A Whole New World

If you've been keeping up with my blog, I'm sure you're all wondering by now if my "study abroad semester" actually includes any studying or if it's just a vacation around the world.  Well, with only about 2 weeks left in the semester, I figure I should probably clear that up and explain what a typical day looks like for me on board the MV Explorer!  I'm taking 4 classes this semester- Women in Literature, Marine Biology, World Literature, and Experiential Writing.  I also have a "campus" job this semester, working with the dependent children (children of the faculty and staff) on board.  Typically, when I'm not in class or in the dining hall, I can be found working with any number of the 22 kids on the ship.  While this may not sound like a difficult semester compared to your semester back home, I hope you can believe me when I say this has been the most difficult semester of my time in college, by far!  My professors are tough, my classes are challenging, and my job requires a lot of time.  Most of my free time is spent doing homework, and I can honestly say that I've never done more writing in my entire life!  All of this is why the ship class week is usually only 3 days, instead of the typical 5 days at colleges and universities back home.  This semester is challenging for every single student on board, so after 3 class days, if we haven't already arrived in a new country, we'll have a study day with no classes or work obligations so we can catch up on our class work.  And for every single country on the itinerary, the ship has 2 different seminars, cultural and logistical pre-port, to prepare us for our time in country.  Cultural pre-port focuses on the history and culture of the countries, while logistical pre-port gives us the practical, safety information for each port.  So, I have no problem filling up my time with classes, country preparation, and my work study job!


              

                                                                      
Even so, I still make the time to have fun on the ship, although ship fun is a little different than what we would call fun back home!  Here on the MV Explorer, it's common to walk around and see people playing Sardines, sunbathing, playing cards, knitting, hanging out with the dependent kids, swimming (in the very tiny pool), having movie nights, and jamming out on the piano, guitar, or African drums.  We don't have internet access/Facebook (unless you pay a ridiculous amount), TV, or phones to talk to people back home, and so, we really have to make our own fun.  But because of this, the relationships made on the ship are so much stronger than most relationships back home, for the most part.  I can't even begin to imagine how much I'm going to miss my new friends once I get back home!


   


But for now, that's typical life for me on board the MV Explorer!  After being on Semester at Sea for so long, it's going to be hard to adjust back to life at good, ol' Roberts!