This photo was taken at the  halfway point of our voyage with the Pillars of Hercules. Our RD told us to dress crazily and show some Baltic spirit. My roommate Ava (right) and I found some balloons and put them in our hair, added a fun skirt and topped it off with our Baltic Sea shirt!

I am writing from off the coast of Lisbon, Portugal, in a program called Semester at Sea! I currently am a senior at Nazareth College of Rochester, N.Y., and I struggled with the idea of missing second semester of my senior year and my last championship swim meet. Yet, I can honestly say being a part of this wonderful community has been one of the top five best decisions I have made thus far in my life. The last two months have brought tremendous amounts of self-growth, discovery, confidence in myself, and a sense of belonging. Furthering my journey of becoming an educated global citizen — all while traveling amidst a pandemic and political unrest — comes with difficult conversations and a sense of unease, but allows for a greater understanding and appreciation for cultures moving forward. To be surrounded by like-minded people who share the same love and appreciation for learning only adds to the richness this voyage offers.

My favorite field class by far:  Spanish field class. It started off with a scavenger hunt around Barcelona, headed to La Boqueria to order ingredients for our paella cooking class. Having a Barcelona native as a professor really made a lasting impact — seeing Spain through her eyes, discussing the differences between Catalan and Spanish, the tourists, and how the city has changed from her childhood to now.
(Pictured: Spanish class, including the professor and women from the cooking class)

Looking back on the incredible opportunities I have had thus far on the voyage make it nearly impossible to highlight all of the core memories made. Both the ship and in-country memories are timeless. In port I have spent my time hitting the slopes of both Cyprus and Spain; visiting museums in Greece, Spain and Malta; trying the local dishes (black cuttlefish with squid ink risotto is not for me!); exploring lots of different cities; having a cappuccino at a local café; and swimming in the Adriatic sea. Life in each country has just enough difference to keep the intrigue and suspense high of how the next few days will go. Yet, at the end of each wonderful port, I am reminded of just how much I long for Miss MV World Odyssey. At the beginning of the voyage, I was incredibly seasick and could not wait to get back on land to explore the next country. Yet as time went on, I became more and more excited to get back on the ship, regardless of my motion sickness — to sit at Lido terrace and watch the sunset over dinner and to head to class in the Union as we sail by islands. To be home. I quickly realized that all of these countries will still be here come April 21st – yet the ship will not. That realization really sunk in and encouraged me to reach out to people on the ship, to get that dinner I had been talking about, or to stay up late and stargaze, only to then get up for sunrise yoga. Some of the best little moments have been just sitting on deck 9 all day, talking with those who walk by.

There are many great days from this voyage — days of non-stop laughter, walking till our feet have blisters, self-discovery, and endless smiles. But one of the best that will live in my head forever was the first day in Croatia. This was the third country on our voyage, yet the first where the majority of the students were not in quarantine and everyone was finally all together as a true Semester at Sea family. While we roamed the streets of Dubrovnik, the student body quickly infiltrated the local restaurants, the festival of Saint Blaise, and the famous cliff jumping rock area on the outskirts of town. Students swam in the Adriatic sea for hours, music played, friendships were made left and right, and the sunset was only getting brighter as the night went on. The spontaneity of the day has been unmatched, the sense of just how surreal our lives are at the moment, and just how truly fortunate we are to be given this opportunity. This day truly was a movie.

My core group of friends on the ship! Being a second semester senior meant that I had to work on graduate applications, attend various interviews late at night, and miss events with fellow SAS-ers to further my education. It all paid off when I got into my top graduate program and celebrated with a fancy dinner!

Since I had completed my undergraduate course requirements back on campus, I just needed two credit hours to transfer back to college. However, school looks a little different here on the ship than on land. Each student is required to take four classes, including global studies. This class covers the history and culture of each country we are visiting, as well as learning about the ocean. I was able to choose my other three classes — First Year of Spanish, Oceanography, and Food and Society. The classes are taught by professors from all over the world.

  • My Spanish professor is native to Barcelona and moved to the United States for an exchange, met her husband and since been a Spanish and French college professor.
  • My Food and Society class discusses culture through food and wine, encouraging students to try many local dishes, go to supermarkets, and learn about the wine making process, but also to look at American cuisine abroad and compare it to the states. The professor for this class is native to Germany, yet lived in Australia and Dubai and works for the United Nations World Tourism. Truly an incredible woman.
  • My Oceanography class dives deeply into the geographical aspect of the ocean, looking at the tectonic plates, wind, and ocean currents. We have these classes on a rotating A and B schedule, while Global Studies happens every morning.
One of the best days on the ship — full of smiles, music playing, people reading books, playing basketball, or soaking up the sun. On Deck 7 aft, we watched the sunset over the islands of Crete.

A neat aspect are the field classes that are attached with the class, to apply what we have learned outside of the classroom. These field classes are 20% of our grade and mandatory. This means that there are three days in port where I cannot travel somewhere else in the country but sleep on the ship the night before and attend “class” that day. I was very lucky with some of mine and they were great fun! Our class was able to bond together and create fun memories while touring the cities.

