Here we go

Welcome to MAD travels! This will be my travel journal throughout my upcoming semester at sea.
(Side note - The name is cute because my name is Maren Alexandra Douglas.. get it? OK, good)

A little background on the program: Semester at Sea is a UVA program that takes students around the world on a 590 foot passenger ship called the MV Explorer every semester. Classes are taken on the ship and we have days in port free to roam the cities. This semester I'll be taking Marine Biology, World Literature, Race and Ethnicity, and Popular Music.

Every semester they change the itinerary of the voyage and the Fall 2013 voyage is "Atlantic Exploration"! We have 12 countries and 14 cities to explore, here is the list:

1. Embark from Southampton (London), England
2. St. Petersburg, Russia
3. Hamburg, Germany
4. Antwerp, Belgium
5. Le Havre, France
6. Dublin, Ireland
7. Lisbon, Portugal
8. Cadiz, Spain
9. Casablanca, Morocco
10. Takoradi, Ghana
11. Accra, Ghana
12. Cape Town, South Africa
13. Buenos Aires, Argentina
14. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
15. Salvador, Brazil
16. Havana, Cuba

I am leaving Tampa August 20th for London so I can have a few days to explore and run around London before getting on the ship on the 24th. I can't wait to get going! More updates to come.