Life on the ship is a culture in and of itself. Students are not quite prepared for the acclimation to living within a community where one cannot really walk away, take a bus into town, or go home for the weekend. The students range from gap-year to post-baccalaureate, with the majority being Juniors. All this packing and considering the moments in various communities, and the biggest hurdle, here and in life, is how do I get along with others?
I have been thinking and talking about the difference between being “responsible to” and “responsible for”. Here is a dilemma: We come as an individual for the adventure, and then there is the messy complications of others! Or, some come with friends who share many similarities on the land campus, but the test of novelty and adventure starts to differentiate them. To thine own self be true. There is an invitation to grow up in the kind of young adult way where one is able to break off from the pack.
One of the encouraging statements heard repeatedly is to allow yourself to get lost. I am noticing for myself and others the need to both have enough knowledge to have a good experience, and then enough flexibility to be open to the mysteries of what might unfold. It was lovely being on a scheduled trip to Greece, and to see and experience so much beauty. It is also a treat to get lost, to wander into courtyards and find all kinds of gems. The band below was playing the theme from the Love Boat, and had an angel dancing in front of them.
To duck in behind a shop yielded this cool public art, then led us into a store with bamboo housewares that were unbelievably light and aesthetically pleasing to handle.
I anticipate that future post-port reflections will bring a different tone even, once we get beyond the Euro countries. The students of color have been challenged in a different way, such as when being Asian American provokes a lot of questions. So much of the Global Studies course has been addressing colonization, and we will be heading to Africa and Brazil, where a huge portion of the Africans taken into slavery ended up going under the oppression of the governments and countries where we’ve been stopping. With the current events and being around larger Islamic communities, there are layers to uncover regarding human rights, religious freedom, free speech, and respect for plurality.
Another idea that I have been mulling over is the idea of no judgement, especially as it relates to comparisons. I am guilty of mentally compartmentalizing and cataloguing, because it is so efficient! What it costs is the 3-dimensional comprehension of something new and wonderful.
I was suggesting to someone planning a honeymoon, if feasible, to go someplace where you’ve never been before. Start off your marriage on an even playing field wherever possible. Rather than one person, knowing already, do some homework together and have the direct experience together of discovering and delighting in all the magic that the occasion should hold.
So we leave Antwerp, and are off to Lisbon, which is suggested to be the most beautiful port in Europe for disembarking.
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