What have I done????

Panic is an emotion that I'm not sure I have ever felt. But I sense it lurking, always a few seconds off.

In a month Karen and I will board the MV Explorer and head off for Ensenada Mexico where we will pick up 650 college students and travel around the world through the University of Virginia's Semester at Sea Program. In a little less than 4 months, we will visit 16 cities in 12 countries, and between port stops we will have class every day of the week. I'm teaching 3 courses that I have not taught before - Natural Hazards, Energy for the World, Water for the World. When I woke up this morning, I realized that I am no where near ready to teach any of these courses. I think I'm feeling the precursors to panic.

The MV Explorer

But I can't complain. Not one bit. I will get slapped. A lot. By you. And you. And you. A person cannot complain when they will be staying in mountaintop temples in Japan, visiting villages on the outskirts of Cape Town to see the lingering affects of racial tensions, hiking the Great Wall, riding bikes for 5 days across Burma, spending 4 days on uninhabited beaches in Viet Nam, visiting Angkor Wat and the Taj Mahal, cruising in a junk boat in Hong Kong picking up sea trash, heading out on photo safaris in both South Africa and Namibia, meeting with farmers who live on plantations in South Africa, snorkeling in Mauritius, riding horses on beaches and camels in the Sahara. So I won't complain. 

Our route

But for just a few minutes today I want to. I'm dying. I have three courses to get ready in the next month, but first I have to travel for two weeks. One research trip and one conference. Yes, these will both be awesome, as they always are, but then I only have two weeks. Oh, then there is that little holiday on the 25th, and our anniversary on the 31. And Karen graduates on the 12th on the day I'm home between trips. I think that leaves me with about 9 good working days.

Except I already have a job, and it's the last week of class so that means finals. Luckily my hydrology class is small and I can knock out the grading in a day. That leaves 8 days to prepare.

One of the classrooms

Except that I have to pack. And get our house ready for a friend to live in while we are gone. And our house is a mess after a summer of renovations. And when I renovate I always finish about 90% of the job and then get bored and move on to something else. So tonight it's grouting the seams in the kitchen countertops...

New kitchen island we built - well, 90% done. Isn't the doughboy awesome?

Seriously though, this is amazing. I'm a little stressed, yes, but not really panicking, although after reading what I just wrote perhaps I should be. I just don't do the stressed thing well. One of my former professors, Mike Malin, said to me once (after I mentioned that I was not ready to teach a lab later that day), "classes come and go whether you are read or not, so stop worrying about it". I embraced that advice and now I go into many classes not knowing what I am going to talk about and just let it happen. And those are typically my best classes - spontaneous and lively, because I'm definitely not on autopilot. Occasionally though, I crash and burn.

So, wish me luck and shed no tears for the temporarily stressed professor. He is not worthy of your pity. 

We should have decent email while we are gone, so please keep in touch. We will try not to sink! (Sorry Mom...)