Semester at Sea: The Final Note

Semester at Sea offered a unique experience for each participant on the voyage. And that is what has made this voyage so special. My impressions of each country varied from my roommate's and classmates' opinions. My experiences are mine and although I can relate to many of the experiences others had, they are what shaped this voyage to make it my own. I came on this voyage to "Discover" as I wrote in an earlier blog post, and I feel that this experience greatly exceeded my expectations. It is still quite overwhelming to fathom all that has occurred in the last month, but I feel like it has been a constant of enrichment of information and culture from sources that I had least expected. I have cherished my interaction with both locals and participants on Semester at Sea as the highlights of my voyage. Human nature has a funny way of offering quite a bit of insight into how a person lives their life. Some countries gave me the sense like a greater cultural barrier existed, such as they saw me as a source of income, rather than a person. In other countries, I felt like I was immediately welcomed and they saw me as a human. These countries are the ones where I feel like I would very much like to return when I get the opportunity.

The manners and ways I was approached seemed to vary from country to country. It's amazing that in such a geographically-congested space that so many customs and greetings would be distinct to each country. The way people carried themselves in various countries provided an significant impression on how I interpreted their quality of life. The Costa Ricans have been reported as among the happiest people in the world, and it was obvious in their overall demeanor. The Guatemalans waved at us as we made eye-contact with them. These were the only countries where I also got hugs and kisses from locals and invitations to return and visit locals. And for having the lowest GDP of the countries, the Hondurans were still happy to discuss the few fortunes that they do have. The willingness to smile with their eyes and spark a conversation with me was what set these three countries apart. In fact, there was something else that they had in common: They seemed to make due with what resources and time they had available and were able to enjoy the simple joys of life. On another note, I also had done service visits in each of these countries, which provided me with that community involvement for that I had yearned during the voyage.

The locals in Trinidad and Tobago, Panamá, and Belize seemed to rely too much of tourism for their income. The distribution of wealth seemed pretty extreme in these countries and these were the places where locals tried to help me on the street, expecting a "thank you tip" in return for their services. The body language and glares on their faces made me feel like a foreigner, like they did not want me to be there. I felt a lack of trust in these people, where I feared they may have had ulterior motives. They were generally less laid back and constantly asked me if I needed a ride somewhere or what I was doing. This persistent method of trying to recruit me as a customer was a quick turn-off for me to take an interest in their services. Although this was my overall impression of both Panamá and Belize, please understand that I did encounter several kind people in these countries, but they were (based on what I observed) less abundant. I had enjoyed both hostel experiences that I had in Belize and Panamá and they have, honestly, provided me with the greatest adventure that I had on the trip. Trinidad and Tobago set itself apart from both Belize and Panamá because the locals were kind to interact with me, ranging from people that I spoke to on the street, to the people that warned us where to walk in the interest of our safety, and the little boy that touched my hand in the store. I should also mention that Trinidad and Tobago is where I had the best tour guides that demonstrated the greatest pride in their country and nationality (of being known as an extremely diverse country and population). I do not feel that I can group Trinidad and Tobago with Costa Rica, Honduras and Guatemala because that was where eight people had asked me for money.

It is very hard to rank these countries because I found unique attributes of each culture and country that it is difficult to judge them, especially since it is so subjective. Overall, Costa Rica and Guatemala were my favorites, where Honduras and Trinidad and Tobago follow, concluding with Belize and Panamá. I did not include the Bahamas because I did not spend much time outside of my hotel, the airport and ship terminal. This is, again, a very subjective ranking because I choose to only base this off of my experiences and opinions of each country, in which I spent less than 72 hours. Semester at Sea offers a wonderful comparative experience where you visit a lot of countries in a short amount of time and gain a "feel" for each country. I saw so many different things and participated in a myriad of activities/adventures that I don't feel it's possible on any other program to experience a wide variety of opportunities that each specific country can provide. Moreover, while this experience was wonderful for all that it offered, I wish I could have gone beyond that status of "visitor" in these countries. I wished to be treated like a local, but obviously that takes more time when you look and behave differently. Time was, however, not on our side. Many of us, as we were directed, remained in groups which made it even easier to identify us as tourists.

