Semester at Sea: Truly a Voyage of Learning and Discovery

All of us students have only been on this ship for just shy of a week, and we have already been exposed to an atmosphere overflowing with knowledge. Aside from all our professors, who are all in the tops of their professions, we have had the chance to meet with scholars and business professionals.

 

Dr. Kathy Thornton, an astronaut who went into space shortly after the 2 ½ year grounding of the shuttle program following the Challenger disaster, spoke with us about her mission in space. She spoke about how she got into NASA, how long her training was, the hardest parts of being an astronaut, and the life-changing experiencing of actually going to space. Following her presentation, she showed a 10 minute slide show presentation of her and the rest of her crew and spacecraft during training and during the mission. She was truly an inspiration and a brilliant woman to speak with.

 

Then, this morning, we had the opportunity to meet a former Semester at Sea Alumni from 1978. Scott Seamans, one of the 3 inventors of Crocs (those ugly shoes that secretly everybody owns but no one will admit to), showed up in our Global Studies class this morning to speak about economics and getting his product distributed worldwide. While a short presentation, we all got to meet with a very successful man whose company has sold hundreds of millions of shoes since they were introduced in 2002.

 

Semester at Sea was not kidding when they said we would be hearing from a lot of very successful people in the short time we spend on the Ship. I guess that’s why they call it “The Voyage of Discovery.”

48 Hour to Galway!

Less than 48 hours until we finally reach land!

I cannot even begin to express how much I despise being on a ship after
these past 5 days....at least the MV Explorer. Due to the fact it is a
smaller ship, it does not handle the rough waters as well as a much
larger cruise ship. Also, sitting at 53 Degrees North Latitude does not
make for for ideal weather conditions. The temperature has been
consistently in the 50s since we left the continental shelf. (For those
who don't understand what this means....being in the middle of the ocean
in the Northern Atlantic sucks!) At least this is supposed to be the
worst part of the voyage. After Europe we will head South towards the
equator and things will warm up quite a bit. At least we will be able to
lay out and tan the days we are at sea.

Friday morning at 8am...which will be around 2am back home.....we dock
in Galway where I will head out on my first field lab for my drawing
class. Around 4:30pm or 5pm that night I will be meeting up with the
girls after my field lab and we will explore Galway and all it has to
offer. I will have Free WIFI that night at the hotel so expect to see
pictures being uploaded to the blog and Facebook! Saturday morning we
will take a bus to Cork where we will also spend the day and explore the
city. After a night spent in Cork, we will board another bus to Dublin
where we will meet up with the ship and partake in the famous Pub Crawl
and explore more of what Dublin has to offer.

I am very excited that Ireland is our first port but more excited to see
land and spend an amazing time with 2 amazing, adventurous girls I met
on the ship, Jenna and Brit.

Everyone can keep in touch with me via my shipboard email account:
rebecca.lohagen.f12@semesteratsea.org. I love hearing from
everyone...especially on these boring days at sea!

Life at Sea

Sailing on a ship through open water is definitely not as glamorous as it looks….at least not on the smaller ships like the MV Explorer where I’m living. The boat continuously rocks side to side making you want to sleep at all hours of the day!

 

My routine for the last couple days has been pretty much the same with class in the morning, working out in the early afternoon, a nice nap after, a little homework, another workout session, and then SLEEP! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten so healthy or worked out so much in my life, but it seems that is all there is to do on the ship besides making new friends or plans for port which is also frequently done.

 

My classes for the semester will all be super easy. Out of the 4, I will only have 2 finals. On the other hand, my drawing class will have me busy once we are in port sketching and drawing at least 4 items from each country that share and explore the essence of that particular country.

 

I’m really glad I met Jenna (girl from Deck 3) and Brit (my roommate). These girls make my day every day. It’s so easy to be around them and we joke around all the time. Makes me slightly homesick and missing my best friends back home.

 

Soon enough I will also have a “sea family” to share my experiences with so I am very excited for that. A sea family is a small group made up of Faculty Members, Lifelong Learners, and other adults as the “parents” and the students as their “children.” This was something you had to sign up for and after hearing many good things I am excited to see who my “family” will be.

