You' just won't get it, unless you've done it.

Amazing

I have been in half of the worlds oceans.

I have been to 4 out of 7 continents

And I have been to 16 different countries, 10 of which I visited for the first time with semester at sea.

I have stood in all 4 hemispheres of the globe at one time

I’ve kissed a fish and eaten chicken heart

I’ve seen poverty and wealth beyond what I could imagine

And I’ve seen happiness overcome many obstacles

I’ve travelled the route of the slave trade

I’ve been to the slave castles and dungeons of Ghana

I’ve travelled in a cruise ship up the Amazon River! Yes the A-m-a-zon (think finding nemo)

I’ve been to Universal Studios Leavensden, where ALL the harry potter movies were filmed.

I’ve had the worlds best waffles, chocolate and fries all in one country I never dreamed of going to

I’ve watched my friends make new friends with pirates from Sweden in Portugal

I’ve seen 1000 dolphins jump at once in the strait of Gibraltar

I’ve been sun bathing on a black sand beach at the base of an active volcano on an Island I didn’t know existed.

I’ve watched the sun rise and set on Table Mountain in Cape Town South Africa

I went to a Japanese garden in Argentina where the people spoke, Spanish, English, Japanese and French, maybe even a little Portuguese as well.

And I watched President Barack Obama get re-elected for his 2^nd term in a hotel in Uruguay on Maldonado street (my mother's maiden name is Maldonado)

I got blisters the size of quarters in Rio 

And I’ve sunk my feet into the sugar like sand of Ipanema beach

I’ve seen the meeting of the waters on the Amazon, WHICH YOU CAN SEE FROM SPACE!

I’ve held a baby sloth, regretted it and learned

I’ve hiked to a waterfall in Dominica

I mourned the loss of a friend I never got the chance to know, Casey

And I have been elated to have cell phone service again!

But most importantly, I have lived.

Before leaving for Semester at Sea I felt like I had never done anything important or spectacular in my life. I took the easy route, and I doubted myself all the time. 

“You’re not good enough for that. You could never do that!”

I took a step back and realized I have done some great things and I should be proud of who I am regardless of any recognition I get or don’t. My life is amazing and it will continue to be because I choose for it to be grand. 

Casey

You never think it will be you.

You hear stories about stuff like this happening, but you never think it
will happen.

Today, in our last port of call, Casey Schulman, a student, lost her life.

She was my neighbor and I had done lip synch with her. I didn't know her well,
but she always gave me a smile when we passed each other in the halls.

Ya know Dean John said at the beginning of the voyage that we would all
make it back to Florida. Now, we're not.

I went upstairs to deck 6 to see who was on the ship. Then my friend
Lindsy came over and said have you heard about what happened?
I hadn't
Then she told me what happened
And then I heard the chorus of crying coming from the Union. I had no
doubts that what she was telling me was true.
I was in a state of shock for almost 10 minutes. Then I started seeing
people come out of the Union. How devastated they were. The cries you
give only when someone you love has died.
Lindsy left me
I sat down
And then my tears started flowing too.

It was like someone had just smacked me in the face with a gauntlet. Complete shock and pain.

Just that morning I had been thinking about how wonder life and this
trip is. I was so incredibly happy. Now it doesn't seem real.
This isn't how it's supposed to end!

I don't know what to say.

The ship is almost silent.

Perhaps that's what I should do. Reflect and mourn in silence.
Laughing certainly doesn't seem right, but I have no more tears to shed,
and all of the usual activities don't seem right either.

What should I do?!

What can I do?

Pray and then sleep. Tomorrow can come sooner then. We can have our
memorial then and we will have more answer then.

I guess it's time to go home and hug our loved ones just a little
tighter than usual


Below is a message from Semester at Sea President Les McCabe on the
accident.

http://www.semesteratsea.org/2012/12/01/statement-from-president-les-mccabe-on-death-of-fall-2012-semester-at-sea-participant/