Pre-Trip Update

It's been a while since I've posted anything, and my departure date is right around the corner.  Here's a quick recap of what all has been going on:

• Immunizations I've Received:
• Yellow Fever (required for passing through the Panama Canal)
• Typhoid (recommended by the travel doc and CDC)
• Hepatitis A (the foodborne one; also recommended by doc and CDC)
• Medical Checkup: all clear.  This was required because, as a ship with capacity of 12 passengers or less, the freighter is not required to have a doctor on board.
• Trip Payment (€3,890 total for Savannah to Melbourne): I've already made my final payments in advance, but the account is settled when they issue the ticket.  The dollar has been rising against the euro, so I should be getting a pretty decent refund.
• Australian visa: This can be applied for online.  Turn-around time was about a day for me.  Kudos to the Aussies for the lack of red tape in this process.
• I've been learning Filipino through Rosetta Stone so I can talk to the crew on the ship.
• My date of departure was moved from May 25 to June 2.  That's good, because it gives me more time to move out of my house, and also more time to finish my Filipino lessons.
• I got travel insurance for the boat trip, and a separate insurance policy through bunac for when I'm in country.
• I found out I am not going to be able to take my deer rifle with me.  When I called the licensing bureau of the Victoria state police, they told me that an import permit would only be good for 3 months, so I'd have to ship it back before I left.
• It's not yet clear to me what kind of license I would need in order to hunt, and the international visitor firearm license application I found seems to be written for people who are going specifically to shoot/hunt, not just for people who want to do some shooting/hunting while they're in country.  I'll look further into my options once I get there.  Fingers crossed.
• My last day of work was the day before yesterday, and last Thursday, we had a meeting to say our goodbyes.  The past six years have been a blast, and I wish them all the best of luck.
• I don't have a job lined up yet.  I was planning on doing a little sightseeing and getting a feel for  Melbourne first.

And that's all I have to say about that.