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The Voyage of a Lifetime

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Jeannie Sullivan is a Junior in Agricultural Sciences with a minor in Speech Communication. Last fall, she embarked on the journey of a lifetime with Semester at Sea. Currently an Ambassador for the OSU Office of Global Opportunities, Jeannie is fully versed on how to make the most of a study abroad experience. Read on to learn about her incredible voyage and the opportunities SAS has to offer!

Jeannie Sullivan (7)

Everyone asks if life on the ship was like “The Suite Life of Zach and Cody” and I always say no, not at all. When we were at sea, we had classes every day. That means we had homework, midterms, and finals to go along with that. When we were in port, we got to go explore the countries and do independent travel. For my program, I was able to see an array of countries. I boarded the ship in London and from there I spent the next three and a half months sailing and having the sea as my campus. The countries that I was able to visit on my voyage were: Russia, Poland, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Italy, Brazil, Barbados, and Cuba. We were supposed to go to Ghana and Senegal, but since that was during the height of the EJeannie Sullivan (3)bola crisis, we were rerouted to go back to a different region in Spain and Italy. While I took classes on the ship, I had a required field lab that I went on for each class. These field labs were hands on learning experiences that brought the classroom and reality together. On my voyage, I was able to go hiking and see flamingos in Tuscany for my invasive species lab, learn about the history and architecture of Portugal for my architecture class, learn about Ireland’s health care system and how the LGBT community is treated for my public health class, and learned how history and communication correlate with each other in Russia.

Living on a ship is pretty much like living back in the resident halls. On my voyage, there were a little over 600 students and 150 professors and faculty on board. One thing that I thought was awesome was that the professors and faculty got to bring their families on the ship, so occasionally there were little kids running around, which was always fun and a nice stress reliever. I was always surrounded by people and it was really hard to get quiet time, but it was nice to always be socializing with people at the same time. For my program, I was still meeting people on the last couple days of my voyage. I was able toJeannie Sullivan (4) meet people from all around the States and the world. Being on a ship, I got to see everyone in their best attire, and their not so best attire. So it was always interesting walking around the ship (I always wore orange sparkly slippers when we were on board). With tight quarters, I got to know my professors very well. I loved having lunch or dinner with them. I got to know them on a personal level, and they did not seem as intimidating as they would have back at Oregon State. While living on the ship, I was able to be put into a “family.” This meant that I was grouped with a faculty member and other students. It was nice to be able to have a group to have dinner with, hear their travels, and meet people that I would not have met otherwise.

Being able to go on this voyage was a chance of a lifetime and full of once in a lifetime opportunities. I was able to go to Cuba two weeks before Obama eased the embargo. I learned how to salsa dance from the locals, I got to meet students from The University of Havana, and got to see the site of The Bay of Pigs. I was able to sail down the Amazon River and sip on coconuts on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema in Brazil. I was able to ride a camel in the Sahara Desert (and it just happened to be a Wednesday when I did thJeannie Sullivan (2)at). I was able to experience real Belgium waffles, crepes, pierogis, Brazilian barbeque, and Italy’s pizza and pasta making skills firsthand. I was able to see festivals and listen to local music in Russia and Belgium. I was able to see the filming site of Michael Jackson’s song “They Don’t Care About Us.” I got to overcome my fear of heights by zip lining the boarder from Spain to Portugal. I saw the iconic symbols of Paris and the ruins of Rome. I was able to see a Champion League match between FC Barcelona and Ajax at Camp Nou. But most of all, I was able to meet lifelong friends, see beautiful sunsets and sunrises, whale watch, see pods of dolphins and fly fish, and be able to star gaze while in the middle of the Atlantic and see the end of the Milky Way Galaxy while looking at shooting stars.

Jeannie Sullivan (8)

I could not find a better program that fit what I wanted to get out of my experience abroad. I wanted to see as many places as possible, learn to put my preconceived notations aside, and to take advantage of once in a lifetime opportunities.

Summer in Salamanca, Spain

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Alexsandra Dos Reis is an international student from Brazil currently studying at Oregon State. During Summer 2012, Alexsandra studied at la Universidad de Salamanca through the Academic Programs International’s (API) Spanish Language and Culture Program. At Oregon State, Alexsandra is majoring in Human Development and Family Sciences (HDFS) and has a minor in Spanish.

In the summer of 2012, I had the opportunity to study abroad in Spain. This is one of the best choices I have ever made. I was able to learn Spanish and visit so many places in Spain that I could only dream of. From the city of Madrid to the warm blue oceans of Cadiz, Spain was incredible. Not only was I able to be in Spain, but I chose the perfect summer to go. While I was in Spain, the Eurocup was going on as well; this made my experience so much more worthwhile.

Puerta del Sol l Madrid

In Madrid, Spain I got to step right smack dab in the middle of the country. This was part of Puerta del Sol or “Gate of the Sun”—one of the best and busiest places in Madrid, where many events are held for the city.

Cadiz, Spain was one of the most beautiful places we visited. The entire city looked like a blank white canvas with all the white buildings. The ocean was the warmest ocean I have ever been in and I never wanted to leave. This was just one of the many different wonderful places we visited, but definitely my favorite.

One of the most amazing things that I saw every day for two months living in Salamanca was the new cathedral that is connected to the old one. Every city had a cathedral which was the tallest building and this one was the most beautiful. I was able to visit inside and go on top to view the city. Being able to see this every morning when I woke up was the best part of my day.

I’m so happy that I studied abroad in Spain while the Eurocup was happening. I have never felt so part of the community. The celebration was incredible. It didn’t matter who you were, where you were or what you were doing. You could hear fireworks and people celebrating everywhere. You felt as one, even with strangers. Soccer and especially the Eurocup is such a big part of Spanish culture and if you don’t enjoy it, you will after you leave.

Since I decided to study abroad during the summer, everyone in Spain was on summer vacation. All the students that were attending school were students that were studying abroad too, so the structure of school was a little different. School was great, it would start at 8 AM but you would be done for the day by 1 PM. I was able to learn a lot because the teachers were all native Spanish speakers and were able to work so well with all of us learning the language. I learned a lot especially in understanding Spanish. My speaking skills did improve, but not as much as I had hoped.

A part of it was the program I went to study abroad with. I studied abroad with Academic Program International (API) and this included about 20 students from the U.S. I feel that we as a group were together a lot and actually did not speak much Spanish to each other. This really affected learning more Spanish because speaking English was the easy way out for all of us.

Another part that really affected learning to speak more Spanish was that I went to study abroad with a native Spanish speaking friend. Though I loved experiencing everything with a friend the most important part was improving my Spanish and this was a bad choice on my part. I ended up relying on her a lot when shopping or trying to communicate with other people, even our host mother.

I was not only able to improve my Spanish while living there, I learned so much about the culture and how it is so different than the U.S. Being born in Brazil, living in the United States and studying abroad in Spain, I got to learn a lot and compare all three. The relaxed feeling of the culture in Spain and all their siestas (naps) was so comforting. It just seemed like everyone there took the time to do their work, but to enjoy life and all the simple things. It seemed to be the same in Brazil. In the U.S. everyone seems like they are always rushing or have something to do and it is so stressful even if you are not that person. Being in a community where everyone takes the time for everything was relaxing and very stress free.