tomorrow at 10am. We may be delayed on leaving though due to storms in the east. I am beyond excited! Short post, but I'm doing well. Still haven't fully figured out my phone but I'm hoping it works while I'm on the ship. No guarantees though. Love you all. Hope the snow is treating you well:P

The journey begins

I flew out of La Crosse at 6:55 yesterday. I made it to the Bahamas around 6pm! It is beautiful here. I am staying at a hotel with three wonderful girls, Melissa, Rachel, and Michelle. They are from up state New York and Rhode Island. They are so fun and a lot like me. I met people in the Atlanta airport which was convenient, sat by a kid named Kevin who is from LA but goes to UW Madison. He was really nice. I also met tons of people from Semester at Sea on the beach, and the locals are super nice. It was over 80 degrees today. Rough life, I know. It's about 6:00 here I'm in an internet cafe drinking a Kalik beer of the Bahamas. It's quite delicious. This place closes soon though so I can't say too much, but just know I am here safe and things are going great! I miss you all... My phone works sparingly so I can get emails, facebook, and BBM. and I would like to try skyping so someone try calling me please. I have to reboot my phone like every half hour.... so I probably wont keep it on me too much... But MUCH LOVE WISCONSIN!
P.S. MOM: My roomies loved the cheese sticks you sent. Classic Wisconsin thing to do:) 
First thing I've realized I forgot: My cord that hooks up from my camera to my computer. So I can't upload pictures.... Hopefully I'll find someone who has the same one.... We'll see. If not, I'll just have to show you all the pictures when I arrive home!

4 DAYS

Hey everyone! I am trying out this new "email to your blog" thing! I leave in four days. I can barely sleep I am so excited! This will probably be my last post before I get on the plane to Nassau, Bahamas! It is supposed to be 76 degrees when I get there. Rough life, I know. Well... I wanna say thank you to everyone who will be following me on the trip. I will try to keep you all interested as I see the world. One Love.
My friend, Kofi, from Ghana told me the other day something that will forever stick with me: Unity is Strength.
MEDASI (Thank you in Ghana),
H. NOEL