Column: Finally at Sea

A few days ago, I didn’t think I would be able to attend my Semester At Sea program, or even make it on the ship, due to the Consulate General of Brazil. Although my visa had been submitted to the Consulate long before it was due, political problems, pressure from the travel agency and false promises about how long it would take, kept me from getting to the Bahamas on time.

After three days in Fort Lauderdale, waiting and wishing for a quick release, the ship ended up waiting for all 10 students who had visa problems.

It cost $25,000 to hold the boat and keep it running at the dock for a day, and I have never felt like such a VIP before in my life.

Because the Dean of Students was among the VIP voyagers who did not receive their papers, the Semester At Sea crew was willing to make the financial sacrifices to get us on the ship. We ended up getting new passports and boarded the last flight to the Bahamas, ready to meet the ship before it took off.

Now I’m on board, and I could not be happier. The Semester At Sea ship, the MV Explorer, is the fastest traveling boat of its kind and is able to travel fast enough to get us to our first port at Rousseau, Dominica on time. The ship’s maximum cruising speed is 28 knots, and we have gone about 21 nautical miles every hour.

With 800 of us wobbling around like a morning after Kilroys Sports Bar, we are all waiting to get our sea legs and get used to the motion of the ocean. The views are incredible, and my favorite part has been watching the sunrise and sunset from the ship’s dock, making me feel more brilliant than Rose from Titanic — before the whole iceberg incident, of course.

With about 500 students on board, residents represent the multifarious interests from numerous colleges on the map. This community’s diversity brings a new kind of friendliness and thrill that keeps me pumped, regardless of the boat’s non-stop rock.

Along with the wiggling and wobbling, getting used to life on the ship has been a sweet suite life. And no worries, IU, with five of us from Bloomington, we established an IU crew, and everyone on board is already aware that we boss around the Big Ten and do it better than any other campus.

Cruisin’ through the Caribbean, we are following the waves of Columbus and will arrive in Dominica just in time to watch the ship reach Monday morning’s port. I am ecstatic to experience my first port, famous for its fantastic rainforests with a population of Carib indigenous people, and start marking up my passport.

Finally, I am on a boat! With love, from the deep blue sea, and ready to hop out in Dominica tomorrow.

­— espitzer@indiana.edu