Semester at Sea in GIFs

Finding the words to describe a four-month around-the-world-on-a-floating-university experience is often hard. And also, expressing things in GIFs is so much fun, so here you go.

“Water, Water, Every Where”

I live in a water-scarce country on a water-scarce continent. I grew up with a little ditty, “Kinders moenie in die water mors nie, die ou mense wil dit drink” – “Children, don’t mess with water, the old people want to drink it”. Parts of my country has had water restrictions in the years that

Africa Needs More Books

I was walking through my home suburb (read:village) with my brother the other day. We went to the local library, sampled some books (slim pickings) and as we walked home, I asked about such-and-such a bookshop, and such-and-such a used bookshop. They were all closed down. Anyone wanting to purchase books needs to go to

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

TTT: Books for the Traveler

I am changing things just a little for today’s Top Ten Tuesday. The topic is Top Ten Books that feature TRAVELLING in some way. I’m choosing books that I think travelers would like. Whether you are traveling, have actively traveled, or dream about traveling, these books are all set in foreign countries and are great to

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape

I took this picture at Elmina Castle in Cape Coast, Ghana, during my visit there with Semester at Sea in April this year. We learned about the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in high school history class, and it was incredibly educational to visit this castle in the flesh. It was harrowing too. What a dark time

Weekly Photo Challenge: Culture

Two photo posts in a row! This week’s photo challenge with The Daily Post is about culture. YAY! I have seen a LOT of that these past four months. The most beautiful thing about culture and travel is not just learning to celebrate differences… but learning to appreciate what makes us the same. There was