Recommendations of what to do prior to the trip

I have been reading the MSN message board regarding the Semester at Sea Spring 2007 voyage and there are many helpful recommendations on there as to what to do prior to leaving for the trip.

I'm going to try to do the following in the next few weeks:

• get some currency for each of the countries (the trick is deciding how much to bring though...still trying to decide that).  I received the a packet from the Institute for Shipboard Education recently that included information and an order form for a service through Foreign Currency Exchange Corp. where you can buy "packets" of foreign currency from them for the countries on the trip (currencies for Brazil, South Africa, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, China and Japan at least) and they will buy back the unused currency (with the exception of coins) once the trip is over.  I will likely do this since it is convenient and easy to do to cash in the unused money once the trip is over.
• get a Japanese rail pass (you can only purchase these outside of Japan and one pass allows for unlimited travel for 7 days - I believe it costs around $240 or so - depending on the exchange rate - for the second-class pass.  This will likely come in handy if I want to get up to Tokyo...apparently this rail pass is well worth the money...this is one site I found that sells Japanese rail passes: http://www.kintetsu.com/jrpass)  Note: If you order a Japanese rail pass through this site, you will be asked the dates you will be in Japan.  The pass needs to be "redeemed" within 90 days of the issue date...I am ordering a pass through this site and need to have it sent via FedEx overnight delivery because 90 days prior to April 25 would be in late January...so I need to make sure I get the pass delivered to me before I leave home.  When you order a pass through this site, just make sure you put in the "Comments/Notes" section what your travel situation is so they can make sure it arrives to your home prior to your departure date.
• get a one-day "Go Oahu" card for $59 which allows for access to a number of attractions on Oahu. (I'm sure can probably buy this once I get to Hawai'i though...more about buying the card can be viewed at www.gooahucard.com)
• Get an international SIM card for my cell phone at a place like http://www.telestial.com/ (Cost:  $49 for the Explorer SIM card that is offered on the Telestial site)
• Pre-order the 2-hour professional video that is being produced on the voyage.  I recently received a mailing from International Film and Video regarding pre-sale of the DVD.  (Cost:  $89 for the regular 2-hour version of the DVD, $129 for the personalized version - which is essentially the exact same thing as the regular version with an additional 5-minute interview with you at the very end of the voyage)