“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

It has been a 29,992 nautical mile trip across this map.  We have circled the globe. It still feels surreal that we had this amazing opportunity, and, in a way, right now all of the memories feel a little bit like a fantastic dream. We have walked on four continents, immersed ourselves into fourteen ports and cultures, swum in three of the world’s major oceans, danced in some of the world’s oldest standing ruins, climbed the world’s largest wall, and dove deep into the underwater worlds and saw the beauty that lies beneath the surface of these beautiful oceans we’ve sailed across.  It has been 109 days, 9,417,600 seconds. And each one has been so influential on us. In the sights that we have seen, in the broken conversations we have had with strangers, in the photographs we’ve taken, and, most importantly, in the universal laughter we have shared, we have lived this journey to the fullest and have seen beautiful parts of the world that, for the most part, we barely knew existed.

Many people go their whole lives without seeing any of the places that we have been. Many of the people from the places we have been will go their whole lives without ever seeing the USA. Both circumstances are such a shame. We live in an interdependent world, we live in a vast and beautiful world. If God gave you a giant pyramid of presents, with huge boxes of all different sizes… would you just open one of them and call it a day?  There are so many places to see in this world, so many people to meet, so many lives to make a difference on. We have seen the beautiful, the scary, the influential, the historical, the ancient, the funny and the crazy. We’ve met friends from all over the map. We’ve lived on a ship for four months, making it our home and community. We have traveled to lands unknown. We have not let preconceptions get the better of us and we have treated each new place as a country, not as a mere destination. And, as a result, these amazing countries and people have had an undying impact on us.

"Travel is not measured by the number of miles, but in the number of friends made along the way"

- Tim Cahill

And the Explorer. The MV Explorer-- our wonderful ship that has become our home. We have spent so many days living the surreal life that we do on this beautiful ship. We have seen a million of the most beautiful sunsets, we’ve learned a million new things about this world, we have eaten a million potatoes, cooked a million different ways.. We’ve played a million games of charades and catchphrase.  We have awaken for no reason to watch the sunrise, have mastered the art of ellipticalling during the rocky seas, we’ve sang songs with the Jamaican waiters, and had dinner with our professors. We have studied a ton, and learned things we never thought we would about places we’d never thought we would go. We have made friends that will last a lifetime.

We have lived our dream, every single second of every single day… even if we really had no idea what day it was!

But, hey, time really is relative and it really does fly. I think the reason we focus so much on what day of the week it is usually is just because we are counting down to the weekend, or counting down to summer, or counting down to anything. The best thing about this experience is that every day is so exciting, every “normal” day is so chaotic and amazing that there is no need to count down to the “weekend”—every day is the weekend. The best time you can have is when you have no idea what day it is!

We are so blessed. And so appreciative of every single person who made this trip what it was for us. Nana and Poppy, it is because of you that I was able to have this wonderful experience and I am forever debted to you for that, thank you so much for realizing the greatness of the Semester at Sea program and for investing so much money into this experience—I assure you, every cent was worth it. Mom and Dad, thank you for being so supportive and excited and not too worried in letting me trek across these continents and for always reminding me to live every day to the fullest. Cathy and Keith, thank you for coming to visit us in China and for making those 8 days some of the best of the entire trip. It was so much fun to share a part of our experience with you.  To all of our amazing friends that we have made, both on the ship and in port, thank you. Thank you for putting a huge smile on my face every day and for making this trip what it was for us. I know that this is not goodbye and that we will always have the semester at sea bond linking us together throughout our lives but I miss each and every one of you so much already. 

