For those of you that don’t know I have taken a break from land and have decided to spend the next four months at sea studying abroad with a program called Semester at Sea. Why would I ever want to be on a ship for 4 months with little internet access you ask? Because I get the once in a lifetime opportunity to travel the world and visit over 11 different countries as well as interact with over 600 students, of which 75 are international (shout out to my buddy Kuba from Poland and Matt from South Africa). I also get the privilege of learning from experienced professors, faculty, and having meaningful conversations with the “lifelong learners” we have on the ship.
I know that is a lot to take in (try actually experiencing it, I am exhausted), but I want to keep everyone as updated as possible. I am planning on documenting all of my travel on this blog as well as write about the financial aspect of studying abroad and traveling in country (because trust me, I have been planning for this trip for over a year). This is going to be a jam-packed full semester of traveling; to China to experience their New Year in Hong Kong, hot air ballooning in Bagan, Burma, visiting Varanasi and the Taj Mahal in India, snorkeling in Mauritius, going on a safari in South Africa, and trekking the Sahara Desert in Morocco. I definitely want to be able to capture my experience as much as I can for the folks back home. Click here to read about my specific program and in detail the places I am going, Semester at Sea.
I am planning on writing the posts while we are at sea and then I will post them once I get to the next port. When I talk about “slow Wi-Fi speeds” I mean dial up from when we were watching PBS kids and all of our parent’s bobs were “cool.” This is the biggest adjustment because I did not realize how much I depend on technology and being connected to everyone, however, it is also a challenge that I am happy to accept and grow from. If anyone has any questions they would like to ask me, I would love to hear from you! The best way (and the only way… ha) is to email me from my “seamail” account at caroline.corley.sp19@semesteratsea.org. I would love to answer any/ all questions you have as well as hear about what is going on back in the 30062 and 40508.
Alright, it is 23:11 and I have been up since 06:45 because I forgot to set my clock back manually so it is time to hit my cabin. You don’t realize how exhausting it is living on a boat until you actually do it and realize it isn’t all a vacation. Today I was sitting at the pool enjoying the sun, when I was almost late for my three hours of management classes and have two hours of homework. That's okay though, because this experience is all worth it.
Bon Voyage,
Caroline Corley
