BAHAMAS CHILLIN

Jan. 11
I arrived in Nassau yesterday (Monday) around 1 pm.  It was actually quite an accomplishment to make it here to the Bahamas on time with my luggage.  Let me explain:  I was originally supposed to fly out of BWI to Charlotte and then on to Nassau.  However, due to the forecasted snowstorm in the southern US, we (family and myself) were worried about either getting grounded in Charlotte or not even making it to Charlotte.  After being stuck on hold for 4 hours (literally) with the airline trying to arrange a flight out of Philadelphia, we finally hung up and decided to get to the airport early the next morning to hopefully get the flights switched.  Needless to say I couldn’t really sleep well that night and after about 30mins of restlessness and a lot of prayer, I decided to call the airlines one last time. Sure enough the good ole Lord put me right through to the customer service rep and I was able to change flights to Philly and wasn’t even charged any extra.  About 3 hours later my sister and I were on the way to BWI.  The airport process went really smooth.  My 2 bags weighed a combined 99.5lbs, so I wasn’t charged any extra (props to my brother for helping me weigh everything), and all my luggage arrived in Nassau on time.  After a ten minute taxi ride, (costing $20) I was at the Wyndhaum resort.  I was pretty tired and fell asleep on the beach literally around 20mins after I checked in.  I spent the rest of day pretty much napping at various locations (beach, pool, bed etc..)

Today (Tuesday), I woke up after a glorious 8 hours of sleep, grabbed some overpriced breakfast and caught a taxi to the dock to board the ship.  I shared the cab with two other  SAS kids, one of which has the same work study position as me.  I’ve been able to talk to around a dozen SAS kids and staff, and introduced myself to at least 30 more.  Everyone seems real excited, but in a sorta reserved, quiet way.  Its not like we are about to go to Disney World, we are going to take this boat all the way around the world. This obviously warrants a unique response. The anticipation is something I’ve never really experienced before, but surprisingly I’m pretty calm and relaxed (as evidenced by my sleeping abilities.)  I think the best parts about my voyage are going to be things that I never even expected to happen, so I’m not really caught up in tons of emotion I guess.     
 
The ship is baller, but I already knew that.  My room is actually smaller than all the other rooms: we don’t have a dresser, desk or end table, which the other rooms do, but I was able to get all my stuff put away neatly and I don’t feel cramped at all. Of course, my roommate isn’t here yet, but I think we’ll be ok.  I took some video footage that Ill try to put up later. 

I apologize for any lack of grammatical soundness, spelling errors, or mishandling of the English language.  I am of course a product of the public school system so direct your complaints toward them.  Ill try my best though. 

Enjoy the cold back home.  It’s a humid 77 here.

-Ben