Below are two articles that appeared in the Namibian press covering our visit to Walvis Bay. In separate posts tonight and tomorrow morning, I'll be giving detailed accounts of some of the Voyagers experiences there and in South Africa.
Semester at Sea to visit Walvis Bay
Friday, 13 February 2009 10:55Link to Article
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - The world’s original shipboard programme for study abroad - Semester at Sea - will sail into Walvis Bay the morning of 14 February for a three-day visit. Over 700 students from more than 230 universities will disembark to participate in varying service projects, learn about Namibian culture, and visit sites across the country.
Established in 1963, Semester at Sea is defined by its long-term commitment to global education. The program uses a ship as its academic campus, fully circumnavigating the globe each fall and spring semester, and exploring a particular region each summer. Participants take a full load of classes aboard ship, interspersing classroom learning with hands-on exchange, fieldwork, and service learning in 8-12 international ports each voyage. The University of Virginia serves as academic sponsor, appointing the majority of faculty, overseeing curricula, and providing transferable credit to participants.
Throughout its groundbreaking history, Semester at Sea participants have met with world leaders including Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev, Mother Teresa, Fidel Castro, and Arthur C. Clarke and alumni include Cynthia Nixon, Ray Liotta, and Joan Lunden, among others. Archbishop Tutu sailed around the world with the program in spring 2007 as Distinguished Lecturer in Residence, lecturing in classes and living in close contact with the shipboard community. To date, more than 45 000 alumni from approximately 1 500 different institutions have studied and travelled to 60 countries with Semester at Sea and its predecessor programs.
Namibia will be this semester’s third destination after setting sail from Nassau, Bahamas on January 19 and making port stops in Cadiz, Spain and Casablanca, Morocco. The complete voyage will last 108 days, visiting 13 ports in 11 different countries.
The MV Explorer will arrive in Walvis Bay at about 0800 on Saturday and depart at approximately 2000 on Monday.
Semester at Sea Voyagers will have the opportunity to participate in a number of field programmes that range from exploring Swakopmund, sight-seeing Lüderitz and the wild horses of the Namib, observing the environmental and geological wonders of the Namib, and spending time with the Ovahimba Tribe in their kraal.
Semester at Sea adds spice to studying abroad
Written by Lienette Goosen
Friday, 20 February 2009 08:39
Link to Article
The world’s original shipboard programme for study abroad - Semester at Sea - harboured in Walvis Bay last week for the Spring 2009 voyage.
Semester at Sea represents a unique study abroad programme and since the inception of shipboard education 45 years ago, this it the second time round that Namibia is one of the several destinations of a global tour of 100 to 120 days. There is no doubt that the MV Explorer offers exceptional educational facilities. This programme is further enhanced by the educational expertise of the University of Virginia as the academic sponsor.
Around the world these students go. But what makes their world go spinning around and gets “awesome” from a generation with technology at their fingertips? Michael Sene (21) from Pleasanton, California, studies at the University of California in Irvine. This Business Economics Major can’t help but compare Namibia’s safety with the other countries they have visited already.
“Namibia is the biggest, most pleasant and unexpected surprise since the start of the tour. It is much safer than I expected and by far safer than, for instance, Morocco. You can say this tour is like a bouquet with a wide variety,” he said.
On visiting Namibia, Sene said: “I truly was impressed with the country and am extremely pleased that the programme [Semester at Sea] has decided to stop here (seeing how this is the 2nd time over the past year). The country appeared to have very high potential for social, political, and economic growth. The people were extremely friendly in my entire journey to the North in Opuwa. I have always wanted to visit a native tribe that still lives in an identical manner that their ancestors lived over one hundred years ago. I got to do this on Namibia through a Semester at Sea program and it was amazing and eye-opening.”
How does he see the economic potential of Namibia? “To touch on the economics of Namibia, as a student looking to enter into international business, I’ve been keeping an open eye in all our stops for countries that have potential for future ventures and investments. Namibia has definitely been put at the top of my list. Our schools are constantly focused with the exponential growth of China, India, and to a lesser consent Brazil. But African countries are rarely mentioned. I am glad our trip got rerouted around the Cape (due to the Somalian Pirate situation) because I got to experience parts of Africa that I might have never set foot on if it was not for the program. I could see myself one day coming back to Namibia someday for business purposes.”
The Semester at Sea programme gets a definite ‘yes’ from Sene. “I would definitely encourage students to sign up for Semester at Sea and have been doing that even abroad. They are trying their best to recruit students outside of the United States, and the internationals students are growing. For the most part, it’s all US students and I have many friends at home that are already in the application stages for future voyages. This program can really only be explained through experiencing it yourself. The shipboard life rivals any college campus and the student body is such a diverse group of people. And to top it all, we’re going around the world and that alone makes this voyage a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“Travelling for sure! I love travelling,” says Lexi Bosee. She is from Danen, Connecticut, and is majoring in psychology at the Stetson University. “I have experienced and saw things I have never seen before. I felt as if I have become a world citizen. An experience like this, noticing the cross-cultural differences, also make you change as a person. For the first time I can relate to what it means to live in the countries we visited so far.”
Asked if the economic crises of the world were visible, she indicated that they cannot go unnoticed. “Obviously we feel it too.” What did she have to say about Namibia? “It is beautiful. The country has so much to offer. Tourism can be expanded on a much greater scale.” Would she consider coming and making a living here? “I really don’t know. It’s hard to say. It’s very far away from home.”
The programme is open for students from all over the world. More information is available at www.semesteratsea.org.
Posts
