Semester at Sea – Round Two

Since I've been back in the States, I've been asked several times by friends and family members about my recent voyage around the world with Semester at Sea; this is perfectly fine and I am excited to share my stories! However, everyone seems to be curious about the same things because I get the same questions every time! So in case I haven’t gotten a chance to speak with you yet about my latest adventures, let me answer a few of your questions:

Q: When did you get back to the U.S.?
A: The spring voyage ended on May 2. I spent one week in London and one week in Ireland before returning home to Iowa. I then had to go back to Vermont, where my graduate school is located, to participate in capstone week and graduation. I've been back in Iowa again since June 1.

Q: So, what was your favorite country this spring?
A: It’s hard to pick just one because each country is so different and has something great to offer. I especially enjoyed Myanmar and South Africa. Myanmar has only been open to foreigners for a few years so it was an especially unique time to visit. I also felt the locals were very warm and friendly in Myanmar and were excited to share their country with tourists like me. I enjoyed South Africa because it is absolutely beautiful and Cape Town had so much to offer. I was in Cape Town for six days and could have stayed for another three weeks without getting bored.

Q: What are you going to do now?
A: I am excited to announce that my contract with Semester at Sea has been extended for another voyage! Therefore, I’ll be working in the same position on the summer voyage which sails around northern Europe to Russia. I am very excited about the opportunity to continue my work with Semester at Sea and the summer itinerary is going to be amazing! I will be visiting:

• Southampton, England 
• Lisbon, Portugal 
• Bilbao, Spain 
• Greenock (Glasgow), Scotland 
• Dublin, Ireland 
• Bergen and Oslo, Norway 
• St. Petersburg, Russia 
• Stockholm, Sweden 
• Helsinki, Finland 
• Gdansk, Poland 

Learn more about the summer voyage here.

Q: That’s wonderful. When do you leave?
A: TODAY! I fly out to London this afternoon and will make my way to Southampton, England, on Friday for faculty/staff orientation and to embark the ship. We set sail on June 16.

Q: So, how many countries will you have been to by the end of the summer voyage?
A: 32. I try to visit a country for every year that I've been alive. Having visited 32 by the end of the summer will stock me up for a while!

Q: What are you going to do after the summer voyage? Are you going to get a real job?
A: Fortunately since I've chosen to work in international education, working for Semester at Sea is a “real job.” It’s definitely not a vacation and I’m working my tail off on the ship getting real, hands-on experience! After the summer voyage I’ll return to Iowa and use this as my home-base for job searching. I've already started applying so if you see something related to international education, send it my way!

Route for the summer voyage!