around the world in 100 days

deep breath...

2006-01-13T10:56:00.000-08:00

friday...last day of work and 4 1/2 ish days until i leave for nassau.

time has been ticking away freakishly fast and it doesn't help that i work from 9-5 during the week which leaves very little time to accomplish "things".

except checking on the semester at sea message board. i have been doing that about 17 or 18 times a day. and buying travel books off of ebay.

it is time for this trip to just start already. i was talking about it with constance the other day and we first went to that study abroad fair early 2005 and i was accepted to the program in march. it has been almost a year. not only has it been a long time but it feels like all i do is talk about the trip anymore. i called people's yesterday to notify them that i would be using my card abroad so they wouldn't cancel when they see random charges in vietnam, for example, and the operator and i had a good 2-3 minute conversation about my trip. she asked me what classes i would be taking.

it is just everyone. my mom's coworkers, the dental hygenist, my friend's parents. my friends. i feel like all i am thinking about is the trip. a week ago i was up a whole night just thinking about everything. what else do i need? where am i going to get spending money? did i sign the right forms? did i forget to buy ____? how much deet is the correct amount for bugspray to be safe in the amazon?

at least i finally got all my visas. 3 incredible day trips to new york (during the 3rd i am convinced i was suffering from a case of food poisioning, though my parents say it was just a bug). advice for future s@s'ers...use the travel pinnacle service, unless you live in or practically on top of a major city. it wasn't hard, just time consuming. paying for the visas i saved a lot of money but i think we ended up in the red with parking and gas and the wages i lost from taking the day off from work.

oh and never ever go to the brazilian consulate in new york, you will never meet a group of grumpier, unhelpful people in your life. they seem incapable of smiling.

...my nerves are really starting to become just a constant thing. im just worried about so much. i want to get to nassau so i can look forward to this trip again, get as excited as i was about 3 months ago before all the preparing stuff got in the way.

i was talking to another friend from school probably a month ago and he was asking me what i was nervous about for my trip. and i said to him that in about 2 months i don't know where i'll be, who i will be friends with, what my room will be like, or what kind of strange illnesses (most likely just seasickness) i might have. the unknown is scary.

he said i know my friends, i know my classes, i know where i am living. thats okay, but not interesting. what you are about to do is an incredible thing.

and he's right. i kept saying when i first decided to go this is me going out all alone, not knowing anyone, for the first time in my life. i wanted to see if i could do it. and i know i can. at uconn i pretty much started over. if it wasn't for josh and his apartment i would never hang out with anyone from home. and he doesn't count as a branford person anyways because i didnt even know him in highschool.

and it is only 3 months. it sounds like a long time to be out of contact but i know it will fly by.

and there is so much i want to do, see the biolumniscent bay in puerto rico, not a clue how i am going to spend my time in brazil, go sandboarding in south africa, go to the ganges in the early morning in india, vist hiroshima in japan, travel to some part of the great wall while im in china, visit with the buddhist monks while in myanmar (burma)

there is just so much going through my head right now, that's just a portion of the craziness. my goal is to post once for every country using the notes i hopefully will be taking in my journal. just give you a taste of what im doing/seeing. maybe ill even upload some pictures.

ill miss you all--dont forget to email me, and include your addresses for postcards (send me real mail even!)
ill be seeing you :)

at school, avoiding studying and already checked facebook 7 times? i have an idea! send me me mail :)

2005-12-28T12:35:00.000-08:00

This is how you WILL be contacting me through out this trip->

By Mail:

Tamara Kramer
C/O: Explorer
Arrival Date**
Port Agent Address***

Semester at Sea has suggested mail by dates, but if you are going to send anything to me (PLEASE :) ) then you should send it a few days earlier then the date i put

San Juan, Puerto Rico: Mail this by Jan. 09
Cruise Plus Service & Sales
1760 Fernandez Juncos Avenue
San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00909

Salvador, BRAZIL: Mail this by Jan. 18
Oceanus Agencia Maritima
Av. Estados Unidos, 555
7th Floor/Room 712
40015-010 Salvador, BAHIA-BRASIL

Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA: Mail this by Jan. 31 (anyone notice how this is kinda close to my birthday?)
John T. Rennie & Sons
P.O. Box 7021
Thibault House
8000 Cape Town, SOUTH AFRICA

Port Louis, MAURITIUS: Mail this by Feb. 11
Ireland Blyth, Ltd.
1 Queen Street
P.O. 53
Port Louis, MAURITIUS

Chennai, INDIA: Mail by Feb. 23
J.M. Baxi & CO.
3rd Floor, Clive Battery Complex
4 & 4A, Rajaji Salai
Chennai-600 001, INDIA

Yangon, MYANMAR: Mail by Mar. 2
Myanmar Port Authority
Sea Horse Agency
347/1st Floor, Mahabandoola Road
Kyauktada, Yangon, MYANMAR

Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM: Mail by Mar. 11
General Forwarding & Agency Co., Inc.
5th Fl. OSIC Bldg.
8 Nguyen Hue Avenue
Dist. 1, Ho Chi Minh City, VIETNAM

Hong Kong: Mail by Mar. 20
Inchcape Shipping Services (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Units 1802-1805, 18/F
No. 3 Lockhart Road
Wanchai, HONG KONG-China

Qingdao, PRC: Mail by Mar. 24
Penavico Qingdao
21 Wuxia Road
Quingdao, 266002, P. R. CHINA

Kobe, JAPAN: Mail by Mar. 28
Inchcape Shipping Services
Kenryu Bldg. Room 502
6, Kaigan-dori, Chuo-ku
KOBE-shi, Hyogo-ken 650 0024, JAPAN

(and just a suggestion if you want to send me something go to a post office, letters will need special postage lol... & if you get any ideas to send cash -i don't know why you would but thanks- don't i guess because it will probably just get lost)

By E-mail:

tamara.kramer@Uconn.edu

-email me all the time!

By Phone:

I'm working on it...i'll probably have a calling card that has a voicemail set up where you can leave me messages, so if i do you better.

the beginning...

2005-12-12T14:43:00.000-08:00

decided that of all the sites to write about my trip this one looked like the easiest. since it is finals week (and i have a 10 page paper and two exams tomorrow) i will not be elaborating more but there will be updates when i get my life back friday night at 8pm :)