Two Years Later...

It is now approximately two years after I embarked on my Semester at Sea voyage...

As I read through the memories in this blog, I fondly remember the voyage as one of the happiest times of my life.   The smiles on my face in my photos aren't the "forced" kind you see in so many photos - the truth is I couldn't stop smiling on the trip....and I haven't smiled as much in a long time!   The combination of traveling to new locations and the constant stream of new information flowing to my brain each day was something I had needed for a long time.   The social atmosphere on the ship and having so many like-minded, adventurous new friends on board only heightened the experience.   The only bad thing about the trip is that you have to "come back down to earth" after having such a great "travel high" for three and a half months!   I guess the main thing I've come away with from this trip is that I know I need to keep moving and learning and DOING in order to keep myself happy.  In doing that, it forces me to push myself out of my comfort zone and I think ultimately that is what everyone needs to grow as a person and gain any sort of lasting knowledge about oneself.  It also forces one to live outside his/her own head - and for me, as someone who is naturally more introverted, I tend to do well when I'm more social and "out and about" than I typically might be.

To anyone who asks me about the experience of Semester at Sea, I tell them it was the best thing I ever did.  I highly recommend the program for any students reading this and wish world travel were a mandatory requirement for students.   If you can afford to go on Semester at Sea, do it.   You won't regret it and it will help you grow as a person by enabling you to be more confident in dealing with unfamiliar situations and people.   Moreover, I think Semester at Sea helps voyagers to not only become more confident in their ability to "navigate the world" but also to navigate the vision they have of themselves.   In every account I have read of various experiences people have had on Semester at Sea, it is overwhelmingly positive and life-changing.   Yes, every voyage has its mishaps or disaster, but those are to be expected when a ship full of hundreds of individuals sets forth on a trip around the world.   It is actually pretty amazing that the program runs as smoothly as it does given the scope of the endeavor.   Overall, I have been very impressed with how Semester at Sea has been run by the Institute for Shipboard Education and find the administration to do a fine job in trying to anticipate most every need or problem that could occur on the voyage.     It is a wonderful program and I would hope to one day be able to travel on the ship again - either as a faculty or staff member or, perhaps, one day as a "lifelong learner"...

group photo taken when the ship was docked in Kobe, Japan

I now can check these things off my list of things to do in life...

• visit Brazil during Carneval
• go on safari in Africa
  
• see the Taj Mahal in India
  
• see Angkor Wat in Cambodia
  
• walk along the Great Wall of China
• skydive
• horseback ride
• jet ski
• parasail
• cross the Atlantic Ocean on a ship
• cross the Pacific Ocean on a ship

Up next on my list of goals to do in life...

• do a 2-3 month driving tour of the United States
  
• do a 2-3 month tour of continental Europe
  
• do a 2-3 month tour of Australia and New Zealand
• go through the Panama Canal
  
• go through the Suez Canal
• go to the Galapagos Islands
  
• see the Pyramids in Egypt
  
• do a trip through Northern Africa
• do a trip cruising through the Mediterranean
• do a trip to Russia
• do a trip through the Middle East
• do a trip through Central America
• do a trip through South America
• do a trip to Antarctica
• glider plane ride - http://www.vansantairport.com/ridesgl.html
• trapeze lesson - http://newyork.trapezeschool.com/
• surfing lesson
• go hanggliding
• go water skiing

I need more travel partners and adventurous friends to make these adventures all the more fun!   Who's with me???  I'm determined to do all of these things in my life!!!