A Belated Happy Birthday

Although I’m a few weeks late, I’d like to wish Charles Darwin a belated happy birthday. Semester at Sea Voyagers spent yesterday in Mauritius, which was one of Darwin’s stops on his five-year circumnavigation of the globe aboard the HMS Beagle. During that time, a young Darwin, who was a recent graduate and just a few years older than most of the students aboard the MV Explorer, made the observations that would become the foundation for this evolutionary theory. Darwin then went from Mauritius to spend a few weeks in Cape Town, our previous port of call. Although that is the extent of our shared itinerary, the themes of our voyages, separated by about 178 years, are very similar.

Both Darwin and the students of Semester at Sea set out on a worldwide journey of discovery and academic pursuit. As our own Voyagers seek to compare the countries and people that we encounter to gain a better globalized perspective of the world, so too did Darwin build upon his findings in each stop that he made and compare the results to build a greater unified theory.

Our voyage’s academic theme, Migrations, also finds common ground with Darwin. Our Academic Dean, Reg Garrett, wrote the following in a letter to Voyagers. “As we travel, we will consider the myriad consequences following upon the early migration of humans out of Africa and their dispersal to all corners of the globe…we will see how migration has influenced art, music, language, culture, social structure, economics, history, and politics.” All of these facets of society are constantly evolving and in an ever-shrinking world, migrations play a fundamental role in the global exchange of ideas. So, we say thank you to Charles Darwin for making that not only evolutionary, but also revolutionary voyage so long ago, and wish him a happy birthday.




Photos by SAS Photographer John Weakley

MICE

One of the most unique classes I have come across so far is Professor Matthew Burtner’s (for full bio, click here) Mobile Interactive Computer Ensemble. When I first saw the signs for a MICE show to be held outside on Deck 7 of the MV Explorer, I went not knowing what to expect. To be honest, even after seeing the show, I still had no idea what was actually happening on stage.

Last night, Matthew and his class gave a great presentation though, which cleared a lot of this up for me. MICE, which is a program that Matthew also runs at UVa, focuses on Interactive Acoustic Ecologies. In essence, he and his students are able to harness the natural world to make music. Originally from Alaska, it was Matthew’s home growing up that inspired him to fuse together nature with music.

How does one “play” the wind? Sand? The students of MICE know how. The technology that they use to achieve this is truly impressive. The special microphones and computer software, which they themselves have written, allows the MICE students to directly capture and input the sounds of nature to the computer, allowing them to then “own” the sound, synthesizing it with musical instruments or other acoustics and enabling the MICE to change the pitch and tone of all of the inputs instantaneously. Justin Thompson, a student from University of Vermont, remarked that the course is “completely unconventional for any kind of music you could think of and it opened my mind up to all of these natural elements being music.”

The process is basically as follows. After capturing the sounds of nature, as they did on board the ship by placing a special microphone in the wind and in Namibia by burying special microphones beneath the sand, the sound is then sent to a computer. Acoustic instruments are also added in and the students manning the computers filter the sound and using their self-designed software, which can interpret their movements and gestures, meld it together. Then, other members of MICE, using “instruments” like a percussion control, can add beats and melodies to further control the sound.


This course really allows students to use music to connect with the environment around them. In the words of Andy Goldsworthy, a British artist who produces art in natural and environmental settings, “You feel as if you have touched the heart of the place.” The students of MICE 2009 have staged concerts on board the MV Explorer, in the middle of the Namibian desert, gave a show at the Cape Town waterfront and the team has announced that an underwater show, utilizing the sounds emanating from the ship’s pool, is in the near future.


Photos #1,2, and 3 by SAS Photographer John Weakley

Namibian Choir Greets SAS

Below is a video of the Namibian choir that greeted Semester at Sea Voyagers upon our arrival in Walvis Bay.



Their visit to the MV Explorer brought a smile to all of our faces. After they had finished singing, the girls came aboard for brunch and met with students. One SAS student, Audrey, described her experience with the girls. After talking and playing with them, Audrey and her friends decided to give little gifts to the girls. They had planned ahead and had little things like stickers and pens in their rooms. The Namibian girls were so excited and asked if they could come down with the SAS students to see their rooms. Audrey described the Namibian girls' excitement and amusement over seeing new things, like contact lenses and crayons. A few of the girls asked Audrey if they could have the pictures she had up on her wall of her friends and family. One of the Namibian girls told Audrey that she wanted a picture of her family because she, "wasn't used to seeing a family together." There was one girl left though, and Audrey was out of gifts. She was trying to think of what she could give this Namibian girl and then an idea hit her. She ran to her closet and took out the dress that she had brought along for the Ambassador's Ball, which will be held towards the end of the voyage. The Namibian girl's eyes lit up. "For me?" she asked. Audrey smiled and answered yes and presented her with the dress.

This is one of the instances where I know that Semester at Sea students were able to make an impact on the lives of people they met in their journey, which is something we always hope for as we meet people around the world who touch us so deeply.


Video created by SAS Staff Video Producer, Jerry Pratt

Visiting the Ovahimba Tribe

One of the most unique field trips offered during our time in Namibia was a visit to the Ovahimba Tribe in their native kraal (village). Voyagers were flown from Walvis Bay to Opuwo in the northwest corner of the country where the tribe is located. The next morning, accompanied by a guide and translator, the group arrived at the kraal.

One Voyager described the experience as “like walking into the cover of National Geographic Magazine.” The Ovahimbas live a life that is for the most part secluded and untouched by modern society, and therefore have retained a mostly traditional lifestyle. The tribe breeds cattle and goats for sustenance. It is a very harsh natural environment though. To protect themselves from the sun, women cover their whole bodies with a red mixture of butter fat, ochre, and herbs.

One of the Semester at Sea Voyagers to visit the Ovahimba kraal was Marjorie Seawell, a lifelong learner on board for her third voyage. She shared her experience in Opuwo with the community at post-port reflection. “I knew that when I chose to go on this trip, I would be confronted with otherness.” The marked differences between their lives and ours truly struck her. However, Marjorie also found the commonalities that bind us all together. A retired labor and delivery nurse as well as a grandmother of thirteen, Marjorie is a real baby lover. When she saw the Ovahimba mothers with their babies, “it looked the same as me with my kids, and them with their kids. I felt a bond, a sisterhood, mom to mom, grandmother to grandmother…we have relationships of love and caring in our families that are the same in Denver, Colorado as a remote corner of Namibia.”

Articles On Our Visit to Namibia

Sorry for the long break in posts. We had a great five days in South Africa and we are now on our way to Port Louis, Mauritius. There was a delay in leaving Cape Town due to some wind outside of the harbor but we pulled out this morning with no problems and we will be able to make up the lost time and arrive in Mauritius on schedule. For new readers, I just wanted to let you know that while I post to the blog about every day we are on the ship, I also send out short quick updates throughout the day that you can access and follow at http://twitter.com/SAS_spring09.

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 10:55
Link 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.