Post-Port Reflections of Morocco

Nancy Abbott, University of San Diego
A very popular experience for Semester at Sea Voyagers in Casablanca was the SAS-arranged dinner with a Moroccan family. Students were met by the families aboard the MV Explorer, where they took their hosts on a quick tour, and then left with them for dinner in their homes. I spoke with Nancy Abbott, a student from the University of San Diego, who relayed her experiences to me. Her group consisted of four Semester at Sea students. They were picked up by the mother of the family, Sauda ben-Moussa. Following the tour of the ship, Sauda took the students on a driving tour of the city where they were able to see the great mosque, both the new and old medina, the beach, and some of the lively parts of the city. Dinner started at around 9:00. Nancy described the house as very modern, set in a nice part of town, and comparable to an American home. The family consisted of a mother, father, a 23-year-old son, and a 25-year-old daughter and her husband. Despite the many cultural differences, such as being able to eat with your hands (which I’ve been told everyone enjoyed), Nancy said that she and her shipmates felt very comfortable and that it reminded them of being at home. The family was very interested in what was going on in the States and had a genuine appreciation for American culture and values.


Tucker Whitcomb, Cornell
Tucker was with a group that spent a night in a nomad village. He and a few friends met a Moroccan university student who was ecstatic about the opportunity of talking with American students. Their conversation ranged from politics, to history, to economics. One thing that Tucker realized were the differences between the American and Moroccan styles of education. From what he gathered by talking with this student, the Moroccan system is based much more on theory than in the U.S. For example, when the conversation turned to politics, the student did not ask about specific policies or current events, he wanted to learn what the Americans thought of the writings of Karl Marx and other political writers. For the Moroccan, “Talking to Americans was a dream come true,” according to Tucker. For the SAS students, it was a very revealing experience about life for some of their counterparts on Morocco.

SAS Student
I wasn’t able to catch the name of this student, but I really liked what she had to say. She was speaking with someone back home who asked how she could really get to experience the culture of a country. After her time in Morocco, this SAS student had her answer. While she was waiting for a bus, she sat down next to an elderly man who struck up a conversation with her. She said that it was an incredible experience and that she learned so much more about life in Morocco by just sitting at the bus stop than she ever could have learned by traveling around the country and visiting the sites.

Joshua Bernstein, University of Maine
“I want to talk about us,” Josh said as he took the microphone. He described the various places around the world that Semester at Sea Voyagers have come from, and how this group of 700+ people is now “beginning to form a family of sorts.” Faces are becoming familiar, which he described as very comforting fact when you are exploring a foreign country. “I was so happy and relieved to see family - Semester at Sea faces.” Josh recognized the turning point our community is at right now, but he also alluded to the fact that we are still in the beginnings of our journey together. He told an interesting short story to show how we need build on our great start, which I’d like to share with you.

There was a carpenter who was about to retire, but his boss asked him to build just one more house before he ended his career. The carpenter reluctantly agreed, but because he was in a rush to retire, he did not pick out the best materials as he usually did, but instead used whatever the store had. He also did not give the same level of care or attention to detail that he had always taken in his work before. The carpenter just rushed through the project as fast as he could. When the house was finished, the carpenter’s boss met him at the front door and handed him the keys – “This house is a gift to you in honor of your retirement.” The carpenter was completely taken aback. If he had known the house would have been for him, he would have put in just as much effort as he always had.

The community that we are building on the MV Explorer is ours. Every “wall” that we build, every relationship made, will contribute to a stronger and more meaningful experience for every SAS Voyager.



Photo #1 by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Dear Readers,
I just wanted to point out a new feature of the blog. You can now receive posts automatically via email by subscribing in the box to the right. I'll have some student reflections of Morocco for you tomorrow.

Article on SAS that appeared in La Voz

We're about two hours out of Morocco and on our way to Namibia. While the MV Explorer was docked in Cadiz, Spain, the ship was visited by reporters from La Voz, a Spanish newspaper. An article appeared while we were docked in Spain, which I wanted to share with you all. One of our Lifelong Learners, Rose Connolly, was able to translate it for the Voyage Blog. If you would like see the original article in Spanish, please click here.

“The Floating Campus Arrives in Cadiz”
by Miguel D. Garcia
La Voz, 01/29/2009

More than a school ship, the cruiser “Explorer” that arrived in Cadiz’s port yesterday could be called an academic ship or a campus on the water. However, the passengers are not on vacation and did not arrive in our city as just tourists. Though it may look like a tourist cruise liner from the outside, inside it is an authentic college campus – an academic program of the University of Virginia in the U.S. Classes are held on ship in between ports – more than 12 in all, and so they begin in Cadiz.

