Africa, oh Africa, you hold a special place in my heart. From the views from Lion’s Head Mountain, to the homes of the local villagers, you are a beautiful continent and have been my favorite part of this voyage.
Ghana opened me up to a new world and South Africa reminded me of both the world of Ghana, but also a little bit of home. Cape Town is a tourist city. The Waterfront is the typical tourist trap, but then they also have the high adrenaline activities such as skydiving, zip lining, bungee jumping, and shark cage diving. It also has the other side of the spectrum. I visited a township and got a glimpse of that side too.
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I wasn’t sure how much of this day I should be sharing because it is supposed to be a secret, but I already knew everything that happened, so I have decided there’s no harm in sharing.
The day after Ghana was the first time we would be crossing the equator on a ship. We call it “Neptune Day.” All we were told was to not plan on going to classes on that day. The staculty (staff and faculty) wouldn’t tell us anything else. However, if you wanted to know, all you have to do is look it up on YouTube and you can find out everything. So it’s not really much of a secret, is it? And that’s why I feel like I can share what we did on that day. It started in the morning at 7 am. The staculty came through all the halls playing all different instruments. They were chanting and began knocking very loudly on some of our doors. Loud enough to wake me up from my glorious slumber, at least. We were told over the intercom to be up on the pool deck by 8 am. Okay, pause. Who is awake and ready to swim at 8 am? Not I. Imagine living in a world without internet, air conditioning, running water, your social media, and being oh so close to the equator. That’s something I got to experience during my brief visit in Ghana.
I participated in a homestay and school engagement in the village of Senase, which is in the northern part of Ghana. It was definitely an experience that will follow me for the rest of my life. We stayed with a family and volunteered at the private school in the area. I specify that it was a private school because we also had the chance to visit the public government school. Going into this program, I knew it was going to be difficult, but it was something I needed to do. And I had no idea the impact it would leave on me. I feel as though it is time to update everyone on what ship life is like. But first, we must go over some ground rules:
1. This is a ship, not a boat. 2. We are travelers, not tourists. 3. We have cabins, not dorms. 4. This is a voyage, not a cruise. 5. It’s not 10 pm, it’s 2200. Now that we have that settled and out of the way, let us get into the fun stuff. After having been on the ship for two days, I finally started my classes. We sat through a day and a half of orientation sessions and they were rather boring. I understand that a floating campus is very different than a non-floating campus. And I heard at least five times that flip-flops are not allowed and that we should wear closed-toed shoes. I’m going to wear my sandals until somebody tells me I can’t.
I have finally set sail on the MV World Odyssey. I flew out Friday September 7 and arrived Saturday September 8. It wasn’t horrible traveling. The flights were pretty smooth and the food wasn’t that great, but, all in all, it was okay. The airline never lost my luggage, and I made it here in one piece. I didn’t even have to go through customs when I got to Germany. Oh! And both my checked bags broke during my flight. On one bag the handle broke, so I can’t pull the handle out to pull the bag. Instead I have to grab the bag itself to pull it. And on the other, the stand at the bottom broke, so I have to lean it against a wall for it to stand upright.
Everyone knows that when you travel, there is some paperwork involved. Even I knew this. What I didn't know is the amount of paperwork involved. You need your passport, immunizations, accommodations, flights, and visas. I'm sure I'm probably missing some too.
Okay, so let's see what I have here. Passport? Check. Immunizations? Check. Yellow card? Check. Accommodations? Check. Flights? Half check. (I still need to book my flight to Germany.) Visas? Please don't get me started on that. So I am taking twelve credits and that is four classes. For each class I have one field class in a country. That's only four days of field class. What am I going to do with the rest of my time in port? Well, that's a very good question and I'm glad you asked.
SAS provides field programs, which is their way of saying excursions. They have many provided for each country we visit and they are more than just the "tourist" spots. They also allow us to do some independent traveling of our own. The only exception being Hawaii and Mauritius. Because those are just fuel stops for the ship, we are only there for one day and are only allowed off the boat if we book something with SAS. So what am I going to do, you ask? Let's find out. Have you ever tried to pack for three and a half months with only two large duffle bags? Well, let me tell you, it's a real hassle. I have sat down to pack at least five times and I only ended up actually starting to pack three of those times. The rest of the attempts ended in just looking at what needed to be done and then maybe some Netflix.
There is so much that needs to be considered when packing for this trip. If I forget something, I'm out of luck unless the campus store on the ship has what I need. I can't just go to the grocery store to restock when I run out of something. I have to have everything ahead of time. Ever since I was in middle school, I have known that I would study abroad. However, I knew that I would go to a country where the main language was English. I was only half right. First let's start with what really set my mind on studying abroad.
When I was fifteen, I went to Germany and Denmark with my mom, step-dad, and sister. It was beautiful. The landscape, architecture, culture, everything. I loved it and felt right at home. I knew one day I would be back in Europe. Then, this past winter, I went on a cruise to Cozumel, Mexico and Georgetown, Grand Cayman with my dad, step-mom, sister, and step-sisters. That was quite the experience. We were out in the middle of the ocean with no land in sight. It certainly showed me the small space I take up in the world and that there is so much more to see. This trip is what really sparked my desire to travel the world. |