 "Photo: Courtesy of James Vierra")
 "Photo: Courtesy of James Vierra")
 "Photo: Courtesy of James Vierra")
Some call it a blessing in disguise, but I wasn't buying it.
At the start of my fourth year at San Diego State, I was told I wouldn't be accepted into the television, film and new media production major. That meant new lower division courses I didn't want to take for a major I didn't want to be in.
Oh, and my girlfriend of almost two years dumped me. That rejection hurt a little more than the one from the TFM department.
I needed to think, and after speaking to a couple of friends who had returned to San Diego from studying abroad, I decided I needed to think in a distant land.
Semester at Sea sounded brilliant. I pitched the idea of spending one semester on a cruise ship with 600 other students traveling around the world to a friend, and before I finished my sentence he told me he was in.
Two months later, I was off on my trip around the world.
The itinerary for my Semester at Sea went like this: Ensenada, Hawaii, Japan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Burma, India, Egypt, Turkey, Croatia, Spain and, finally, Florida.
As I took the bus from San Diego to Ensenada to depart on my voyage, I felt terribly nervous. I was leaving my home, my friends and my comfort level for more than 100 days. I could see the overwhelming cruise ship, the MV Explorer, from a mile away. The closer I got to the pier, both the boat and the pit in my stomach got larger and larger.
When finally inside the ship, I felt like a blue whale had swallowed me - it's massive.
There's a swimming pool, weight room, basketball court, two dining halls, a piano bar lounge, a bar and grill on the top deck and more. It took me a couple of weeks just to find my way around the whole thing.
The deal was, when the ship sailed from country to country we were to go to class, but when we landed at a port we were free to do whatever we wanted to for five days.
Class time was sort of a vacation of its own. Sessions were held in lounge areas on couches and swivel chairs.
The first two weeks in class before we arrived in Japan seemed like a lifetime. But when we finally docked, the culture shock hit me quickly and mercilessly, like Godzilla hit Tokyo. There are very few tourists in Japan and few Japanese people know English. They are, however, the nicest people I've ever met. Plus, you can buy beer out of vending machines on the street. Needless to say, I embraced the city with open arms.
After Tokyo, the next 90 days felt like nine years, but it was the best nine years of my life.
I experienced almost everything in the world I could ever imagine. I took bullet trains to see nightlife in Tokyo, the international capitol of Hong Kong, the Cu Chi tunnels and spent my 21st birthday in Vietnam. I stood in front of the Taj Mahal in India, the Great Pyramids and Sphinx in Egypt, Shwedagon Pagoda in Burma, Hagia Sophia in Turkey, the Old City in Croatia and the Sagrada Familia in Spain.
I planned to see the Great Wall, but a typhoon diverted our trip away from China.
I witnessed things I never dreamed of seeing. Things that I thought only existed in magazines or on the National Geographic channel.
Despite the fact that many people abroad weren't too fond of Americans, some people were willing to help you if you were lost or needed a place to eat or sleep. I met friends in the most unlikely places, such as Yangon, Burma, Luxor, Egypt and Agra, India. As beautiful as it is to see all the monuments and world wonders, it's even better to interact with the locals. I played soccer with kids in Vietnam and played guitar as Vietnamese adults sang along to "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Hotel California." I performed card tricks on a Japanese train and played card games with people on Egyptian trains. I drank tea and had many wonderful conversations with people from Turkey, Burma and India.
With all of the incredible and wonderful things I experienced, I also witnessed poverty and the tragic lives of millions of people - something I thought I would never encounter.
People with no legs and one arm crawled up to me, begging for money. A woman approached my friend with a baby in her arms. My friend realized that the baby wasn't breathing - it was dead. These images are burnt into my brain.
A fancy resort with luxurious accommodations is merely a 20-second walk from a poor village filled with people who built the resort.
As for life on the ship, I could imagine how people don't think they could hang out for about 50 days on a ship and not be able to go anywhere. But there's so much to do and so many people with whom to interact and socialize.
Almost every night at sea includes a trip to the pub. There are big events such as the Halloween party, Ambassadors Ball and the ever-so-popular Sealympics (Sea Olympics). Of all the memories I have of various countries, the memories from the ship are just as beautiful.
I was surprised to see that, unlike me, about 90 percent of the people who were on Semester at Sea came by themselves with no friends as safety nets. This made everyone I met eager to make friends and put out the best vibe on the ship. After knowing people for one week, it seemed like one year. When everyone is confined to a ship, you feel a sense of brotherhood, community and even family. I met people on that ship whom I now love like family. After three months of being with each other and sharing intense memories together, a bond grows like nothing you could imagine. I have friends from coast to coast, all over the country now. I even met my girlfriend on Semester at Sea. My best friend who I went there with also met his current girlfriend there too. So, don't go thinking it's all work and no play because it definitely can be a love boat. With all those people and nowhere to go, you do the math.
My experience at Semester at Sea is by far the greatest experience of my entire life. I'd do it again in a heartbeat. I give my highest recommendation to anybody who is thinking of studying abroad to go on Semester at Sea. You don't get the intimate experience of just one foreign country. It's more like spending 10 semesters abroad.
I miss the countries, the MV Explorer and all the friends I have made, some of whom I will never see again. I cried harder than I have in my entire life when it was over. Saying goodbye was tough. Being back home is wonderful, but I a piece of my heart will always belong to Semester at Sea.
-James Vierra is a communication media studies senior.
-This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Daily Aztec.
