Semester at Sea | Atlantic Exploration

In two sleeps I will leave for the greatest adventure any college student can ask for. Many of you may have noticed a few of the posts on my Facebook timeline over my birthday that said things like “Hope to see you before you leave!” or “Have fun in Europe!” and wondered what on Earth they were all about. Or, if you’re Facebook friends with my mom, you might have seen her status about purchasing my plane ticket to London a few months ago. And let’s not forget the hint a few blog posts back about me experiencing a different sort of semester. 😉

In case you haven’t guessed it yet: I’m studying abroad this semester! I know you’re next question will be where, followed by do you know anyone else going?, and lastly for how long. This is where it gets fun and really different.

I bought a plane ticket to London, but I’m actually not studying there at all. I’m getting on a ship in Southampton, England and traveling all over the world with 600 other students. Yes, a ship. A huge, beautiful cruise ship: World Odyssey. The ship has been converted to a floating university complete with classrooms, a library, and technology lab. It’s pretty incredible! And yes, all over the world. We begin our voyage in Southampton and then travel to Civitavecchia, Italy; Naples, Italy; Istanbul, Turkey; Piraeus (Athens), Greece; Valencia, Spain; Barcelona, Spain; Casablanca, Morocco; Dakar, Senegal; Salvador, Brazil; Trinidad and Tobago (Spain); through the Panama Canal, Panama; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; and port back in San Diego right before Christmas! The voyage is 100 days long, we visit 13 cities in 11 countries, and I am fortunate enough to have my boyfriend, Nathan, by my side for the whole trip! I’m so excited that he’s coming with because he’s been abroad before and I’m pretty much clueless 😉

I will be taking 12 credits during the voyage that will all transfer back to my degree at Minot State. We go to class while we are sailing to each country and when we arrive and port we can get off the ship and do whatever we want for the allotted days we’re in port (typically 4-5 in each port). I am SO looking forward to all the photos ops! =)
A special thank you to Dr. Deanna Klein, Chuck Barney, Eileen Solberg, Emma May, Amber Smith, Libby Claerbout, Dr. John Girard, my scholarship donors, and countless other people from MSU who have made this experience absolutely seamless for me. I wouldn’t be going without you!

I will be blogging my adventures abroad daily when possible. When I’m not in port I will be emailing my mom the content for my posts and she will be publishing them, so if it’s a little rough at times that’s why! But we are going to do the best we can to keep everyone updated through my blog. I will be able to receive text messages but I can’t send many so if I don’t respond it isn’t because I don’t want to talk to you 😉 I will have unlimited access to my Semester at Sea email address so that will be my primary form of communication while I’m gone. If you want that info shoot me an email through my contact page!

One of my favorite things about Semester at Sea is the emphasis they place on being a traveler not a tourist. They sent all of us students the Semester at Sea oath and asked us to take and share our photos with it. My friend Kathryn of Kathryn Elizabeth Photography and I adventured around Bismarck to snap a few photos before I left and I made sure to bring my oath, passport, and this amazing necklace my Grandpa and Grandma gave me as an encouragement to follow my dreams and make this semester abroad a reality. I also got new nerd glasses and I’m obsessed so they had to be worn. =)

There are COUNTLESS other amazing details that I would love to include in this post, but since haven’t packed a suitcase yet, so I had best get started! Here’s a quick list of other webpages pertaining to my voyage and the adventure that lies ahead:

• Detailed Voyage Itinerary
• World Odyssey Facebook Page
• Student Life at Sea
• Semester at Sea Blog

The biggest thank you of all goes to my family + friends. So many of you have been on this journey with me for almost a year as I debated whether or not I should do this and I can’t thank you enough for your support, encouragement, gifts, and advice. Many tears have been shed the past week as I visited many of you one last time before I leave for 100 whole days, but I know it will be the adventure of a lifetime and technology is great so we will be able to see each other’s faces before I come home. =)

I know I speak for Nathan and I both when I say that your thoughts and prayers are much appreciated as we begin this journey around the world. I can’t wait to share this experience with you all – I promise I’ll do my best to capture every detail! And again, if you’d like my contact info for the next 100 days shoot me a text or a quick email and I’m happy to give it to you! I’m hoping to update once more before we board our plane Tuesday evening so I’ll be sure to mention how the packing goes and snap a few photos in the process. That in itself is going to be an adventure 😉

“I, Layne, am embarking on a journey around the world. I want to explore the globe and put meaning to names on a map. Wake up in a different country every week. And explore with my own two feet. Get lost in foreign cultures and find myself. Make the world my classroom and its people my teachers. I want to sail into new waters and make waves while doing it. Lose sight of the shore. Be a traveler not a tourist.”