Weekly Photo Challenge: Myanmar In My Eye

This week’s challenge with The Daily Post is titled The World Through Your Eyes. Myanmar was a fantastic country. Really like no place you’ve ever been; nothing like the rest of Asia. We were walking through a residential street (not lost, just strolling) and the sense of community in this street was strong. Everyone was

You Are Going To Be A Terrible Doctor

The further you get in medical school, the more horror stories you hear about students who are told by professors – sometimes in ward rounds, sometimes during exams – that they will “never be a good doctor”. I have never been told that, if only because they know that with my political background, I will

Booking It Around The World

Last week I posted about books for travelers, and I realised I never wrote about my forays into bookstores while traveling. Most Semester at Sea students decide to collect ONE THING in each country. One girl decided to buy a copy of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in every country, preferably in a local language. Another

Medical Monday: Disabled in Vietnam

In my Semester at Sea reflections, I return often to Vietnam. I think it was the first country to shock me, well and truly. It was not very easy to make my SAS experience medically-oriented, and I had to do a lot of hard work to learn about medicine in various countries. Vietnam was the

Weekly Photo Challenge: From Above (Floating Market, Vietnam)

It is the eve of my examinations, and I have been back in South Africa for exactly a week. It has been incredibly difficult to focus on studying. Fortunately I don’t start with the most difficult subject (which is not to say that I am not incredibly nervous). Anyway, taking a break, this week’s theme

Drawing to a close

Tonight is my last night on the M/V Explorer. What a journey it has been – 106 days! I am packed and early tomorrow I disembark. Two days exploring Spain, and then heading home. I am so excited to get home, but before that I have to somehow get my bags checked in without paying

Weekly Photo Challenge: Change

These large Chinese fishing nets in Fort Cochin, Kerala, India, seem to be riding the wave of change.

Ten Things about Ghana

Five days in Ghana have come and gone. Now we are off to Morocco, and this voyage is drawing quickly to a close. Here are some memorable things about Ghana. 1. Warm people: It is incredible to see such big smiles. When hearing that I am from South Africa, I was invariably greeted with a

Weekly Photo Challenge: Sailing to the Future

This week’s weekly photo challenge with The Daily Post looks to the future. In my immediate future is touching on home base! In fact, right now we are sailing past the East Coast of South Africa, and just a few hours I was giddily staring at the lights of Durban’s coastline. I even have cell

Give and Take

While reflecting on our time in India, some students are disappointed: they feel swindled and taken advantage of, the supposedly-wealthy tourists who are really just struggling students (and who are, mind you, sailing around the world). Unable to hold my tongue, I say that it is not the locals’ responsibility to bargain with us. It