Crossing the Atlantic

Life aboard the MV Explorer couldn’t be better. I have met so many new friends and learned a tremendous amount in the short four days we have been at sea. Currently, we are in the middle of the Atlantic. We should be in Barcelona this time next week. We have gone through all of our orientation meetings and two full days of classes.

Sailing has really been neat! Many people have been sea sick from all the waves, but to this point, James, Trevor and I make a trio of superb sailors. It’s really fun walking up and down the halls…it’s like bumper cars especially when we hit bigger waves. Running on the elliptical has been more of a challenge…I did get to see a whale jump though when I was working out on Saturday.

As far as activities go, I got to board the ship a night early so I could meet my boss and help with the Parents reception before we left. I was given a crash course of where everything was on the ship and then got to give “campus” tours to several groups of parents. The first tour went well. The second one not so much…we ended up at the front of the ship instead of the back. It was a lot of fun though and thankfully, I now have a better idea of where everything is at.

Everyone I have met so far has been incredibly nice. The faculty and staff are great and it has been really easy to make friends. We have close to 700 students on the voyage. The guy: girl ratio is a little lopsided. About 26% of the 700 are guys…Trevor, James and I can’t really complain about that  The academic dean of the ship received his PhD from Oxford so he has been very informative. We all have had a lot of fun meeting each other. The staff are very strict about alcohol, drugs, etc. No one to my knowledge has been in any trouble yet, but we were told 3 people got sent home from the last voyage for ignoring their substance abuse policy.

Class wise, I love both of my political science classes. We have been given a lot of reading to do but I really like the books. Poverty and Politics of Development has been my favorite class so far. 20,000 people die each day due to living in poverty… It’s hard to imagine that close to half the world lives on less than $2.00/day and 1/5 of the world lives on less than $1.00/day.

The food has been much better than I expected. We have a big breakfast every morning and actually had some steaks tonight for supper. The only downer is there is not any Dr. Pepper. I will certainly be drinking a lot of that when I make it back to Lubbock.

There is definitely something peaceful about being in the middle of the ocean. We don’t have to worry about cell phones or emails out here. Attending class and meeting new people is all we have to worry about. I’m very excited about the rest of the trip and looking forward to our first stop in Barcelona. Feel free to email me at bpreeves@semesteratsea.net I have free access to that account. I will write again soon!

Cheers,
Brandon

Preparing for the trip of a lifetime

It's hard to believe how fast summer is already flying by! A 1,500 mile journey home and short stint of working on the family farm has flown by. On June 14th, two of my best friends and I will fly to the Bahamas to begin the trip of a lifetime. James Walls, Trevor White and myself are participating in a program called Semester at Sea where we will sail across the Atlantic with 750 other college students to study for the summer. We will be stopping at several ports once we reach the Mediterranean and should visit 7 countries in all. I know it probably sounds like 750 college students on a cruise ship would be trouble waiting to happen. While we will certainly enjoy the trip, the program is run by the University of Virginia and will be heavily focused on academics. We will take classes while we are sailing and then be able to explore/participate in class projects at each different port.

All of us are signed up to take 9 credit hours. We are all required to take a Global Studies course which transfers as a Art History class. The other two classes I am signed up for are political science classes titled "Freedom of Speech and Religion" and "Politics and Poverty." I was also fortunate to earn a job working for the Administrative Office on the ship during our voyage which I am very excited about.

As I begin packing and preparing for my trip, I can't help but think how blessed I am to have this opportunity to travel the world with two of my best friends. I am truly thankful for the support my parents, sister, family and friends have given me as well as Texas Tech University. I look forward to sharing all of our photos and experiences and wish I could take each one of you along!

The past couple years education has been one of my top priorities. I see this trip as a tremendous opportunity to learn more about the world and my place in it. I love learning about the roles government and religion have played in history and what role they play today. While I know I will never have all the answers, my ultimate goal is to live out the life I believe in. Right now, I believe that is solidifying my values and beliefs concerning what the roles of government and religion in society should be among other things. I can't wait for the adventure to begin :)