On board, 727 university students (mostly from the U.S.) learn about new cultures, take classes, work and study. The ship, originally built to be a commercial cruise liner, has been remodeled with classrooms and a library, which was formerly a casino.

On the ship, classes range from music to history and sociology, and “except for the rocking of the ocean, the classes are the same as on land,” says Leslie, a marketing student who appreciates the opportunity to “travel without getting behind on classes.”

The World in 108 Days

The only education program of its kind, Semester at Sea, though actually only a trimester (108 days) during which they visit 13 ports around the world, including Casablanca (Morocco), Port Louis (Mauritius), Bangkok (Thailand), Hong Kong and Shanghai (China), Yokohama (Japan) and Honolulu (Hawaii).

Cadiz was the first stop since their departure 10 days ago from Nassau (in the Bahamas) and will conclude in Florida, in its return to the U.S.

Cadiz is also their only European stop, although a number of the students left the port city to travel to Seville, Granada, Barcelona, or Madrid while the ship remained in Cadiz. (On January 31st, the ship leaves for Morocco)

“Cadiz is a great port city,” explains Les McCabe, the Executive Dean of the program and President of ISE (Institute for Shipboard Education), which organizes the voyage in conjunction with the University of Virginia. ISE created the unique formula of sea travel with classes, and has led trips around the world for over 45 years. The University, for their part, offers their reputation and professors.

The students, in contrast, come from universities all over the U.S. and other countries (China, Mexico, Canada…). While there are no Spaniards aboard, “We’d love to have them,” affirms Les McCabe, who sends along the message, “We hope to have students from a Spanish University,” like the University of Cadiz.

Of course, the voyage is not free. In times of such economic crisis, it may seem expensive, $24,000, however it is all inclusive.

Yesterday, many of the 727 students toured the streets of Cadiz with professors and local guides, visiting the Cathedral, the playhouse, and the Plaza of Spain…(of course, it will be on their exams) They also toured the Central Market, the Plaza of Flowers and the winding ancient streets to, “observe typical Spanish life,” which students commented was, “surprising,” and “full of differences from the U.S.”

Molly Abelman, a history student from California, noted with surprise that for example, “The population takes their time and also talks very close to other people.” “I was fascinated with the buildings, they are so precious and full of history,” adds Maine Saole, a student of psychology. Deirdre Bird, a faculty member adds, “I’m impressed with the monument for the constitution,” coming from someone from a country with the first constitution. She also feels, “This is such an enlightening voyage and unique experience, especially for the students.”


Photos by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Semester at Sea Academics

The past two weeks have flown by in a blur. Today, I just stopped for a moment to try and take it all in. My pre-SAS life seems worlds away. It’s hard to believe that three weeks ago, I was wrapping up a job in Washington, DC and since then, I have crossed the Atlantic, traveled through Spain, and I am currently in Morocco with the rest of the Semester at Sea community and we still have ten port visits ahead of us! With all of the excitement of travel and shipboard activities though, especially in the first weeks of the program, it can be easy for those not on the ship to forget about the most important part of Semester at Sea – the academic program.

Over the past few weeks, you have heard a lot about the community aboard the MV Explorer and have been able to take a look at a number of events that Voyagers shared together in the early stages of the semester. It has been difficult to showcase our academics though in the opening weeks of the voyage because classes were just beginning and were still in their introductory phase. However, when the students return from Morocco, things will really be in full swing and I hope to be able to introduce you to some of our professors and tell you a little bit about what some of our classes are working on.

I thought it would be good to start off, however, with an introduction to the overall academic theme of the voyage, Migrations, and our Academic Dean, Professor Reg Garrett. Reg is a Professor of Biology at the University of Virginia. He received his Ph.D. in Biology at the Johns Hopkins University in 1968 and joined the faculty at the University of Virginia later that year. In 1975, he was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in Vienna, Austria, and in 1976, a visiting scientist in the Department of Genetics, Cambridge University (U.K.). In 1983, Professor Garrett returned to Cambridge and the Department of Genetics as a Thomas Jefferson Visiting Fellow in Downing College and in 2003, he was Professeur Invité at the University of Toulouse (France) and the CNRS Institute of Pharmacology and Structural Biology.

