Well here I go.
Pardon this first part, a little lengthy and bland, but it will give you all the details. Although I will be back in California shortly next month, this is the start of my 3 month "study abroad" journey with SEA Semester. I haven't even arrived yet, but I wanted to start this blog now just to get the story going.
Today I left from SFO airport and will be arriving in Boston, Massachusetts (wifi in the air? technology is amazing). I am lucky enough to have a friend and her mom meeting me in Boston (they're visiting too) for the weekend. I start school next week in Woods Hole, Massachusetts with the Sea Education Association. In addition, I will be meeting a little more than a dozen new classmates for my next Semester. I don't know any of these other students (except via social media) but I am thoroughly excited to meet them and embark on this journey together!
We will all be a part of the SPICE program (Sustainability in Polynesian Island Cultures & Ecosystems) in which after our 4 weeks in Woods Hole we will meet again in American Samoa to get aboard... A pirate ship! Well, almost. We will be sailing aboard the Robert C. Seamans, which is "a 134-foot steel brigantine and is the most sophisticated oceanographic research/sailing school vessel ever built in the United States". For more info check out: http://www.sea.edu/voyages/spice_fall2014
There was no sailing experience needed for the trip but if you know me, you probably know it's sort of always been an interest of mine.
I think it was around my junior year of high school that I came across SEA Semester. I knew I wanted to study abroad in college, and I also had this desire to someday spend an extended period of time at sea. Thus, I had the thought that maybe, just maybe, there was something that combined the two. Low and behold with a little help from google, there she was! I waited a little while to tell my parents about it-- I knew it wasn't going to be the most economically friendly study abroad option and I wasn't sure how good of a program it was. However, I read nothing but good things about it, and only became more passionate about the idea. So, I broke it to my parents. And not surprisingly my Dad loved the idea and my mom thought we were crazy. My Dad even asked if adults could go! You see, he's a boating dude. He built a Freya 39 sailboat before I was born. "Yezdan" is its name and it has been a boat I've loved my entire life.
When I was younger it was berthed in the Delta and we spent a lot of time on it out on the rivers, especially in Potato Slough. I even remember a few weddings on it... Anyway, it moved to the Bay Area where it's been up until recently. I may not quite yet know how to sail, nor drive a motor boat that well, but it's in my blood and I love learning more and more about it. Additionally, I grew up in a "Pirates' Lair" so I suppose that could help. Arrr.
A few years later while a sophomore Environmental Studies major and Dance minor in college (also recreationally taking sailing), I decide I'm going to go for it. It took a lot of paperwork, phone calls, and organizing but I finally finished applying for SEA Semester at the beginning of 2014. About a month later, however, my life sort of took a spin.
On February 8th, 2014 my Dad passed away. There's not much more to say except he's gone, it hurts a lot, it's scary to think about the future sometimes, and I miss him so much. Now, over 6 months later, my Mom and I are doing well and just keep moving forward. A few weeks after my Dad passed, I got the call that I'd been accepted into SEA Semester's SPICE program. I was overjoyed but wished I could call both my parents to tell them.
Flash forward-- I finished my sophomore year and headed into this summer knowing it would be short, yet jam-packed with greatness. For everyone that had a part in making my summer what it was, I thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. My family, family friends (ehh you're family too), and friends are what have gotten me through this and kept me busy.
Now I embark on this journey both nervous and excited-- well, and in denial that I will have to use my brain again next week...
If you actually read all this, thank you for taking the time, and I hope to keep you all updated!
A Hui Hou,
❤️ LTK
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