Semester at sea ends

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Young adults often sing the praises of attending college away from home, and Margate, Fla., resident Jeanly Louis just returned from 100 days of studying about as far from home as he could get.\n"We spent time in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Saigon, Malaysia, India, Kenya, South Africa, Brazil and Havana," said Louis, 21, who sailed into Port Everglades last week after a whirlwind cruise around the globe aboard the SS Universe Explorer. "I've seen so much in the past 100 days, there's no way I'll ever be the person I was when I left."\nLouis, an economics major at the University of Pittsburgh ended his journey along with 600 other college students from around the country who participated in the 38-year-old Semester at Sea program.\nThe world-weary students, hauling heaps of luggage and massive souvenirs such as drums and carved wooden animals, fell into the welcoming arms of family and friends from around the country.\n"We're glad he's back home again," said Jean Louis, Jeanly's father. "This was an incredible growth experience for him."\nThree times a year, the Universe Explorer plies the oceans of the world, allowing students a chance to study their normal classes on board while also participating in a comparative global studies program in which they learn about culture and language first hand. \nThis can include anything from overnight stays with families in Bombay to nights in the African bush with Masai tribesmen. Semester at Sea students also undertake community service projects in their ports of call.\n"The world today is much smaller than it used to be," said John Tymitz, the CEO of the Institute of Shipboard Education, which organizes the program for the University of Pittsburgh. "We want them to use this experience to compare the cultures of the world from a variety of perspectives."\nDepending on accommodations students pay between $14,675-$15,275 per semester. Students who receive financial aid from their regular college or university can usually apply it to the Semester at Sea program, which also offers need-based assistance. \nThe 600 undergraduates are joined each session by about 30 senior citizen students and 65 faculty and staff. Students can choose from 75 undergraduate classes on the ship. Guest lecturers have included the Archbishop Desmond Tutu and author Arthur C. Clarke.\nHallandale Beach, Fla., retiree Martin Zafman has been on seven Semester at Sea cruises.\n"The college kids get homesick and lonely. Sometimes they're thinking about a boyfriend or girlfriend they left behind, so we try to form little families so everyone has someone to talk to," Zafman said. "But usually we're all having too much fun to worry."\nThe 23,500-ton cruise ship was retrofitted in 1996 to include classrooms, a closed-circuit television network, library, movie theater, student union and dining rooms. The floating university also includes a fitness center, swimming pool and a basketball and volleyball court.\nIn their 3- to 7-day ports of call, students can arrange group tours, travel on their own, stay with local families and see the sights at will, as long as they fulfill requirements for their cultural classes.\nSometimes the intrigue of foreign politics comes a little too close to home. The ship sailed from Mombasa, Kenya, just two days before terrorist attacks killed 16 in the African port city on Nov. 28.\n"It's difficult to explain a lot of the disparities you see between industrialized and developing countries," said the just-returned Louis. "It really changes your perspective"