These experiences abroad had a profound affect on Reg. They helped to shape his support for study abroad programs and his interest in making them available to science students. However, he did not become personally involved with Semester at Sea until the spring of 2007. At that time, Reg served as the head of the UVA Academic Advisory Committee, which reviews all UVA academic programs, and he was urged by UVA provost Gene Bloch to take a look at Semester at Sea. Upon visiting the ship and seeing what it had to offer, he was extremely impressed. In his own words, “I fell in love with this ship. The crew was extremely professional and the ISE staff were engaged, committed, and willing to move in new directions.”

Reg was offered and then accepted the position of Academic Dean for this semester’s voyage, and he began preparations early on to implement some of his academic aims, such as bringing science courses to non-science majors and creating study abroad opportunities for science majors. To that effect, the Spring 2009 academic program includes required courses for science majors so that they can enjoy the exceptional opportunities presented by Semester at Sea and maintain satisfactory progress towards their degree requirements. The theme of the voyage is Migrations. It’s science based but really runs across all academic disciplines. According to Reg, it deals mainly with the early story of human dispersion but the courses also address a number of contemporary problems that relate to Migrations.

In our floating campus, Semester at Sea Voyagers can actually observe firsthand the courses of migrations and the modern ramifications that manifest themselves in contemporary religions, politics, and cultures. Through their field studies, which account for 20% of their grades, students will compare and contrast what they observe and bring their experiences back with them to the ship and analyze them. As Reg said to me when discussing the innate value of Semester at Sea in comparison to other study abroad options, “SAS offers a comparative advantage not seen elsewhere and through the breadth of the academic program, students gain depth in their understanding of the global world.”


Photos by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Reactions to Spain

I’ve had the opportunity to sit down with a number of students since our departure from Spain. Some spent all of their time in Cadiz, others took small trips to Sevilla, Cordoba, and Grenada, and others traveled as far as Madrid and Barcelona. Wherever you went, it seemed like you were bumping into fellow Voyagers everywhere. One great aspect of the trips that many students remarked about was how they were able to relate their travels to what they had been studying in class. Elyssa Tanenbaum, a student from the University of Florida, who is in a Military Force class, is studying different military forts that she comes across during her port visits. In Barcelona, she was able to spend some time at Castell de Montjuic, a fort that has played a prominent role in a number of military engagements. Rebecca Bressler, a student at Penn State enrolled in a World Religions course, chose to study the many churches that she was able to see in Cadiz and Sevilla and is looking forward to being able to compare and contrast them with the places of worship that she encounters in Morocco.


Below is a new feature of the blog. Periodically, we will have students post their own writings and reactions to events on the ship and experiences in port.


Guest Blogger: Greg Lessans, a University of Maryland student aboard Semester at Sea talking about his experiences in Spain

I was asked by the videographer of our voyage a question the very first day of SAS. I was literally unloading my bags from the taxi and Jerry ran at me with a camera rolling:

“So why did you choose SAS over a traditional study abroad program?” Jerry asked.

It hit me like a ton of bricks, and I wasn’t sure of my response. I fumbled out some line I had read in a brochure somewhere, and hopped in line to board the ship. Now, with one country behind me, I’m more sure of my answer. I’ll be much more sure in three more months, but, now I have an idea.

I had studied Spanish my entire career in high school and for a semester in college. I figured I had a pretty good handle on Spain’s culture and history. So I was shocked when, throughout global studies class across the Atlantic Ocean, I heard things for the first time. Like how Spain was a dictatorship less than three decades ago, or how they transitioned to a functioning democracy in less than one. We learned about the culture, the people, the customs and the traditions of Spain, and by the time we were a day away from Cadiz, I felt like I knew the country inside and out. The ship was bustling with excitement as Spain came over the horizon (it had been a long 9 days without any land in sight), and it was an unforgettable feeling descending the gangway to Spanish soil.

In my time in Spain, the things that we learned through classes, interport lecturers and pre-port meetings came to life. I spent a day in the local southern town of Cadiz, rich with Roman architecture and Spanish reforms. There, my friends and I investigated (and enjoyed) important delicatessens that we learned about like Bocadillos and Churros con Chocolate. All the while, we struggled to make conversation with locals who were always happy to talk to us. The culture I had longed to meet in person for the past 10 years was finally laid out in front of me.

