Q & A

Summer Schedule Itinerary

Q: Where are you going?


A: I will be visiting:

• Nassau, Bahamas
• Bareclona, Spain
• Naples/Civitavecchia, Italy
• Dubrovnik, Croatia
• Athens, Greece
• Varna, Bulgaria
• Istanbul, Turkey
• Casablanca, Morocco

Q: What will you do on the ship?

A: There's gonna be a lot to do on the 600 ft cruise liner known as the MV Explorer. First and foremost, I will be taking the required minimum of three courses within the vessel's classrooms. One of them is a mandatory class called Global Studies, which will offer cultural information on the countries I will be visiting. My two other classes are Drawing and Acting. (I know, I'm really setting the bar high on this one). Thankfully I need random general ed units to fulfill my Bachelor's degree at SDSU, so I thought some easygoing creative classes would be the best move.

There will be a ton of other 'extracurricular activities' to participate in as well. There is a half basketball court on the side of the ship, as well as a pool, weight room, game room, etc. I'm definitely not worried about getting bored while sailing the 10 day journey across the Atlantic– there's gonna be about 700 other college students (including international ones) to hang out with. Awesome. 

Q: What will you do while in port?

A: What separates Semester at Sea (SAS) from other study abroad programs is that time spent in the foreign countries will be shorter, but I will be going to many more regions. I'll have about an average of 5 days in each country to rome at my leisure, so time is definitely of the essence. I do have a basic rundown of sites I want to see while in each country, but for right now it is a rough plan.

There's also pre-planned field practica run through SAS faculty that will serve as structured field trips. These include day trips from hiking to kayaking, as well as overnight trips that can last up to 4 days long. 

As of right now I haven't purchased any of these faculty-led trips, so I guess you can say I'm winging it. I like the idea of being completely spontaneous, it feels exciting. I've heard from former SASers that it's best to meet people on the ship that you like to hang out with, and that determined your independent adventures.

Spain

• Ibiza - I will be staying here for at least a night. I'll be checking out the beach/bar scenes and hit a club in the "dance music capital of the world"
• Wander down the famous boulevard known as "La Rambla"
• Visit the Gaudi Museum
• Go to a Flamenco show

Italy

• Oh man there is way too much to do in my country of roots! Venice, Rome, Florence, Pisa, Naples
• The Colosseum. I promise to stand in the middle of it and shout "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!" If you don't get this we're not friends.
• Pompeii: This has something that has interested me ever since taking history classes as a young kid. Definitely
• Pizza in Naples. Yup
• Cinque Terre. The famous national park

Croatia

• Cliff Jumping
• Kayaking

Greece

• The Acropolis
• Get a hotel in Mykonos, hopefully visit Santorini. Watch the sunsets
• Delphi?
• Try not to get stabbed in Athens

Diversity Abroad

Here is the video essay that won me the Diversity Abroad Scholarship. I was really excited to win this because winning $3,250 played a huge influence on me affording the program. The words spoken were taken from a few essays I wrote for other scholarships. I guess I felt like I needed to go above and beyond with my video since film is my passion, and I needed mine to stand out (being a white boy applying for a diversity-oriented scholarship). Haha!

I'm also proud to say that I won another scholarship for $916 through SDSU for another essay I wrote. This was awesome to find out! The funds along with my summer financial aid unfortunately won't be dispersed until mid-July, so I'll have to wait a bit. I'm hoping it comes by the time I'm in Greece =)

A Big Thank You

I'd like to start off this blog by saying thanks to a few people who helped my dream of going abroad become a reality.

Mom & Dad - Thank you so much for helping me fund and prepare for this adventure. I don't know where I would be without your love and support. Love you

Jess - You are an amazing sister and you're going to be very successful one day! I hope to visit you all the time in LA, best of luck with the new job

Grandma Eleanor - Thanks so much for your generosity in helping me afford this trip. It means the world to me and I am very thankful to have you in my life. Every time I talk to you or read a card from you it puts a smile on my face. Love you

Jeff & Marianne - I can't wait to see you in a month. It's been forever since the last time we saw each other and I can't wait. Thanks in advance for letting me stay at your place in Ft. Lauderdale! Otherwise I was about to spend 9 hours in the airport, which I would have gone insane. Thank you!