Logistics and Statistics

On June 16th, 2009 I will be leaving from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada to embark on the journey that will probably change my life. I will be gone for a lovely total of 67 days, and am taking 9 transferable credits of classes while aboard the ship. The ports (in order) include Cadiz, Spain; Civitavecchia/ Naples, Italy; Dubrovnik, Croatia; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Istanbul, Turkey; Varna, Bulgaria; Alexandria (Cairo), Egypt; Casablanca, Morocco; Norfolk, VA, USA.

I cannot put into words how enthralled, exhilarated, and free I feel just thinking about all of these places, some of which I can't even pronounce. But isn't that the beauty of it? Isn't that the point?
When I return, I hope to be cultured. Not in the way that people who move to another state say they are "cultured", but truly, unforgivingly cultured. I want to be informed. I want to be able to pronouce the cities in which I will be traveling. I want to learn about the people, the language, the art, the music, and the history. I want to meet the poor and visit the sick, and listen to their stories, their lives. I want to dance barefoot in the desert and jump off cliffs into waters so clear that I might catch my own reflection on the way down. I want to ride a camel, and hike a volcano, and sing lovesongs in a gondola. I want to eat foods that look and taste indescribable. I have so many ambitions and hopes and fears...but most of all...

I want to appreciate other cultures. I want to gain a sense of awareness, and live by that awareness until the day I die. If I can't appreciate my surroundings and the people who build their cultures around their own unique values and morals, then I'm no traveler, and hardly a person, at all.

Here are some fun facts about Semester at Sea. Indulge yourself.

-The MV Explorer (the ship) is the fastest passenger ship of its kind in the world.
-We will be traveling with about 450 other students (and everyone will probably know each other really well within the first week).
-There is an 8,000 volume library on board the ship. I think my heart melted a little.
-Some of the guest speakers that have enlightened the students aboard the Explorer include Indira Gandhi (Indian Prime Minister), Fidel Castro (Cuban President), Mother Teresa (Nobel Laureate), SHRM King Mohamed VI (King of Morocco), Nelson Mandela (First President of South Africa, Nobel Laureate), and Arthur C. Clark (Author of 2001: A Space Odyssey).

To leave you with a nice little quote: “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” - Susan Sontag