Sea Education Association, I learned about the ocean and myself. Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

SEA was great because the classes were taught with the knowledge that the other classes exsisted. For example, as we learned about Columbian Exchange, we learned about the tools and methods Columbus used to navigate to the new world. So when he predicted a lunar eclipse to freak out the natives, and think he was a god, we knew it was because he had been using the celestial bodies to navigate. So he knew all about the movements of the moon and sun and stars. The professors were great, they would get together everyday and chat about how all the things tie into each other. Sometimes they would even sit in on each others classes to really get an understanding of what we were learning. I wish all educators took such interest in their students complete education.

On-site administration of your program

The crew of the ship knew a lot about our port stops. SEA has been around for 40 years, so they know people and places as well was people know them. Our professor organized a few feild trips that took us to some beautiful and interesting places. The crew did a great job of telling us all the places to go and not to go during our time off. This made for both a fun and educational few days in our ports of call.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

Housing during the land component are small houses on campus, these are great and helps to develop a community feel that we took onto the boat. The had 100 ft. of deck space, a lab, a dinning room (called the main salon), kitchen (called a galley), bathrooms (heads), bunks for 30 plus people is very safe and comfortable. The boat is a foreign country in and of itself. It takes a few days to get used to it. The first night I spent just listening to all the sounds and trying to figure out what is what. By the end of the trip, my fellow students and I were running things. It was empowering to be in control of such a large and beautiful ship.

Amazing!! Simply amazing, it was like resturaunt quality food every meal. After standing watch from 11pm to 3am, I would wake up to eat breakfast at 7am. It was that good

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

The feild trips in Samana were amazing, we kayaked to an ancient cave and hiked around it. We also got to visit a banana plantation, and since my paper was about banana farming, that tied in great!

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

I felt safer onboard the ship in the middle of the ocean than I do on land. It was obvious that safety is SEA's number one concern.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

We traveled to a port stop that spoke Spanish, during our time there, I interacted with some locals, I spoke some bad Spanish that no one seemed to understand, luckily some of my classmates new Spanish and helped out.

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• Americans

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• Americans