My Oceanography field class was my first class and it took place in Valetta, Malta, where we went to a reverse osmosis desalination plant to learn how the island takes the ocean water, desalinates it, and prepares it for consumption by the civilians. From there, we went to various aqueducts and fishing harbors to learn how they have created sustainable fishing for both the animals and the inhabitants of the island. Lastly, we ended the day by heading to the largest aquarium to look at various animals in the ocean!

My First Year of Spanish field class took place in Barcelona, Spain. This was perfect because my professor could act as both a professor and a tour guide and give us insider access and insight to life in the city. It started off with a scavenger hunt around the city, taking pictures at various monuments and places. It ended with a mad dash back to the center to try and be the first team back! I was second out of six! From there, we headed to the largest market in Spain to get various ingredients for our paella cooking class — making a traditional Spanish dinner with rice, veggies, and seafood. Spanish is the fourth language I’m learning, but having never taken it before, I found it difficult to understand people around me. Some were speaking Spanish and others were speaking Catalan – the local dialect. This day was a core memory for sure.

My last field class was for Food and Society, when we took off to two wineries in the area to learn about the wine making process. At Jean Leon winery, we learned how to properly look at, smell, and then taste the wine. At Vilarnau, we saw the local production of Cava — an almost champagne-like sparkling white wine!

A whirlwind day in Cyprus! We headed to the mountains to hit the slopes, unaware that a snowstorm was brewing — affecting the buses, cab drivers, and restaurants. Somehow we made it to the mountain and  enjoyed our time in the snow, while fellow SAS-ers were scuba diving, sitting in the sun and doing other outside activities. Crazy to think all of this could be done on one little island!

As the voyage continues, the classes continue to dive deeper into the cultures of countries we have visited and the ones we have yet to visit, while also taking into account the dynamic of the world we live in with Ukraine and Russia at the moment. There are frequent “cross-current” discussions led by professors to share their passions or life experiences with students.

Some of my other favorite moments thus far have been skiing in Cyprus, Madrid, and even in Gibraltar. Piraeus, Cyprus was the second country this voyage stopped on and the island was not ready for us. We arrived at the same time as a snowstorm and the island was starting to shut down transportation to the mountains. Finally we got a taxi driver to drive us to our Airbnb, which was in the middle of nowhere, but advertised as close to the mountain. Upon arrival, we realized that there were no places for us to get dinner, so we had random crackers and a box of pasta for 13 people. This did not stop us from having a good time. We spent the night playing music, various card games, and doing different line dances.

My first field program: the Three Cities in Valetta, Malta. This day trip was a great reset and pause from the hustle and bustle of traveling with groups of people. I did not know many people on this program and quickly saw how it was filled with Life Long Learners. It was really interesting to hear about their lives, their time on the voyage as a student and what they do now. Hoping to be able to continue those friendships throughout the voyage and beyond.

The next morning, we woke with the sun to try and get to the mountain early. Yet again, there were no public transportation options available, so we resorted to soccer in the street while we waited around 2 hours for a taxi. When we finally got to the mountain, we stood in line for over an hour to get all of our rental equipment, tickets, and hit the slopes! For some, it was their first time ever skiing or snowboarding, and they absolutely loved it. The same chaos happened when we were trying to leave the mountain and head back to the ship. The  roads were even worse than before and we camped out in a hotel for hours before they finally convinced some taxi drivers to drive us home. Despite all of the things that went wrong, I would not have changed any of it. I became so much closer with those people and am still best friends with them now. Because I liked one message about skiing, I found my place and my group of friends.

That’s what this trip is about, creating memories in the countries and on the ship. We are well past the halfway point, and the ship days are dwindling as most days will be spent in country.

Day 1 Croatia will live forever in my head — a day filled with spontaneity, warmth, acceptance, family, belonging, and love. For the first port the students were all together, those who had to quarantine in Italy or Greece were now back on board. The photo was taken after swimming in the Adriatic sea as the sun was setting. Our freezing cold bodies were warmed with our jackets, but also by the new friends and lasting memories we made that day.

Traveling during a pandemic comes with frequent COVID testing, people quarantining left and right, and even a ship-wide lockdown at one point. But that also means that people are that much more grateful when we can relax and enjoy “normal” life for a time. Some of the best moments have been on Deck 9 where all of the students are out, listening to music, tanning in the sun, and just vibing. There was not a care in the world. We could forget about all the testing for a moment and just sit and enjoy each other’s company.

Once the voyage comes to an end, I know my traveling and desire to learn different cultures and languages will continue. My occupation goal remains to be a traveling speech language pathologist, working with bilingual students or children who are deaf and hard of hearing. In  this field, there are many children who do not receive services due to a variety of systemic barriers, including inadequate funding, opportunity, “ageing out,” and local resources. My goal will be to fight and advocate for those children, to impact their lives in a way to better their communication abilities and let their voices be heard.