Mile 7: Travel To-do Lists

So, we are about 2 months out from the amazing trip awaiting me and 600 students! I've been slowly prepping for the trip (gathering supplies, polishing syllabus, watching youtube videos of the boat,  dancing around in excitement, etc) but my to-do list seems to be growing every time I check something off.

And, people don't believe me. What preparations do you need to make really? Just put a swimsuit in your bag and you're all set! Well, yes, but also, no. Closing up shop (aka my home and life) for four months means I have to cover all of my bases for stuff I would have done during that time, well some of the important stuff anyway. So, here are my to do lists (yeah, multiple).

Semester at Sea List
- Go to the doctor and get medical clearance form completed
- Get Yellow Fever Vaccination (thank god my mom is a smart woman and knew exactly how to get me the shot easily - apparently these are hard to find! When I got mine, it was the last one they had for three months. Phew - this is done too).
- Get prescriptions for malaria and sea sickness pills
- Complete visa applications for Brazil and Ghana and send to Travisa (this is one is done!)
- Find maps for port cities
- Exchange small amounts of currency - Pounds, Rubles, Euros.
- Make multiple copies of all documents (passport, ID, credit cards, insurance card, yellow fever card, etc)
- Book travel from Florida to home
- Reserve hotels in London
- Research past SAS blogs for tips and tricks for packing and living on the ship (this becomes an addictive hole I sink into and never want to come out of).
- Generate a list of Writing Center programs and outcomes (since I'm the Director on board!)
- Generate flyers and announcements for Writing Center promotion
- Prepare lecture to give to the entire student body on the ship (No, I'm not kidding. Thankfully it should be about something that you know how to do already. Still, I have no idea what I'm going to talk about yet)
- Prep for Writing Course - assignments, course calendar, some daily activities.
- Prep for Writing Course Field lab in St. Petersburg


Home University List
- Return Parking pass
- Finish committee work
- Submit leave of absence paperwork
- Cancel health insurance (don't worry, I do this because SAS has insurance of its own)


Personal List
- Go to do the eye doctor
- Go to do the dentist
- Shop for snacks, personal items, clothes
- Notify credit cards of international travel
- Hug my family (alot!)
- Pay car registration
- Forward mail (or change address)
- Hang out with friends I won't see for a while
- Research ports to plan things to do in different cities
- Renew lease for my apt
- Find a subletter for Fall semester
- Take car to dealership for annual inspection (thankfully this is still covered under warranty)
- Buy International Calling card (phones on board cost a bundle - like $4/min - and our cell phones international plans are super expensive too)
- Download Viber, Tango and Vonage Apps on my phone to make free calls home when I have good wifi in port.
- Update addresses for friends and family (you know you all will be getting postcards right!?)
- Get business cards made (Dad did this for me, thank you!)
- Forward University and Personal email to SAS email
- Pack (In a future post, I'll include my packing list, which is almost 4pgs right now)

- Pack. Repack. Pack again.

Wishful Thinking List
- Prep new course I teach in the Spring - choose readings, work on course calendar
- Send out poetry for publication (since this is the "reading period" for a lot of magazines and journals)
- Work on academic article for publication

PHEW! That's a lot. And, I'm sure there are things I have yet to think of. So, what do you think guys? Anything else you all do before you leave for vacation?