We boarded a train the next morning and headed to Madrid, the cultural and political capital of the Spanish people. One of the most fascinating things we experienced was the difference in time. EVERYTHING was later. Businesses opened in the late morning before closing for siesta. They reopen in the late afternoon, and dinner isn’t until late, late at night - the restaurants don’t even open until 10 or 11 at night most of the time.

We took a great tour of Madrid on our third day in Spain and saw all the sights to see. Our tour guide, a 28-year-old Spanish local could not have been nicer. I took the entire time to ask him about politics, and the real-life living situation in Spain. I required that he speak to me in Spanish and by the end of the day, I had most of my years in Spanish coming back to me. It was wonderful. The relationship that we created with him was real, and we had lunch with him and was even invited to his birthday party that night.

After returning to Cadiz and our floating campus, the shipboard community has rejoined in the multiple stories and experiences each of us bring back with us. “I went to Barcelona,” a friend tells me, “I went to Sevilla,” says another. Stories of soccer games and ancient castles abound, and through each other, we all experience even more.

Mostly, I feel I can answer Jerry’s question to some small degree. The combination of learning about each individual culture and then seeing it in real life is the most amazing education we could ask for. It’s the equivalent of an elementary school field trip to the zoo after a unit on animals, multiplied times infinity. The truth is, we as humans can only learn so much from books and lectures. It’s the promise of seeing it with your own two eyes after those lectures that make everything real.

As we continue to Morocco, I know that pretty soon an entire new dimension will be added to our journey, the ability to compare. Determining the similarities and differences between each culture on our itinerary is truly a gift that simply doesn’t exist in traditional study-abroad opportunities. Now, with 1 out of 12 countries completed, we can feel that something big is on our horizon, something much larger than any of us.

But it’s true; you can only compare one thing at a time. Tomorrow, it’s Morocco.

Thanks for reading,
Greg

Meet Jack Rusenko

Welcome back to the SAS Voyage Blog. Sorry it has been a few days since the last post but it will probably be difficult to put up new stories while we are in port. The MV Explorer is currently right off the Rock of Gibraltar, just a bit behind schedule as we were unable to refuel earlier today. We are going to give it another try tomorrow morning and we will be on our way to Casablanca as soon as possible. I will be updating the SAS Twitter Account with more real time updates so if you are not a subscriber to that yet, please visit us here.

Today was Morocco Day aboard the ship. Voyagers participated in an extended Global Studies session this morning as well as special classes during the day that focused on Morocco and travel in general. We capped off the evening with our logistical pre-port and upon our arrival in Casablanca, we will receive our diplomatic briefing that will focus on the current political situation in the country and detailed advice for the places Voyagers may be traveling to.

As I explained in an earlier post, an interport lecturer always sails with us to our next destination to help contribute to the academic and cultural presentations given on the next port. Jack Rusenko, our expert-in-residence for Morocco has been a part of Semester at Sea’s visits to Morocco for a number of years.


In Morocco, Jack serves as President of Global Education and President of the George Washington Academy, a K-12 school with American accreditation that serves the area of Casablanca. There are about 500 students, composed of children from Morocco, the United States, and about two dozen other countries.

His first contact with SAS came in 1994. At the time, he was working with Global Education, to help bring and expand the Internet in Morocco. While the ship was in port in Casablanca, Jack became acquainted with the Executive Dean (coincidentally, it was Les McCabe, the current Executive Dean and President of the Institute for Shipboard Education) and he officially joined SAS as an interport lecturer in a 1995 voyage to Morocco. This is Jack’s fourth time participating in an SAS voyage in that capacity.

A lot of his work is aimed at trying to bridge the Arab and Western cultural divide and in his opinion, “it will never be overcome unless significant numbers of people from the two cultures meet each other.” As a truly global campus, Semester at Sea is uniquely able to introduce Voyagers to peoples and cultures around the world, and the impact is felt by both Voyagers and those that they encounter. When I asked Jack about the tangible results that a Semester at Sea visit can have, he told me about some of the Moroccan students that have traveled with him as interport students on previous SAS voyages. Two became Fulbright Scholars, one is now an official with the World Bank, and another is working his way up the diplomatic ranks in Morocco, and they have all pointed to SAS as a positive contributor to their respective global educations and something that continues to have a positive impact on them.

Please check back in tomorrow for some student reactions to their time in Spain as well as an interview with Professor Reg Garrett, our Academic Dean.


Photo #2 by SAS Photographer John Weakley