Time is flying by so far! The minute I begin to feel comfortable and settle into a routine, I encounter something new that throws me off. This doesn't surprise me. In fact, I'm actually surprised when I feel comfortable in this new foreign city. So I guess I'm the one that goes in search of adventures to take myself out of my comfort zone.

After spending two weeks in Australia having no schedule and no classes, it started to feel like vacation. There is that point every summer where you get sick of sitting around doing nothing. Well not necessarily sick of it, but personally, I reach a point every summer where I'm ready to start going back to class and work and having a routine. That is the point I reached here. Whether it was boredom or simply the anticipation for the semester to begin, I was ready to go to class last Monday. However, when I picked my classes a few months ago, I designed my schedule so that I only had classes on Wednesdays and Thursdays. (I must have done this when I was at the point of being sick of class and ready for summer.) So instead I had two more days until my classes began so I had to entertain myself. I decided to go into Sydney, but in one of my many (and many more to come) bus disasters I ended up getting off in a neighborhood and wandered around until I found an enormous park. I believe it was called the Centennial Park and there were people walking dogs, jogging, and riding bikes. I even walked past someone who I could have sworn was Lance Armstrong. I'll never know now... It was very calming and I wandered around here for a while until I made my way back home to hear about all of my roommates' first days.

I assumed doing the three-week program with Bucknell in Northern Ireland at the beginning of the summer was going to prepare me for my semester in Australia. I'm starting to realize that this isn't the case. Those three weeks obviously impacted me and evoked personal changes; however, it did not prepare me for spending four months in another country on my own. Not only do I not have my posse of friends that accompanied me to Northern Ireland, but I also don't have one single familiar face with me.

This idea is daunting, and what's even more daunting than the idea of it, is the reality of it. It's such an odd experience to meet strangers who eventually become that familiar face. It's impossible to avoid this though, no matter how independent or nomadic a person may be, there is always that part of you that finds comfort in the familiar.

I was sitting with my friend Stefi from Miami and we came to the conclusion that just because we have four months in Sydney doesn't mean we should save all our activities till the last minute. The first week I arrived I made a list with about 40 activities I wanted to do before I left. I've accomplished some of them. However, if I plan on completing all 40 I need to get a move on. So, the next day we took initiative. One of the girls living in my building has an internship at Amnesty International and a few of us went to the city to have lunch with her. After indulging in a delicious lunch (with a lot of beets) my fingers were stained purple and we ventured to Darling Harbour.

The day we got to St. John we were given the day off to settle into our cabins and rest. We started class the next day at 9 a.m. We all met at the pavilion which was the dining area of Cinnamon Bay, the campground where we stayed the first week of class. Our first class took place in Cinnamon Bay's East Fingers.

Every class was different, fun and exciting. I was always quietly eager to see different cool things. Going to our snorkeling sites was the best. I absolutely loved the car rides!!! I cannot stress that enough. The switchbacks were so much fun!! For those of you who haven't had the chance to visit the Virgin Islands, at some point you have to go and see for yourself why it's amazing!

So I'm going around the world this semester ... a Semester at Sea.

So many people keep asking me whether I will go see this or that famous building or place while I'm in whatever country.

Why won't I? Why wouldn't I want to?

Beannachtai o Eirinn, or just in case you don't speak Irish, Greetings from Ireland! So far everything I have heard about Ireland has been correct. This country is absolutely beautiful. But let me start from the beginning.

The baggage claim at Heathrow was amazingly fast, and the airplane food was excellent! It was a deceptively smooth start for a day full of surprises. We (me and the other Bucknell in Londoners) walked off the plane, and over to the baggage carousel, where I immediately spotted my bags coming out of the chute.

Today I went to the city Cobh, pronounced Cove. Cobh is on the southern coast of Ireland, ending the peninsula. It was only about a half-hour train ride from Cork, so the trip did not hurt our pockets. Once I got to Cobh, I saw an amazing thing.