Last Day in the Bahamas- June 16

If I’m being honest, it’s really June 20 and I’m looking back at the quick notes I wrote for June 16 to fill in this blog. I have more recent ones already written, but I want to post them chronologically to make it less confusing! So here I go to try my best to remember the events of June 16, 2011. :) And also, I acknowledge that I might mess up some of the details. I just finished reading some of my psychology book, and learned all about immediate & short-term memory loss. SO there is a very good chance that I will have forgotten about 50% of the details. :) More on that when you get to the June 20 blog!

In the very early morning, I remember waking up just enough to scratch at my legs that were itching like crazy. I was dreading waking up and having to deal with bug bites, so I just itched them and went back to sleep. If I recall correctly, I was having dreams about bedbugs! And when I finally did wake up, my legs were indeed covered in bug bites (and bigger than normal!). I figured that either I was bitten when I was at the Jacuzzi the night before, or that a mosquito or insect had gotten inside my sweats and went crazy biting me in the middle of the night. Either way, it was super itchy. I showed the other girls and they were shocked at how many I had! Just on my legs, there were 16. These bites were itchier and more miserable than normal, so I tore apart both suitcases to find hydrocortisone cream, Benadryl, and Tylenol. And so began my days of drowniness…

As the day progressed, the bites on my legs started getting bigger. Since I had internet at the time, I decided it would be wise to look up the diseases I might have gotten from this insect that attacked me and feasted on my blood. Very characteristic of me, huh? Well, I unfortunately discovered (after reading tons and tons of articles on WebMD and Wikipedia and CDC and other news sites) that there was a recent outbreak of Dengue fever in the last month or two- IN the Bahamas. Well, that was wonderful! I read all about terrible extreme flu-like symptoms that took 4-6 days to appear, and stayed for at least 10 days, and all I could do was wait for this terrible occurrence. And on top of that, I’d be in the middle of the Atlantic when it would all start. If I had to get airlifted out, I wouldn’t get to go on Semester at Sea! And what if it lasted through Spain and Italy!? If you know me well, you should not be at all surprised by these thoughts. And I was pretty convinced. I emailed my amazing doctor parents, and they agreed that it would be bad if I did get it, and that there was no way to know other than waiting, but hoped for the best and told me that they too (along with the bugs) think that I am very sweet. Thanks, guys! ;) As the day went on, they were getting uncharacteristically huge, and I was getting freaked out. I hadn’t read anything about Dengue fever bites swelling to enormous sizes before the symptoms came, but maybe I hadn’t done enough research. I was still taking Benadryl religiously and rubbing hydrocortisone on constantly- I even brought it down to the beach. That day was very…slow… and… relaxed. Or maybe it was just the Benadryl! We lounged on the beach and by the pool, and took some pictures around the hotel. I stayed in the shade since I had previously gotten splotchy sunburns, plus I didn’t want the sun to suck out the minimal amounts of energy I had left. By the time we left the pool, a couple more bug bites had developed on my legs, and on of my arms and shoulder. As time continued to pass, one or two would keep showing up randomly. I think my final number was around 25. And remember, these things were giant. You’ll understand when I post the picture- and it’s the day I got them, not even at their worst!

We left the pool and went up to the hotel room to order Domino’s. :) We took turns showering, and ate the pizza as we were getting ready. That night, we planned to go to Senor Frogs (and actually go in this time). There was a big plan for everyone going on Semester at Sea to meet there on Thursday night before we boarded the ship the next day, just so we could start meeting each other. We planned ahead and left before 7 to take the bus and get there for only $1.25. Well, everyone else had the same idea and the bus was PACKED. I’ll have to find some pictures from it- I might have even taken a video. I was sitting in the aisle on a “seat” with someone on my lap, and people alllll around me. It we got into an accident of some sort, none of us would have been able to budge since we were all packed in so tightly like sardines! We got off the bus downtown because some girls wanted to look around at the shops, and possibly the straw market. I had been to the straw market in 6th and 8th grade, and remembered being pretty overwhelmed. Since they wanted to go though, I was up for it too. I didn’t want to be alone in Nassau! We walked around, took lots of pictures (posted on my Facebook from before I left the Bahamas), and shopped in some of the small stores, but the straw market had already closed. We were near the port, so we took a picture in front of the MV Explorer! It was crazy thinking we’d be on it the next day, and for the next two months! We saw a really pretty fountain behind a gate, and were admiring it from a distance. A man came up to us and asked if we wanted to go in—we all freaked out a bit. Then he said he was security of the building, and told us what it was and what he did. I felt a bit uneasy (so from then on we decided to verbalize our gut feelings) as some of the other girls did, but a couple had already gone in and we weren’t about to let them be in there alone. In my head, I saw him locking us in and then go from there…yeah, bad. Apparently some of the other girls had thought the same! It ended up being fine- he took our picture in front of the fountain, told us all about what the buildings were (business buildings of some sort- I forget by now). We got out of there safely, then discussed how we wouldn’t be doing things like that again unless everyone agreed on it. See, living and learning! :)

Finally, we headed over to Senor Frogs and (thankfully) got in for free. Just to be safe, we had gotten some free vouchers at the hotel before we left that said no cover—we were serious about not paying! We got in, and it was crazy. Apparently there was a high school graduation trip in Nassau at the same time as us, and they were all at Senor Frogs too. Senor Frogs was as densely packed as the bus we took to get there! Okay, sorry, a little nerdy…but seriously. Anyway, it was really fun meeting people and socializing and getting excited about Semester at Sea. Some of the new high school graduates who weren’t legal to drink in the States but could in Nassau were acting like madmen- they were wreaking havok. Most of the SAS kids hung around the sides rather than the dance floor and mixed and mingled and got to know each other there. I had a lot of fun talking and hanging out. I spent some of the night looking for my future roomie- Lauren! I only knew her from Facebook. We had randomly friend requested each other through a SAS group, and started talking and decided to request each other as roommates. I knew she’d be there so I kept my eye out! Finally just before we left, I was in the bathroom and saw her walking out. I ran up to her and said hi- she was just as I had expected! She had to go right away because she was trying to find someone so they could go, but I would see her in the morning. On a side note- while in the bathroom, I asked someone who worked at Senor Frogs if they normally got bitten by bugs like this (and showed her my bites). She look disgusted and asked if I had a disease. Not quite the response I was hoping for……..

We left Senor Frogs via taxi-bus and got back to the hotel safely. Now it was time to get ALL my clothes, currently strung across the hotel room due to my frantic Benadryl search in the morning, back into the vacuum bags and get my suitcases shut. Now, THAT was going to be a problem. While packing at home initially, I laid on the bags and rolled on them and probably looked like a freak trying to get the air out to seal them. Well, I tried to do that in the hotel room, but 1) the girls found it quite hilarious and kept taking pictures of me, and 2) I couldn’t even kneel because my bug bites were so itchy and painful. They were still growing, and I was getting more worried! They even were developing bumps in the centers! First task, though? Get packed. I SOMEhow managed to get everything in- well, except for the things I needed the next morning. And just as I was about to go to sleep, I realized I had included all my PJs in the vacuum bags and packing….so I had to start over. Welcome to my life. I finally got to go to sleep, and had to wake up just a few hours later in the morning. You’ll have to stay tuned for the next blog to hear about that, though! Trying to sleep that night was like trying to sleep on Christmas eve (well, with the addition of an itchy/burning factor)- I was so anxious!!