A Thought or Too

And then Bo moved out. With only six days left, I sat as I watched him pack his stuff so he could move to a single room. It was about 2 weeks ago when the ship offered us to de-triple. Kevin and I were quick to answer with a giant “no” and even laughed at the prospect of such a thing. Us three have had such an amazing time with each other these last 7 weeks. I couldn’t imagine separating from the spunky spirit of Kevin Lenzen and the sensitive yet equally friendly personality of Bowen Macdougal   However, Bo had alternative motives. Morgan and him have been getting quite close over the course of this voyage and so a single room looked quite appetizing to the romantic pair. I sat on his bed pleading for him not to leave. As Kevin laid on his bed groaning from the ice cream cake he should not have eaten. I was alone in this battle as I persuaded with multiple reasons as to why he should stay. “You can even leave your clothes on the chair,” I yelled with a last plea. But the transition had been made. He had the key to his new room, his bag was packed and he was out the door. Luckily he hasn’t moved out completely. He still has many of his items in this room including his computer. He has promised that he will still be making many trips to this room and we won’t even realize he’s gone. I hope so.

I didn’t anticipate becoming this upset from such a trivial change in my daily activity, but I was seriously distraught with Bo’s decision. It was at this point that I started to realize how drastically my life is going to shift after leaving Semester at Sea. I’m going to miss the people that I’ve grown so close to over these last couple of months. You may not think that you would form such lasting friendships in such a short period of time, but living in such close quarters and seeing each other almost every day, that time grows immensely. And as Bo left the room, in which so many laughs were shared and so many talks were had, it ignited a spark of emotion that I would eventually be feeling in less than a week. An emotion of longing not only for these new formed relationships but also for the experiences I’ve had with these amazing people.

It may seem like I’ve given a thorough account of my daily life during these exciting travels but I can’t possibly capture all the history I have learned and all the moments I have encountered in these last two months. With classes coming to a conclusion I realize how appreciative I am of the educational component of the Semester at Sea experience.  It has truly enriched my traveling experience providing a window of preliminary insight before entering such foreign territories. And with that knowledge it enables you to explore more freely and bravely. Simply being tourists is undeniably fun and still an adventure, but only a two dimensional experience compared to the world of opportunities that come with education. And still I haven’t even grazed the tip of the culture and history that these nations have to offer.

After having such a positive experience, I’m going to try to remain as objective as possibly when I say that, I think studying aboard should be no more mandatory than a college degree when entering professional world. Traveling is such a humanistic experience that cannot be supplemented with anything else. Therefore in the near future, higher institutions of learning need to mandate that all students participate in a study abroad program of some sort. It stimulates growth and maturity within an individual that one won’t find else where. The human experience that I talk about is realizing that the world extends past your own background and isn’t limited to your circle of friends and family. I used to think that I was having a more globalized experience by going to such a world institution like NYU, yet there are still endless cultures and views out there that should be discovered in order to substantially develop your own.

Today Erika, Kevin and I ate lunch with these two lovely Life Long Learners on the boat. A Life Long Learner is someone who participates in a voyage but isn’t necessarily a student. They are continuing their education because they so chose to, not because they are working toward a degree. Well for this particular couple, the Summer 2009 Voyage has been their ninth one with Semester at Sea. All three of our jaws dropped when we heard this detail. Here these two hearty souls sat; they have traveled the world together, brought their grand children along and are still going for they have signed up for next summer voyage already. Of course this opportunity comes with an influx of income, but it also comes with strength, perseverance and something that dies quite often in people’s lives: Curiosity. Lillian, an LLL in our Global Music class always expressed an amazing amount of interest for the topic at hand. She offered life stories, anecdotes as well as challenging questions to open up yet another discussion on the topics of music. In watching this ninety year old woman participate in the same extensive and exhausting journey I have, it makes me vow that I too will hold tight to the vigor and strength that she demonstrates. “I want my parents to do this,” Erika admits to the couple. I immediately think of two people in my life that would absolutely love this opportunity. My grandparents. I think my interest in travel stems from them. It was with them that I first visited New York, and with them that I saw Niagara Falls and Maine. They still itch to travel and I always am interested in what they are planning next. They have many plans yet those plans come with finances that don’t always prove to be in their favor. Still I dream of their lives. I dream that one day they will see the Outback in Australia and the Sistine Chapel in Italy. And I urge them to do so. If Semester at Sea becomes an option it would be a dream come true.

