Meet the UIUC student who spent 110 days at sea on her semester abroad
She visited 42 cities
Semester at Sea is not your typical study abroad program. Maggie Spring first heard about the opportunity to take the 110 day voyage through her family friend who had taken the trip herself.
Instead of picking one new country to explore, Maggie experienced 15 on her four month journey. She hung out on the Great Wall of China, caught up with friends in Vietnam, and went diving with great white sharks in South Africa.
Life on deck was pretty chilled
Studying abroad anywhere can be quite the adjustment, but trading in the safety of land for an adventure at sea is all new territory. She said her new home rivalled the old Disney Channel show, “The Suite Life on Deck”. Her new campus was called the MV Word Odyssey, and it came equipped with pools, fitness centres, outdoor dining facilities, and of course classrooms. “The pool is bigger than the library, there are substantially more pool chairs than desks” Maggie told The Tab.
“The shades of blue in the sea and sky this far out in the middle of the ocean are beyond beautiful.” She got to see creatures like sea snakes, turtles and dolphins just by looking out her bedroom window. “Looking at the stars in the middle of the ocean is like nothing else I’ve ever experienced.”
Classes were more “interesting things you’d want to know”
“Textbooks are much more enjoyable to read while simultaneously tanning your back in the middle of the Pacific.” Classes were more geared toward maximizing the experience of the boat. She took Travel Writing, Intercultural Communication, World Religions and Drawing at Sea. Some of which included a hula lesson, a culture lesson from a University of Hawaii professor and a how-to session to make their own leis.
Before they got off the boat at each location, the students would prepare logistical and cultural pre-ports. They would get to learn about each countries culture, customs and norms. Spring was able to get involved in each place she visited, rather than sticking out like a tourist.
She visited a load of really interesting countries
At each port, the students had freedom to roam around the country as long as they made it back to the ship by departure. The SAS students had free reign to explore places like Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, Cochin, India, Casablanca, Morocco and many more. The students braved the waves and sea sickness, but got to spend about a week at each place they visited.
Maggie celebrated a friend’s 21st birthday in Japan by spending the night in a Japanese guest house called a ryokan in Kyoto. Not your average 21st celebration, but I think Japan beats being bar legal in America.
She also had some pretty crazy adventures
Maggie lived an episode of shark week and got to dive in a cage with Great Whites near Seal Island in South Africa, and bungy jumped off Bloukrans Bridge, the highest bridge bungy in the world. Both stunts within 24 hours.
Maggie also gave back and volunteered
Photo courtesy of Maggie Spring
While in Vietnam, Myanma, and Ghana, she participated in Global Grains, a volunteer program founded by a Semester at Sea alumni. Their goal is to promote oral hygiene for adults and children in developing nations:
“I would stand on the street and teach people how to brush their teeth, and they would all be so pumped to get these toothbrushes. These experiences helped them learn to appreciate everything that is taken for granted in America.”
While visiting a small village outside of Accra, Ghana, Maggie slept in a hut with a family, and truly experience the way people live there. One of the women she met spoke to her about the classes she was taking, her future goals to get a business degree and go to school. “It was cool to relate to people and see their goals and dreams compared to mine and what I’m doing.”
After returning from her 110 day journey at sea, Maggie came back home to the States with a new perspective. Hearing real stories and meeting real people made all of the things we are used to hearing about that much more important. The Semester at Sea allowed her to experience the world, not just see the sites as a tourist. 27,226 miles of ocean, 42 cities, 15 countries, four continents, and three oceans later, she completed the trip of a lifetime and “the best thing I have ever done.”
You can find out more by checking out her blog.
All photos by Maggie Spring