Semester at sea alters student’s perspective

Below is an article that was published in the Town Journal (NorthJersey.com) about my experience. Thank you so much to those who read my posts and shared in my journey with me. It meant "the world" (pun intended) to me.

Semester at sea alters student’s perspective
Thursday, June 3, 2010
LAST UPDATED: THURSDAY JUNE 3, 2010, 1:23 AM
BY REBECCA GREENE
TOWN JOURNAL
FOR TOWN JOURNAL

Classrooms can come in many different shapes and sizes, ranging from the traditional four walls to the rocking of a cruise ship. Allendale resident Kelly Corcoran decided upon the latter during her recent semester abroad.


PHOTO COURTESY OF KELLY CORCORAN
During her semester at sea, Allendale resident Kelly Corcoran visited eight different countries, where she was taught local customs firsthand by the residents. Corcoran also helped entertain the ship's other passengers by serving as a yoga instructor during her stay of almost four months on the 590-foot boat. Above, Corcoran enjoys the view of the Great Wall of China.

From Jan. 17 to May 5, Corcoran sailed around the world on a classroom cruise ship. She documented much of her trip on an Internet blog, kelly-sas.blog spot. com, where she discussed mosquito bites, the inappropriate jokes from some of the tour guides, long hikes, and the food poisoning that affected some of her travel mates for 10 hours straight.

The 21-year-old junior, who attends St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, was originally preparing to spend her semester abroad in Italy, but then learned about the semester at sea and quickly changed her plans.

"I knew I had to do it," she said after returning from her trip in May.

Her full itinerary on her semester at sea included San Diego, Calif.; Hilo and Honolulu, Hawaii; Yokohama and Kobe, Japan; Shanghai and Hong Kong, China; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Chennai and Cochin, India; Port Louis, Mauritius; Cape Town, South Africa; Tema (Accra), Ghana; Salvador, Brazil; and back to the United States in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

"I stopped in eight different countries, sometimes two different cities in each country," Corcoran said. "I usually stayed in each country for five days."

Corcoran spent the rest of her time on the ship, and at one point spent about two consecutive weeks on board without getting off at all. The ship, a 25,000-ton ocean liner is 590 feet in total length and equipped with nine classrooms, a faculty and staff lounge with 138 seats, a 7,500-square-foot pool area, and 1,170 seats located on various other decks.

She said her view of the world has changed since the trip.

"I will never listen to the news or read my textbooks in the same way [again]," Corcoran said.

She explained that she and the 586 other students attending the semester abroad were required to take Global Studies, a course with lecturers from all different fields including history, political science, music, art, religion, psychology, biology and other subjects.

"We also had inter-port lecturers from each country, who were there to tell us firsthand about their homeland," Corcoran said. "We didn't just know the facts about each country, we knew the stories."

So, in a trip so filled with international flair, how does Corcoran explain the effect of the full experience?

"To say that my view of the world has changed is an understatement," she said. "The real reason my perspective of the world is forever different is because I visited each country with an understanding of where it's been and how it got to where it is today."

Corcoran said it has been difficult to describe the trip to friends and family.

"I can already picture people growing bored of my stories, or trying to get it, but not fully understanding. And I can't blame them because I wouldn't have either," she said. "How do you describe the view from the Great Wall of China when you're not actually standing on it with your own two feet, or the feeling of sleeping in a hammock on a small riverboat while floating down the Amazon? How do you explain the adrenaline rush you get when you dive into the water with great white sharks, or the hopelessness you feel when you stare into the eyes of an orphan in a township of South Africa?"

Corcoran said she has few words to describe the bond she now shares with her other shipmates, who, up until four months ago, were complete strangers. Known as a yoga instructor among her friends and family, she began teaching it while on the ship. She volunteered at the beginning of the voyage and had no idea what to expect.

"Not only did I not know a single person coming onto this trip, but I'd never actually taught yoga to anyone aside from my friends and family, so you can imagine how nervous I was when I showed up the first day and found 65 people waiting to take my class," she said.

Since then, she taught every other day at sea and developed "a strong following of students, faculty, and staff." She taught at sunrise, sunset and at night, under the stars.

"There is nothing better than doing yoga while staring out into the ocean," she said.

Over the three and half month period, Corcoran said she almost forgot she was taking classes. The process was so exciting, she said, the learning seemed to be just a natural part of the whole experience.

"But now that I have been through this experience, there's no going back," she concluded. "How do I return to the same life when I'm no longer the same person?"


http://www.northjersey.com/news/95482684_Semester_at_sea_alters_student_s_perspective_.html