Traveling in your college years is an amazing experience. Many schools offer exchange student programs, but there’s one studying abroad adventure that many haven’t heard of, and it offers a journey like no other.
Semester at Sea is an accredited college program through the University of Colorado, and in 103 days, you can travel by ship around the world. Each semester offers different destinations, and they have fall, spring, and summer programs. You can transfer from your local college or university for a single semester, and the classes count towards your major.
This once-in-a-lifetime experience will dramatically alter the way you view the world. Let me tell you a little about my adventure to twelve countries while taking classes onboard a beautiful cruise ship in Fall 2006.
I began my trek from Atlanta, Georgia, flying into San Diego and riding a bus down to Ensenada, Mexico. Upon arrival, I boarded with 600 fellow students, college professors, and staff. Classes were held every day at sea, and we’d embark in each country and explore. You can sign up for specific excursions or walk off the boat and soak up the local culture.
Our first stop was Hawaii for a quick fuel up, and then we were off to Japan! From there, we traveled to China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, India, Egypt, Turkey, Croatia, and Spain. We spent a little under a week in each country, traveling by plane, train, and car to destinations I wouldn’t have gotten the chance to see otherwise.
There’s nothing quite like stepping fresh off the boat with new friends and gallivanting around or spending time touring museums and sites like Phnom Penh and the pyramids in Gaza. Each semester, the Global Studies course is required to teach you about the local culture of the next destination and give you the knowledge you can apply in real-time. A student from the local university boards at the country before theirs to provide a lecture about their experiences and schooling.
Taking creative writing, journalism, and film in tandem while traveling was the single most enlightening and life-altering experience of my life. I still talk to many of the friends I made along the way, and I will recommend this study abroad method to anyone looking to travel as a college student. They offer financial aid and grants, so it is affordable for everyone, and they ask that you work two hours per day in the library and elsewhere while the ship is en route. These student work programs also offer students the estate rooms as a perk for their hard work!
If you’re currently a college student, please take a moment to look on their website and see if this is something you might enjoy. Too few of our younger generations are getting enough exposure to other cultures, and this is one way to bring the world together through education!
