Once the ship was in port, she was free to travel the country as she saw fit, “I figured, I would always have the opportunity to come back to Europe, if not during college, sometime after. On the other hand, I didn’t think I would ever see myself planning an entire weeks trip to visiting Japan or Cape Town or many of the places I’d later come to see.” Jessica was also able to visit India, Burma, Mauritius, Hong Kong, Ghana, Vietnam, and China. There were some course requirements in each port, “Each class requires one ‘Field Lab’. These labs are like field trips, one for every class and they only occur on either the first or last day in a port. They labs are decided well in advance and you know what the courses field lab looks like even before you’re allowed to register for classes. The trips are always relevant to the material learned in class and are basically a direct extension of the classroom into one particular port you’re visiting. Aside from this one requirement, you only have class while you’re on the ship. Once you dock in port, you’re free to do as you please.”
Jessica had many memorable experiences. When asked to boil it down to her three favorites, Jessica discussed road tripping in Morocco as here most memorable, “During the 4 hour train ride, my friend and I stood the ENTIRE time because the cart was so crowded, but within the first 5 minutes of being on the train we’d met another student, Homer, who was from Mexico and studying in Spain and taking a weekend trip to visit Morocco. We talked the entire time and it was easily the best 4 hour train |
With a host of experiences in her back pocket, Jessica made it home a few weeks ago. When asked how this experience shaped her as a person, she said that it taught her to be more vulnerable, “This, to me means a number of things. It means learning to be vulnerable emotionally – for example letting yourself feel complete heartbreak when you finally understand the immense levels of extreme poverty that continue to haunt our world. It means learning to speak up in class and using your own realities to challenge both your peers and professors to consider issues of things like race and socioeconomic status when discussing topics in class. It means being vulnerable and feeling foolish as you awkwardly try and ask for directions to your hostel when you get lost on the streets of Shanghai (the
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