By Kaeli Van Cott STAFF WRITER
Over the course of this semester, I’ve been away from Hofstra studying abroad as a global journalism scholar with Semester at Sea, an academic program that takes students through 10 countries on a floating campus. Basically, I’ve been living on a ship with 600 other students, faculty and lifelong learners who are families and individuals that travel with us. I take classes in between my travels, and even have field labs in certain countries that work with the subject matter. Until April, I’ll be traveling through Hawaii, Japan, China, Vietnam, Myanmar (Burma), India, Mauritius, South Africa, Ghana, Morocco and England. With this unique study abroad experience has come a rare opportunity for me: to share my experiences with The Hofstra Chronicle. I’ve been writing for The Chronicle since my very first semester at Hofstra and there’s no better way to continue that trend than writing a column from the other side of the world. Most of the countries that I’ll be visiting aren’t easily accessible or huge tourism destinations and often pose risks for travelers and tourists who enter them. While traveling so far, I’ve met people with incredibly different perspectives than me and have experienced things that I would never have had the chance to experience in Hempstead. Staying on a ship for more than a day trip is a whole different experience that I wasn’t quite expecting. Most people on board have been sporting seasickness patches behind their ears, which help to prevent the queasiness that comes with the waves hitting the ship. Classes are also very condensed because of the limited time that we have between each country for schoolwork. Despite the hectic class schedule and weird adjustments, life at sea has its benefits. On an average class day, most people do homework outside on the decks and soak up the sun and even get dinner as the sun is setting. I’ve been lucky enough to spot some dolphins and even a whale in the water by being in the right place at the right time. The most surreal part of the whole shipboard experience is the complete isolation from the world. Most of the time, the only thing surrounding our ship is water, and it’s comforting in a strange sort of way. Also, we don’t have access to Wi-Fi, so everyone is fully engaged in conversations and the activities on board. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a great feeling to have Wi-Fi when traveling so that you can have the chance to catch up with family and friends and post an Instagram picture or two, but it’s nice to have conversations with people without the distraction of phones. As for right now, I’m on the next step of my journey in Myanmar and I can’t wait to share the rest of my travels.