I got my visa!

In what I'm sure is just the first of many close calls, I finally got my visa. This process has been going on since basically the end of April. I fly out of here on Tuesday, so I was getting a bit nervous, but all is well.  *happy dance*

THe internet sounds like it's pretty good in southern bali, so hopefully I will be keeping a fairly good record of my trip through this blog. You can find cool links about what I'll be doing just over there on your right. If you scroll down to the bottom of the page, I've got a map going, so you spatially-minded folk can have a visual representation of what I'm up to. Click on the map pins to see what I'm up to and where. And, as always, feel free to leave me messages in the comments. You don't have to sign up!

Well, now. Back to pretending to pack. Wish me luck!

Chapter Two: Graduating and going off to Bali

Hello all! So, I'm moving to Bali!   It's been a while since I've posted on this blog, but I'm hoping to use it as my main news line back to the States for the next few months.  I've got an internship with an architecture firm in Bali that kinda blows my mind. Very much looking forward to learning a ton from them. Also looking forward to the adventure of being on the opposite side of the world, on my own, for the next seven months.

In the mean time, I graduated today! Thayer school's investiture was this morning, and I received the green and orange hood that signifies the awarding of the Bachelors of Engineering degree. It was wonderful to see everyone again, and to walk across that stage in front of my parents and friends and classmates and all the faculty I so respect. Also, I won an award. It was a complete surprise, but my Hydrokinetic Turbine team was awarded the John C. Woodhouse Environmental Engineering Prize. I'm sure we all looked completely shocked in the photos. It's super exciting, and a real honor to be recognized in front of this particular group of people. 

Now, im back in my borrowed dorm room, gathering my thoughts and looking forward to another Dartmouth Commencement ceremony tomorrow. I've got pretty much the best seat in the house. Hopefully they'll get my name right this time.  

Our keynote speaker, Bob Metcalfe was right: I will never be able to sufficiently thank the people who got be here today. There's a crazy number of you out there who I owe a ton.  

... also.... Asteroids. We do have to solve the asteroid problem. Metcalfe was right about that, too. Seriously, this speech was really good. 

And so begins Chapter 2 of Arianna's travel blog. Enjoy.