And it ends with a THANKS...

Dear Mom and Dad,

How do I even begin to Thank You for giving me the opportunity to travel the world? Words truly cannot express what this journey has meant to me. My hope is that through my blogs, stories, pictures, friends, and somewhere in-between you have seen what an impact this has made on my life.

Semester at Sea has opened up my eyes to the world around me. I have come away with a much stronger sense of who I am and who I want to become.

In Japan, I was immediately drawn to a map hanging on the wall in the hotel lobby. My first instinct was, “why is this map drawn incorrectly.” As I began to take a closer examination, I realized that it was 100% accurate, however it was just drawn from a different point of view. This “aha moment” best summarizes much of my experience on Semester at Sea, I learned that as a world community we all see things through entirely different perspectives, and it is important to appreciate this difference of opinion as this makes us who we are.

Take a closer look at this map... notice anything different?

As I am sure you recall, a major reason I chose to see the world was because of Grandfather. In every country I visited, I felt Grandfather’s presents as I learned about a new culture or tried a customary food--- in some, I could feel his jealousy as I reached a place he had never had the opportunity to explore ;) It just so happens that the “travel bug” appears to be a gene that has been passed down; this is your warning that Semester at Sea is only beginning of my passion to see the world! I can’t wait to continue to travel and know that I can thank Grandfather for sparking this curiosity.

And with that, I present the project that I have worked on throughout my voyage. In each country I took a picture with one word at a significant place that we traveled…

Thanks- Amazon, Brazil 

For- Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 

Giving- Cape Coast, Ghana

Me- Cape of Good Hope, South Africa 

The- The Taj Mahal, India 

World- Marina Bay Sands Hotel, Singapore 

Now- Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam 

It’s- Hong Kong 

Your- The Great Wall, China  

Turn- Shanghai, China 

To- Philosopher’s Path, Japan 

Explore- Hilo, Hawaii 

Incase you didn’t understand all that, the final product reads: Thanks For Giving Me The World Now It’s Your Turn To Explore. And the final product looks like this: