Some students just sail their way through school.
At least, that’s what Laura Fraser did last semester.
Fraser, a fourth year student at St. Thomas University, was looking for something different when she heard about an exchange program called Semester At Sea.
“I always knew I wanted to study abroad,” she said.
With several different programs available, it was difficult for Fraser to decide where to go.
Most exchanges involve students travelling to one country and staying there for a number of months. But according to Fraser, Semester At Sea isn’t your typical exchange.
“It was exciting to me to be able to circumnavigate the globe all while earning transfer credits,” she said.
Fraser was the first student from St. Thomas to participate in this program.
In just 114 days, the ship, called the MV Explorer, visited 12 countries stopping at historical ports along the way.
The Explorer was a small university, complete with classrooms, a library, professors and about 500 students.
In fact, this nautical institution is similar to Canadian universities in a lot of ways.
Students enroll in courses, go to class, and do their homework – even if it is on the deck of the ship.
Except in this program, going to class doesn’t always mean sitting in a room and listening to a lecture.
“For our field lab in our East Asia in the Modern World class, we went to China Town in Singapore to discuss how Chinese culture has influenced the people of Singapore,” she said.
For these students, experiences like this were an everyday thing.
Semester At Sea is based on experiential learning. In this style of education, students learn certain aspects of cultures, then immerse themselves in those cultures to experience what they’re learning in the classroom.
From Hawaii to England and everywhere in between, Fraser experienced a lot of different cultures during her four months abroad.
Before they embarked on their journey through Asia, Fraser and her classmates studied different styles of Buddhism.
Not long after that, she found herself in Buddhist temples in Myanmar, China and Japan meditating with monks and learning the ways of this ancient religion.
For her, that was something that made the experience so valuable. Each subject they studied in class, they got to experience first hand on field trips.
That’s because each class had a field lab component. On days when the boat was in port, the professor would take their class into cities or towns for a lesson. Whether they were taking in lectures in a hospital, or touring the streets with locals, the field trips were always an eye-opening experience.
Aside from schoolwork, students had time to travel independently. This was also a large part of Fraser’s learning experience.
“What we learned when we were off the boat travelling by ourselves is a lot different than what we would learn in a class,” she said.
When the ship docked, students were free to explore on their own. They had the choice of either returning to the ship to travel to the next port, or finding their own way by plane, train, or another means of transportation.
This is where the students did most of their travelling. While on the ship, they were often busy with homework. Fraser explains that the ship was usually in port for a few days, depending on the location.
On the first day, students would usually have to stick with their professor for a field lab. But after that, they could travel on their own or with a group of friends.
Like any university, the people who surround you shape your experience. Fraser says that different groups of people had different motivations when they were off the boat. While some wanted to find the nearest Holiday Inn and party the whole time, others were more concerned with learning about different cultures.
Lucky for her, she found friends that shared her curiosity and sense of adventure.
While travelling in South Africa, Fraser and her friends accidentally ate at a restaurant where Nelson Mandela’s Great Grandson was celebrating his birthday party.
Not only did Fraser gain academic credits, but she also learned valuable life lessons along the way.
“It’s about gaining your independence,” she said. “If things go wrong, you can’t just call your parents for help.”
But Fraser didn’t focus on things going wrong.
Perhaps the most valuable thing she learned on the voyage was how a human connection can bridge all borders and languages.
“My favourite part was talking to people and learning about their culture,” she said.
“People were eager to learn about my culture when they realized I wanted to learn about theirs. It was amazing to see how genuinely nice people were in every country.”
For more information on Semester At Sea, visit their website: http://www.semesteratsea.org
Johnny Cullen 