Life on a Ship

Life on a ship is very interesting. I literally get rocked to sleep every night by the ocean. It’s when we get rocked in the day time that is the toughest to get used to. I have a roommate named Christen (yeah, funny isn’t it??). She is from Seattle, Washington and she is an art major. I really like her – we are getting along great so far. Our room is a little bigger than I though it would be. We have a closet that we share, which is not as bad as it sounds. We have plenty of drawer space and closet space for the two of us. We also have our own bathroom, which is nice because it is the first time since I started college that I have had that kind of luxury. Speaking of luxury, we have a cabin steward, Edwin, who cleans our room EVERYDAY. He makes our beds and vacuums and cleans the bathroom and everything. I feel so spoiled. When we go to meals in the dining rooms, we have waiters that bring our drinks and take our trays and clean up after us. It is quite an interesting thing to get used to.
I have been getting quite used to watching the sunset on the ocean everyday. It is so beautiful and no two sunsets are the same, which makes me want to watch every night. It is just so beautiful and awesome to be able to do this everyday. Also, the deep blue color of the ocean from the ship is unlike anything I have ever seen. To stand on the deck and look out and only see ocean is a very humbling thing. It makes me realize how small I am and how big the world and ocean are. It is amazing. I stare out at the horizon and wonder what is on the other side of that ocean, in a few days, though, I will see it.
We started classes a few days ago and I am really enjoying my classes so far. One of the classes is very different from anything that I could take at College of Charleston and I think it is very interesting – international terrorism. It is quite interesting how little we know about this topic, but how much it has begun to affect our lives. I am also taking a class on intercultural communication and an international communication course. All students are required to take Global Studies, which is an interdisciplinary course that covers just about everything and introduces the individual ports from various perspectives. All of my courses are interesting and I enjoy what I am learning. I did decide to only take 12 hours (4 classes) this semester, instead of the usual 15 at home. This is what is considered a full load on the ship and I agree with that precedent. I will, however, have a tough time next semester because I will have to take 18 hours. I am required to keep 30 hours per year to keep scholarships and such, so I will have to make up for my lighter load this semester. It is only light in the number of hours, because there is quite a bit of reading. It is also interesting to have only classes while at sea (every day including weekends) and have the whole time off while in port. I imagine this is kind of a modified week/weekend schedule. The coolest thing about classes is that our field trips are in different countries. Our professors suggest various practica for us while we are in different ports to supplement our learning in class.
Enough about class… I have met some awesome people since I have been here. I think it is so neat how people that would probably never be in the same city at once are suddenly put on a ship to live together for a semester. We live next to our professors and eat with them and get sea sick with them. The students on this ship represent a wide variety of backgrounds. There are students from 48 states and 15 countries (including the United States). I am so blessed to be able to have a multicultural experience before we even get to port. I also find it amazing how we are instantly able to connect to people. We are all in the same situation, though. We have left our homes, families, boyfriends/girlfriends, friends, home institutions, and everything we’ve ever known to travel the world and have a one-of-a-kind experience. I am so glad to be here. I do think that most of us have a similar outlook on the world and this journey. We generally want to experience all that the world has to offer and meet people from other countries and experience various cultures. Most of all, I want to look on the map and see a county and not see a geographic outline, but see faces. I want to look at Vietnam and remember the kids I saw in the orphanage and the people that I hope to see in the market. I want to look at the many places that I will be going this semester and see people that are like me, people that love, smile, laugh, hurt, cry, and live. I want to remember that most of all.
We have been talking a lot about being citizens of the world and widening our borders. I am excited to look back on this journey and see this transition that we have been told will happen.