In case you're wondering if I would be interested on going on another Semester at Sea voyage, I would gladly go on another one. However, I'm not sure if I would go in a heartbeat. The reason being: I missed the entire immersion experience that I had in Germany. I hope to use my experience and what I have learned on SAS to jump into a community, with which I was introduced on the voyage. You can think of SAS as a "sample" and now I'm using what "tastes" I've acquired to figure out which country/community I would like to have served as the "entrée". The aspect of the voyage that did not dawn on me until I was in the ship was I would be experiencing it with an entire group of Americans. From my travel experience, I am accustomed to being in small groups of American and/or international students or being alone. I had a sort of "traveler's shock" in the sense that I did not feel like I am the typical American traveler. While it worked for the time being, I did not always enjoy having to cater to other wishes/fears of other individuals. I still managed to take leaps of faith and try new things (and these instances truly were the pinnacles my trip), but it also really aggravated me when SASers made comments along the lines of "Why can't they be more like America?". First of all, we were still on the continent of America (doesn't matter whether North, Central or South), and the USA does not necessarily do everything "the best." I tried to appreciate observing the differences as learning opportunities.

Another learning opportunity I had was to live on a ship. I was fortunate not to get seasick. I felt the land moving underneath me in Trinidad, but that was the extent of my symptoms. The longest I had spent on a ship before was a week for a cruise. Four weeks seemed like much longer than actually was. I was able to form friendships with people and get to know them better than I would in only a week's time. The academic setting also provided a different crowd than the typical vacation-goers. Some disadvantages of the could be the tight living conditions, the lack of personal space, the only opportunity to escape this group of people would be to get lost in port or jump overboard, the freezing ship, and the repetitive food offerings. In my opinion, the close quarters are worth the experience to explore so many countries. I chose to make lemonade by chatting with people and trying to be a friendly, kind individual that wanted to listen, just as much to share. The individuals that I found annoying or I differed from their views gave me the opportunity to gain more experience to understand how people see things differently. Fortunately, there was always someone I could connect with, so jumping overboard was never really an option I gave myself. The ship is cold for the purpose of mildew control. Lastly, I was glad to always have an idea of what to expect for dinner, knowing that I was going to enjoy the food. The buffet-style meals accommodated the palettes of everyone very nicely.

Something that was a pleasant surprise that I feared as a hurdle was the internet. I received 2 hours of free internet for the entire program. This did not include e-mail service and access to Wikipedia.com, but it was certainly not a superfluous amount. I also did not have a cell phone, and to be honest, it was extraordinary to be free of the burden that technology can have. I was worry-free about staying in touch because I could use my room phone to contact someone on the ship; otherwise e-mail worked well. I was free of Facebook for 4 weeks and it was great having one less social stress. Many SASers expressed similar enjoyment not having cell phones and Facebook around. It might be hard for some to believe, but life will go on without Facebook, and quite frankly, it seems to be more enjoyable without having to worry about it!

As I conclude my written reflection, my personal observations, understanding and appreciation for all that I experienced will continue to evolve. I feel I will never stop learning, nor do I wish for that to cease. I feel that I had fun through experiencing new things and gaining a rejuvenated perspective on the world. I'm proud to be a global citizen, and I hope I have helped carry out my duty by reporting through this blog. My advice for anyone reading this would be: try to enter a new endeavor free of preconceived notions or judgments before you gain a deeper understanding for why something may be the way it is. There may be a cultural reason or something else, with which we are unfamiliar. Listen! (You have two ears, but only one mouth for a reason.) Try to be an open-minded individual who sees each experience, obstacle, or challenge in your life as an opportunity to grow and learn.

Although I was abroad for a month, my family was quite adept at home as they welcomed people into our family that really changed the dynamic. This month has proven to be a significant month for all of us through trial-and-error, triumph, misfortunate, and acceptance. I doubt it's possible to be(come) an expert on life, but this experience is another example of how enthralling it can be to explore and find what is out there. Life is good, and I plan to keep pursuing experiences abroad to wherever I can. I hope to return to the places that I have already visited, but I'm excited to see and experience more! 21 countries in 20 years is very exciting and a blessing for me. I thank you again for joining me along the ride. All in all, it has certainly been smooth sailing!

¡Adios! & Bis dann!
Matt