Only four short months ago, I sat in my room waiting impatiently for this trip to come. I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew I was excited. I had a inkling in my heart and I knew that this was going to be the experience of a lifetime.  I am even more excited now. I know that seems silly since it is over and I never want this to end, but I feel like the luckiest person on the earth to have had the experience that I have had here on Semester at Sea.  I am a happier, more complete person because of this trip. And I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that I will live a fuller life because of this experience…

So, this is it. We arrived into the USA this morning. I can’t even believe it. I’m sure you all assume we’ve been wrecks all day, crying and saying goodbye and bidding our home farewell for the last time.  I know that’s what we should be doing, but we can’t help it. We just can’t stop smiling.  The world is a big, beautiful place.. and our world just got a whole lot bigger. But I’m just not sad. I’m indescribably ecstatic. I’m ecstatic for every single memory that I’ve made, every single photo that I’ve taken, every friend that I’ve laughed with, every time that I’ve gotten lost on the big ship (“Trev I went the wrong way, where the heck is my room?!” “Uh, Christina how long have you lived on this ship?!”) or begged Trevor for a late night popcorn snack at the pool bar (“you’ve already had one like an hour ago”) I’m grateful for every late night we spent laughing and playing games or exhaustedly watching movies, and I’m grateful for every day that we spent unrestrictedly adventuring into these far away lands.

I have trekked the stone steps of the Great Wall of China, I have lept across a Japanese lily pond, We have stood in bewilderment at the beauty of the Taj Mahal, we have crossed cultural boundaries and gotten very lost in translation, I have slipped and fell into Mekong Delta Mud, staining my dress but laughing at my fall.  Trevor has shaved his head, in the middle of the equator during a cult-like celebration of King Neptune and of Semester at Sea tradition.  We have watched the sunrise over the ancient Temples of Angkor Wat. We have played with orphans in Cambodia, and had our lives changed by these little people with these huge personalities in dire circumstances. We have ridden countless trains, maneuvered countless busy and crowded city streets (busy and crowded is a severe understatement), deciphered bus schedules, hailed speedy and pushy taxi drivers, people watched in crowded city centers, and talked to a whole lot of strangers.  Every day, we tried a million new things. Whether it was fresh and delicious sushi in Japan or Angkor Beer in Cambodia. Whether it was wandering down the coast whichever way the wind took us in Cape Town, or playing rugby on the beach. Whether it was visiting a traditional African tribe in Ghana, or boarding a spontaneous cruise out to Ihla Grande in Brazil.  Whether we tasted new wines in South Africa or paved new paths in the caves and plains of Ghana, we were constantly trying new things.

We have not only seen the world, we have lived the world.

OH and, remember these golden rules for your travels. 

1. Never let your age get larger than the number of countries you have visited (Christina is way ahead of me, at over fifty countries, I have a little catching up to do at 14 countries, but I’m going to close in on those last 5 as soon as possible!)

1. Meet the people, participate in the culture, learn the history--- Be a traveler, not a tourist.

2. See the locals, live with the locals, eat with the locals, talk with the locals.

3. Trust people, even when everyone tells you it is dangerous.

4. Don’t see other cultures’ ways of life as sad or in need of charity, most likely they are just as happy as you, so realize this and learn and love their home and way of life.

5. Buy everything you want to, eat everything you want to! Go everywhere you want to! This may be you’re only chance to get everything you possibly can from this country, make the most of every opportunity!

9. Travel with great friends, or someone you love.

10. Keep your feet on the ground (stole this from my professor)

  “The world in which a man lives shapes

And…. Just for fun and because we know all of you are DYING to know…

Just so you know— this is an incredibly hard thing to do—we were going to do our list of all of them in ranked order but couldn’t do it- obviously we loved everything in every country,  so we decided to just do our top four – and just  fyi-- it’s not that we don’t LOVE our number 4 or ones not listed, we just thought it would be fun for you all to know our very favorite adventures!

The Top Four!

1. South Africa                   

2. Brazil                        

3. Mauritius                     

4. Japan                              

and, finally, the moment you have all been waiting for-- 

The best beers in the world!

1.         Sapporo-Japan/ Sahara dry Cider - South Africa

2.         Asahi- Japan

3.         Kingfisher-India

4.         Tsingtao-China

5.         Angkor- Cambodia

6.         Tiger- Vietnam

7.         Castle- South Africa

8.         Budweiser-US

9.         Star-Ghana

10.         Skote-Brazil

11.         Phoenix-Mauritius

  “The whole object of travel is not to set foot on foreign land; it is at last to set foot on one’s own country as a foreign land.” – G. K. Chesterton

So I guess our last wise words for all of you are to keep those travel tips in mind, and get out there and sea the world!

Love,

Christina