December 2011
1 post
China
China was the first port in which the MV would be docking in two cities. We first docked in Hong Kong and then the ship sailed for two days to dock again Shanghai. Passengers had two choices: travel in the country for all six days and make your way to Shanghai alone or sail on the ship and lose two days exploring China. There was no way I was missing two days in China. Kaleigh and I hatched a...
November 2011
1 post
Falling in Love With Cambodia/Contemplating...
In order to reach Ho Chi Minh City (or Saigon, whichever you like), the MV had to sail upriver. On the morning of our arrival, I was rudely awoken by my roommate and couldn’t get back to sleep, and so I found myself out on the deck watching the sunrise over Vietnam. We sailed past fishing villages with tiny little boats, and I watched as those villages began to wake up and greet the morning....
October 2011
4 posts
Feeling Spiritual in Malaysia
Admittedly, Malaysia was the country that I knew the least about before coming on this trip. The extent of my knowledge was this: I knew it was majority Muslim, I knew there were beaches, and I knew that it used to be part of Indonesia. It was safe to say that I had know exponentially more about each country on our itinerary before arriving there. In a way, this made Malaysia a completely clean...
Namaste...from India!
They warned us that India would be a culture shock. They warned us that it would be overwhelming: the poverty, the pollution, the crowded streets. They told us that it would change our life and the way we looked at things forever. And yet, some part of me wasn’t worried; I felt prepared. How could it really be that bad? I could, most certainly, handle this. Boy was I wrong. The MV Explorer...
Relaxing in Mauritius
Mark Twain once said that God saw Mauritius and then created heaven. The MV Explorer docked on this incredible island country a day early due to a medical emergency. One of the Life Long Learners detached his retina and was in danger of going blind, so the ship sped up to 24 knots right after South Africa and hurried for help. Unfortunately, our early arrival did not mean us students could get off...
Experiencing Ubuntu in South Africa
****Sorry for any typos in this entry. I’m too exhausted to proofread it very closely and wanted to get it posted in the interest of time. Please e-mail me anytime at scmartinez@semesteratsea.net. I would love to hear any comments or questions or just news from home!***** DAY 1 - Walking Tour of Apartheid Capetown Arriving in Capetown, South Africa by ship may be one of the most beautiful...
September 2011
3 posts
Lessons Learned in Ghana
Day One-In Transit to Senase Village If you had asked me before I came on Semester At Sea which country I was most excited to visit, the answer was always Ghana. A little more than a year ago, I took a leap of faith and changed my course of study to African Peace, Conflict and Diplomacy despite never having been to Africa. I felt compelled by the human rights issues I had read about to live and...
Pencils of Promise
In the week at sea between Morocco and Ghana, our shipboard community had the unique opportunity to be joined by an inspirational man named Adam Braun. An alumni of Semester at Sea in 2005, Adam Braun is the founder of the NGO Pencils of Promise. At age 27, he oversees an NGO that is the one of, if not the, fastest growing and most successful of our generation. Much of this success can be...
Here's Looking At You, Morocco
Pulling into the Port of Casablanca at sunset was truly breathtaking. Having dedicated much of my academic and personal life to studying Africa for the past years, to see the shore approaching was incredibly emotional and profound. It took a couple of hours for customs to clear the ship, and then I took off on a SAS sponsored city orientation of Casablanca. Our first stop was the fruit and...
August 2011
3 posts
All Aboard!
I am onboard the MV Explorer. There is a beautiful view of water and very far off mountains out of my window. We are moving much faster than I thought we would and the vibrations of the engine are quite noticeable, especially when you’re trying to get a good nights sleep. But I digress, I’ll start from the beginning! Two days ago, on Thursday, I boarded the MV early because I am a work...
Made it to Montreal`
I am in Montreal, just blocks away from where I will board the MV Explorer tomorrow. It’s only been a few days since leaving Albuquerque, but it feels like much longer. I left NM at 6:00 am yesterday, catching a flight on Southwest for Boston. Mom, Nathan and I rented a car at the airport and then went to check out the USS Constitution. This is the oldest warship used by the US military, and...
This is Really Happening!!!
This past week has been absolutely crazy, busy and stressful. On the plus side, all of the business and stress paid off because I got A LOT done. Semester at Sea (hereby referred to as SAS) requires that all students sign up for any field trips or FDPs that they were interested in through Mauritius. FDPs, or Faculty Directed Practica, are the educational visits/trips that we are required to...
July 2011
2 posts
Visas and Vaccinations!
Hoorah! In early June, I sent three applications along with my passports for entry visas for China, India and Ghana. As time passed, I started getting a little bit nervous that my passport and visas wouldn’t get back to Albuquerque in time. But lo and behold! Today my passport was returned with three shiny new visas in the back! Seeing these new colorful and multilingual documents in my...
T Minus 30 Days!!!
Hello readers. Well, this is it. After months of writing, hoping, wishing and plenty of tears, Semester at Sea is becoming a reality. On August 26, I will set sail on the MV Explorer on my journey to see and study in 12 different countries. For those of you who are not familiar with the inspiration and challenges leading up to Semester at Sea, I will fill you in.
After majoring in theatre for...
