Reporting live from the Bahamas!

So I am sitting in the hotel lobby with a few other SAS'ers and its funny... we just got here (finally all moved in the room -- it's gonna be a tight squeeze for all five of us crashing there for the night haha) but yet we are huddling over our laptops! Talk about thirsty for a little technology!! In fact, I can't imagine what this trip would be like without my latop. I am okay with the lack of a phone but no use of my laptop would be torture haha.

I gotta say, this is amazing to me. So far, it's been a surreal moment -- still can't believe I am here. In fact, I think that I won't "get it" until later on for our first night. Tomorrow, two of the folks rooming with us said they were going parasailing so I am going to do the same!! That should be an experience HANDS DOWN! The best part thus far, I gotta say is the usage of US currency. That has alleviated a ton of stress about monies and currency rate right about now...

The airport ordeal was stressful. I had one gigantic duffle suitcase which was regrettable large and obnoxiously heavy (but again, my plan was to stick to one suitcase and one carry on since I wouldn't be accompanied by anyone...) this proved an epic fail. Turns out I created a monster-- a big, heavy monster so I ended up paying overweight fees (the lady didn't tell me this was an option. She simply told me at first it was over 50 lbs -- 66 to be exact, and I had to remove some items or just forget it all together...this did not sound comforting so there I was, holding up the line fervently trying to take stuff out and place it in my carry on) Did I mention I ended up bringing two carry on's? My sister's backpack which I stuffed all of my SAS school stuff in, and then my laptop bag which served as the bag of miscellaneous paperwork & electronic stuff.

Long story short, it was heavy, I was tired and I didn't know what to do with the excess clothing. My best friend had also pulled off and left because of the 3 minute loading parking area. I overheard the guy in the next line telling the woman that he would just pay the overweight fee. Thank God. I mimicked and said the same to which she told me would be $50. I am not rich, but I gladly took it. I was flustered and worried that I would either 1) lose my luggage anyway since some SAS'ers reported their luggage lost/sent to the wrong destination, 2) and fear that I would miss my flight. The time was nearly 9 am. I then asked someone for the nearest way to the security check in and stood in line for it. Check in is always a pain, but it didn't take as long. Only down side is that my sister's backpack was dead after the process of overstuffing... it doesn't zip anymore. :( I was pretty annoyed, but hey what can you do. It's a nuisance but that's the necessary drama for an interesting plane experience.

This was my second plane trip. I admit, this time around I was a bit more nauseous and anxious. I took US Airways, Flight #1913. For whatever reason, the plane seem relatively small and prior to getting out the car at the airport, my best friend was telling me about his fear of small planes and how claustrophobic he was. Maybe it rubbed off on me. haha. I also was pretty hungry but didn't have the patience to stand in line and buy not-so-good, but insanely-expensive airport food. Truthfully, I definitely didn't want to lug it. My hands were all tied and that was already a pain haha. The take out was dragged out due to two planes in front of us. I didn't know this of course, so I mentally panicked a bit. I thought it was due to the snow that I could make out on the runway. But the pilot made the announcement and then I calmed down somewhat. I had my ipod on a bit, but took it off because it wasn't a great defense against my popping ears haha. Oddly enough, my hands kept going numb throughout the flight as well. I kept dozing in and out and having to massage 'em. We landed a lot earlier than expected - 12:30ish instead of 1:03 pm... or 2 hours and 52ish minutes which made me think, wow Bahamas is really close.

Baggage claim once we landed was equally as terrifying because I was expecting the worst but hoping for the best. Fortunately that was too much of a hassle. What was interesting was the accents and the change of culture. That was pretty cool... anyhow, we all crowded around the conveyor belt and waited for our luggage to appear haha. After about 20 minutes or so, it did and I had to worry about the next thing: getting a cab driver to head to the hotel! That was a breeze and I had a cab the moment I stepped outside haha. The gentleman was courteous and nice, he was familiar with Semester at Sea since it is about that time and they've had an influx of several hundred students haha. He asked me to write down the site for him so he could sign his daughter up which I thought was cute. The ride was about 25 minutes and cost me $28 (which was within the price range listed on google). What was scary but hilarious was how fast people drive...and how close to each other. Literally held my breath a number of times anticipating an accident but the car abruptly stopping, bumper to bumper. They also drive on the left side which was another surprise, and then they did crazy maneuvers if they wanted to pass so that was also a bit dangerous!! Anyhow, I think I updated as much as I could. I am getting antsy. Everyone is crowding up the lobby and now I feel like I should socialize haha.