What is Semester at Sea?

If you look up this question on the world wide web, you'll see it is defined as "a multi-country study abroad program on a ship open to all students of all majors, emphasizing global comparative study." This is true; there are students from all over the world, with many different majors, all becoming global citizens. But, that doesn't captivate the true essence of Semester at Sea. It is impossible to describe how impactful and life changing this program is. But, it at least deserves my best shot.

My voyage went to 11 different countries. In between each country was a stretch at sea. On the stretches at sea is when we took classes, but in port we could independently travel with whomever we want to. My voyage boarded in the Netherlands. We then went to Portugal, Morocco, Spain, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Jordan, Kenya, India, and disembarked in Dubai. We stayed in each country for 5-6 days, where we could do whatever we desired in that country. Many times, we traveled to multiple different cities within each country. Semester at Sea is best known for the traveling aspect of the program. Personally, the ship time was equally as impactful as the actual traveling. Each day, all 110 of them, was "the best day ever." But that is what Semester at Sea is, a continuous series of best days ever.

Upon boarding the ship for the first time, I was beyond nervous. I hadn't traveled much outside of the United States, especially without my family. Yet, here I was leaving my family and friends for four months. There is very little connection to the outside world. There is not unlimited wifi, in fact there is barely any wifi at all. You get about 10 minutes a day and even that isn't guaranteed. You don't have the world at your fingertips anymore. You become completely disconnected. Was I ready for something so drastically different than what I was used to? As I was walking on the gangway, boarding the ship for the first time, I was filled with emotions.

As soon as I got onto the ship, I instantly met 50+ kids. The nervousness turned into excitement for the next four months. My roommates and I walked into our outside triple room. It was about the size of a closet. We loved it. We all jumped onto the beds we wanted and started to unpack. It didn't take us very long considering we could only bring two suitcases, a carry on bag, and a personal item. We were completely unpacked within the half hour so we went to explore the boat and meet new people. By the end of this first day, I knew I had made the right decision. I knew these next four months were going to change me, and everyone around me, in the best way possible.

Believe it or not, the students actually do have to take classes. In fact, I learned the most I ever have within the span of the four months. Semester at Sea is a floating university. Imagine sitting in class and you look out the window and only see water for miles and miles. Imagine having class outside because the teacher wants to catch a tan. It made attending classes actually appealing. I took four classes. My first class was Global Studies, a mandatory class that all students take. It is intended to get you prepared for the countries you are visiting. You learn all about the culture of the next country you are going to. I also took Children and Youth in a Global Context, Conflict Management, and International Marketing. I was able to form relationships with my professors because you are stuck on a pretty small ship together. Most students would eat with their professors occasionally and learn from them beyond what they were teaching in the classrooms. My professors had such a positive impact on my experience. I was able to learn so much from them and thought of them more as fellow voyagers rather than professors. I was actually eager to attend my classes and I found it easy to stay engaged because I wanted to learn what they were teaching. The class content would directly apply to the next country we were going to, I was excited to learn as much as I could about the next port. When the program ended I was confident I was coming back a better global citizen.

Not only do you make hundreds of new friends, you form relationships with everyone on the boat. The students, the faculty, the faculty's family members that came on board, the crew, and lifelong learners. The crew members are the most selfless individuals I have ever met. They go the extra mile to make sure the voyagers have everything they need. Our cabin steward ensured our room was clean and that our living situation was comfy. The cooks ensured there was always enough food to feed the hundreds of people and that there were options for everyone. The snack bar attendants memorized countless students smoothie and iced coffee orders. The amount of work they put in simply because they care is heartfelt by all the voyagers. The friends I have made on the ship will be my friends for the rest of my life, no matter how far they are, no matter how often we talk. We experienced once in a lifetime memories together that will forever be special to me. Everyone I met on the boat impacted my experience, in one way or another. I am eternally grateful I was able to be on the same voyage with each and every single person.

Most people are in total shock when I tell them we didn't have service on the ship. What do we do without wifi? We actually connect with one another. A concept our generation has rarely experienced. We talked about everything and talked to everyone. I learned at least two dozen new games. Have you guys heard of lap tag or mafia? Those were my two favorites. We tanned before and after class. We swam in the pool, played volleyball and basketball, played hide and seek throughout the entire ship, we had karaoke nights and lip sync battles. We did yoga while watching the sunset in the middle of the ocean. We had book club with Meg Jay, the author of The Defining Decade. (GO READ IT NOW.) We went to Taylor Swift club and had jam nights. We split up into teams and had sea olympics. (My team was most spirited, to no one's surprise.) We stayed up in the library playing games until the sun rose. We watched the ocean for hours, hoping to spot dolphins or any other sea creature. We star gazed and if we were lucky, saw shooting stars. We danced on the top deck while drinking our allotted two glasses of wine that we were allowed every now and then. We were happy connecting with one another, being the purest versions of ourselves. It was so easy to convert into the best version of my self because I was surrounded by everyone's best version of themselves. The environment on the ship is like an alternative universe, where everyone is happy and no one judges one another.

Semester at Sea is more than a program where you travel to multiple different countries. Semester at Sea is a chance to become the best version of yourself. It is the opportunity of a lifetime and I am one of the lucky few that got to be apart of voyage 130.

Below are pictures from a drink night on deck 9