 

While the temperatures here, out at sea, aren’t the most spectacular and the wind can blow you straight off the deck, I’ve been keeping inside for most of the time. I miss the fresh air and the smell of fresh cut grass back home! Also, today we hit a patch of rougher weather. There have been near 20ft swells of water that have made the already difficult ship ride worse. Walking through the halls without staggering is a challenge and walking up and down the stairs consistently is no easy feat either.

 

Nevertheless, life on board the ship is definitely worth it because I will be in Ireland on Friday! I definitely cannot wait to begin my trek through Europe with my new friends and their high-spirited, adventurous attitudes!

Embarkation and Orientation

It’s hard to believe it was only yesterday morning that I sat in my hotel room in Halifax anxious to board the MV Explorer. Now I’ve barely been on the ship for 24 hours and it feels like I’ve been here for weeks. At this point it still feels like a spring break cruise with all of my college friends but soon we’ll all settle in to the schedule of having to attend class and actually earn the credits we came on the ship to take.

 So far, I have met a few of my professors and am very excited to begin class with them. The shipboard community is nothing at all like Madison. Everyone has already begun to become close and has shared a part of themselves with everyone else.

Last night our first orientation session went by slowly…simply our Resident Directors explaining the dos and don’ts of the ship. Soon after I was lulled to sleep by the lashing of the waves against the side of the boat…thank goodness for sea sickness medication!

This morning was not welcomed easily. The cabin on Deck 2 was freezing and I thought I would be greeted with a shower of the same nature. However, I was proven wrong when I stepped into a long, hot shower….best thing of my life!

 My roommate and I ate breakfast out on the 5^th floor Aft (back of boat). Surrounded by nothing but water on all sides, it was a relaxing way to start a long day filled with boring orientation sessions. Things can only get better from here.

 A group of whales was spotted off the aft of the boat this morning twice. Unfortunately, this experience was also missed by me twice! At least I have 106 more days and a whale watching excursion to correct this! Well I'm off to sit on the sun deck next to the pool!!!

Halifax, Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is beautiful. Flying over was incredible. You could not see a single area where there weren't hundreds of lakes covering the secluded countryside.

Driving from the airport into Halifax reminded me of home. Trees extended for miles and soon their Fall will begin and it will look just like Northern Wisconsin around here.

I arrived at the hotel around 6pm (which would be 4pm back home) where I met my roommates and was able to relax for a little. We then went out to take a 19th century brewery tour right down the street with a bunch of other SAS kids. (Pictures below) The tour in which we received was unique and I'm sure I will never see one like it again. Musical acts preceded by a historical overview made up part of it while the other was how the ale was brewed in the 1800s.

After the tour we proceeded to the hotel lounge and restaurant where we ate dinner and met up with more SAS kids. A gathering in our room followed and then we headed out on the town. The Dome was the meeting place for most of us. At the door I was asked for 3 different forms of ID because apparently I do not look anything like the girl in my driver's license or student ID. Took a bit to get us all in but it was worth it.

After a fun, but strange, night filled with new friends and good times, I am biting at the bit to get on that ship. I just hope all my new friends won't be too far away. Only 40 more minutes and my hotel roommate and I will be allowed to board!

I'm very excited for what lies ahead but nervous that my feet won't touch land for an entire week. Hopefully those sea sickness accupressure wristbands work!

Life with No Regrets

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain

I have always loved this quote, but I never believed it would mean as much to me as it does today. This quote describes the very journey I will begin tomorrow morning. After a long and exhausting day,  I am headed off to bed to wake up and begin a new chapter in my life. Love you all and see you in 3 1/2 months!!

A picture of my new home for the coming months!

Getting Ready to Leave

After a long, stressful, and very exciting application process the time
has finally come to head out. Today, I said goodbye to my amazing family
(Mom and 2 sisters) who I will miss dearly over the next 4 months. It
has not quite hit me yet, but the next time I see them will be around
Christmastime. Tomorrow, I spend my last full day in the United States
ironing out all the last minute details at my Grandparent's house and
then it's off to Halifax early Wednesday morning where I will meet my
family and new home for the coming months. Wish me luck!

One week!

In one week I will be leaving on this incredible journey. Everything is coming up so fast, so right now I am very stressed and nervous. I believe that once I have everything figured out, I will feel a lot more at ease. To everyone reading, my main way of contact on the ship is by email. The email I will be using is rebecca.lohagen.f12@semesteratsea.org. I would love to hear from all my friends and family while I am away. Please keep in touch!