Let’s get real here for a moment, shall we? I’m going to tell all the things I wish I would have known before I stepped foot on the M.V. World Odyssey for the trip of a lifetime.
But before I do that, hear me say this: I survived without knowing all this and you will too. The truth is that there is nothing you can do to truly prepare for SAS because every voyage is different. However, here is my BEST attempt at helping you figure it out a little faster!
My Semester at Sea Packing list has a ton of things I learned too, so check that out!
Travel
You HAVE to be Selfish – *she said cautiously* The sooner you learn that it is YOUR trip and YOU can do what YOU want not what other people want, the better. Don’t just follow an itinerary because that is what everyone does. Take a risk, travel with new people, try something new. Just make sure you’re still being respectful of other people’s decisions and of how you handle your own.
Travel Style – You will learn right away what your travel style is like (are you a hostel or hotel person, do you like hiking or museums, etc.). Once you genuienly understand and know your style, you should find similar people to travel with. It is SO hard to travel with people who travel differently than you… someone always ends up settling with something they don’t like.
Travel With New People – I wish I would have started branching out sooner with traveling with new people, it changes the experience. Hop on travel plans that sound awesome and meet new people, it’s the best way to take advantage if what SAS is!
Planning Ahead – This is what is going to make or break your trip. This does NOT mean to plan things minute by minute. BUT it does mean having ideas on what to do in each country (places to eat, things to do, places to stay, etc.), especially knowledge of how transportation works in that country. If you don’t use it that’s okay, but I wish I would have had done a bit more research before I left (people did a lot of cool stuff because they did their research when they had the resources)!
Book Ahead – That being said about planning ahead, if there is something you REALLY want to do, book it ahead of time. Things get booked FAST with SAS students (even independent travel things) and if it is a must-do for you, don’t risk it and book further ahead. I learned this the hard way a few times…
Transportation – I wish I looked into the transportation in the countries I went to more beforehand. Ie. in Japan I spent $150 on Ubers before learning how to use the subway (which rocks) for $10 or in South Africa Ubers are cheaper and safer than taxis because they don’t know you’re foreign.
Field Programs – I wish I would have looked into a few more field programs than I did, I did 100% independent travel. I think some of the opportunities available in field programs (specifically day field programs) are incredible and I would have loved it!
The Ship
Ship Days vs. In-Port Days – You pretty much stop keeping track of actual calendar days and adopt the ‘is it a ship day or in-port day’ system. If you asked me where I was March 15 I couldn’t tell you. But I could tell you that it was probably after India and before South Africa.
Sickness & Landsickness – I didn’t realize that you (for the first couple weeks) switch between your ‘sea legs’ and ‘land legs’! The first time I found myself swaying because of my sea legs, on land, I couldn’t help but laugh. Get used to it, you’ll miss it!
Sleeping on a Ship – It’s a myth. Although even though you probably won’t get a lot of sleep on the ship, falling asleep to the movement of the waves is the BEST, there is nothing like it.
Rest Days – You don’t really get a rest day or a ‘day off’ during your trip. If you’re not hanging with friends on the ship or in class, you’re in-port. Take advantage of this as much as possible, don’t come home wishing you did something you had the opportunity to. Plus you’ll be able to sleep when necessary, trust me.
Time Changes – Get used to adjusting to a new time every other day, I was lucky on the spring voyage, meaning we went East to West, so we GAINED hours! Time on the ship is basically its own thing, you never really know what time it is because it changes so often. Fun fact: our dean changed the date of a time change so we could stream and watch the NBA Championship at 1 a.m. instead of 3 a.m.
The Crew – Get to know the crew and RESPECT THEM. I learned really quickly that not everyone will do this, but it is SO important. They do their job to keep you safe and it is important to let them do that! P.S. When you get to know the crew, they go above and beyond for you! Say hi to Ingrid, Pacheco, Lindvall, and Dexter for me!
The Pool Bar – The pool bar or library bar will be your go-to for the next four months. Don’t bank on eating PB food until you’re sick of the ship! Why? Well first, you’ll realize you spent $150 on smoothies in like a month and that’s a problem. Also, it would genuienly be tragic to get sick of ship food and PB food. You must try the breakfast sandwiches, the chicken sandwiches (drooling here), the cappuccinos, and the french fries! Oh, and ice cream cake is THE THING on the ship.
Ship Events are HUGE – Ship events like Alumni Ball, Neptune Day, and Sea Olympics are HUGE on the ship. These things are 10x more fun when you’re involved. I wish I would have known how big of a deal they were so I could have gotten more involved.
Money – I wish started keeping better track of what I was spending (and how) both on and off the ship sooner! It is easy to lose track of how much things cost when you don’t know the currency. What you think might be worth a dollar, might be twenty! Also, it is SUPER helpful to be very specific in the description and the cost when charging and paying Venmos to friends. Stay on top of what people owe you or what you owe them.
School
In-Class vs. In-Country – You will learn just as much, if not more in-country than in class. Your teachers know this and will often have a ‘debrief’ time in class, TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY. You can learn so much from other peoples experiences, don’t waste it.
Professors – You’ll get VERY comfortable with them VERY quickly. You eat with them, sit by the pool with them, work out with them, the whole shebang. Pro is that you realize how awesome your professors are, but the Con is that they know when you skip class to go to the pool.
SeaMail – Emails will only be intriguing for the first few weeks. It is actually way harder to respond to a bunch of novel-sized emails than you think. You also will realize that it is nearly impossible to condense what you’re learning into an email. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself putting off responding to emails, trust me, your family at home will be okay if you aren’t responding to 50 emails a day.
Random
Eating Healthy – It is soooooo hard to consistently eat healthy pretty much the whole voyage. First, the bread rolls I think have crack in them (its impossible not to eat them) and you get sick of the healthy options QUICK. Not to mention all of the incredible food you’re eating in country…
Water – The water on the ship is seawater that is filtered and chlorinated (there is probably more sciencey/technical terms but I don’t know them). That being said, if you have blonde hair, don’t be surprised if you start getting a slight green tint to your hair (happened ofen). I wish I would have known to watch for this before it started happening…
Adaptation – You’ll be surprised how quickly you adapt. Ie. you go from not knowing how to navigate a country to a pro in a matter of a few days or learning you can infact live without ½ the stuff you call a ‘necessity.’ I wish I would have recognized the fact that I could adapt quickly, sooner.
Sim Cards – I didn’t have any sort of data in the first 3 countries, then I used my Verizon plan for one, before learning about Sim cards. The rest of the time I just purchased Sim cards (usually $5-$10 for 10GB) which was WAY more reliable and much cheaper even if I didn’t use the whole thing.
Visas – Some Visas you have to do before you embark, but some are done in transit. That being said, know that they get charged to your shipboard account. I had no idea that this was happening and so those charges were a surprise when the first bill came!
Games – I WISH I would have known how big games (all kinds) were on the ship. People were ALWAYS playing board games (ie. Catan), card games (ie. Nertz, Dutch Blitz, Scum, Rumi), and sports games (ie. basketball, volleyball, TIPS, Thunder). I would have brought more cards/games if I knew it was so popular!
Well, I think that is all I’ve got for now! Not you know all of the things I didn’t know before I started. Let me know if there is anything else you want to know about!
Don’t forget to check the Truth About Semester at Sea or My Semester at Sea Packing list for more!
Caio,
Katelyn
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