Even though this has been a dream come true for me, a dream must end. With everything behind us now; the countries, getting to know each other, getting accustomed to the boat, and the novelty of such a unique idea, we have nothing else to do but be excited for the familiarity of our own home. We sometimes feel guilty for screaming in excitement for our return, but in reality that in itself is something new to us. For two months we haven’t used our cell phones, we haven’t leisurely browsed the internet, we haven’t indulged in our favorite foods, we haven’t driven a car, we haven’t extensively talked with our friends and families and now we yearn for all those things that we can once again equate with being our home. This summer we were always learning about other cultures, experiencing different ways of lives, listening  o foreign languages and eating exotic foods, and now as we approach the land of the free we can just sit back and relax.

However that isn’t entirely true, for two months can bring a lot of change. And as I make my return home I’m slowly trying to accustom myself to the world events that have happened or are currently taking place. To begin, Hurricane Bill slowly makes its way North toward the MV Explorer’s position. This doesn’t worry me, but it does worry others such as Erika. Speaking of weather, it seems that there has been a huge climate shift in the United States. Many reports have been made of this being the worst summer ever full of nothing but rain and clouds. In good news there is rumor that the recession has found stable ground and the U.S. economy is looking toward a quick recovery. I’m not sure as to how trusting I can be to the government, but that’s the word on the block. With controversy, President Obama is amidst the passing of the Universal Health Care Plan. This may seem utopian and a legislation that is long over due, but after much debate and much conversation amongst professors, colleagues and myself it seems that this socialist attitude is quite dangerous. Universal Health Care is not a strange concept in Europe and yet citizens there detest the system. They say the care is horrible and inefficient and lines are longer at both emergency and primary care offices. The credibility in doctors is scarce and some citizens even move to America for its health packages. Ensuring a health plan to everyone isn’t a bad idea by any means, but equalizing it is NOT the answer. It eliminates competition and growth in the medical fields, it causes crowded facilities and basically rids the need of specialty doctors. This new legislation could not only be hazardous to our health but to our financial stability as well. There needs much reform to this proposed bill before its passed. We need to focus on the unfortunate who don’t have health care not the ones who already have it. U.S. citizens need to become more informed to prevent another wrong move made by our government.

Also experiencing so many impoverished environments in nations such as Italy, Turkey, Egypt and Morocco and then realizing that we are the reason to such conditions made me shriek with shock and mope in sadness. I have always been intrigued by the environment and the effects of global warming. But besides those effects, the planet is currently headed toward destruction and because of human behavior.  Unfortunately, some parts of the globe are feeling it worst than others. The United States has 20% of the world’s population, and yet we have 85% of the world’s wealth, 90% of its resources and the worst of it: we create 70% of world pollution. Again these statistics are horrifying and yet paralyzing at the same time. I just think, “What can I possibly do?”. I continue to feel helpless against such a large global issue. And what’s worst is I shrug it off in thinking it won’t really effect me. But its not about the state of the planet, its about the state of humanity. This world is the only world that the human race has. I hope to have children and grand children and my family will inevitably live on this very same world that is supposedly not in great shape. And so, if these conditions continue, the questions is “will there be a world for them to live on?” We can’t just leave this problem for some elite group to take care of, it will take the cooperation of this entire world to find a solution. As I’ve said before I find it absurd that we place such responsibility in the hands of leaders and are afraid to take these steps on our own. But this problem can’t be addressed by our governments, or our top scientists, it has to be addressed from the bottom up, beginning with us. If not you, who? If not here, where? If not now, when? We don’t have time to answer these questions, so just do it. Start conserving, start buying things locally and start thinking environment friendly or else there won’t be a backyard let alone a world to travel through.

Explore. Dream. Discover.

~Michael-Anthony

P.S. The World is Our Campus.