The End of a New Beginning.

It’s the end of a journey, the end of the voyage… but it’s only the beginning of the rest of my life.

I want to start off my final on-ship blog entry, on the eve of arriving in San Diego, by thanking EVERYONE who has supported me throughout this incredible trip of a lifetime.

First and foremost, I want to thank our amazing Captain, Roman Krstanovic. He was the guiding force, the one who made this ship set sail in Nassau on January 19^th and is bringing us safely home tomorrow, over 3 months later, on April 28^th. Also, I want to thank the Crew. They have been absolutely wonderful and such a blast, laughing on Deck 7 or knowing exactly what I want to order, telling us about their lives and families and homes from Jamaica to the Philippines… To my awesome cabin steward, Rolando, who kept the room nice by making our beds every day and cleaning the rooms.

I am going to miss the kitchen staff, like Allan and Solomon who always make us laugh and are so friendly and courteous. My trip would have been completely different without them and I am so glad they were a part of it! Next, I want to thank my parents who made this trip come true for me and have followed me along the entire journey (especially to Vietnam!!). I cannot thank them enough for giving me the world, words are simply not enough – so these pictures are for them…

Next, in no particular order, I want to thank my brother, the rest of my family, everyone who wrote me postcards/letters, all the parents and people who read my blog and/or commented on my it, provided me with words of advice, all my friends back home both in San Diego and in Gig Harbor, and of course, all my friends on the ship who were part of the remarkable journey. All the laughter, the smiles, the hugs, the experiences.

As I sit here and reflect on the last 100 days, I am in awe. I still remember signing up for Semester At Sea and how time couldn’t pass fast enough for it to arrive. Now that it’s at an end, I don’t want to leave. The ship has truly become my home and the people on it are my family and best friends. I know I am going to miss the little things – playing poker in Classroom 1, sitting on my laptop in the Piano Lounge, going to Pub Nights on Deck 7, getting late-night hot dogs at the Grill when the ship food was just not good (which occurred quite frequently, in fact), getting smoothies and sitting in the sun, Neptune Day and Sea Olympics, sunrises in new countries, Ambassador's Ball where everyone wore the suits/dresses they had made in Vietnam or saris/langis from India or Myanmar, and getting off the ship in port and not knowing what to do or expect and just going for it. As much as it is going to be sad to leave, I know that it isn’t goodbye. Semester At Sea was not just a 3-month trip around the world, it was something that has become a part of me and will stay with me for the rest of my life. The halls and walls and cabins might be empty of pictures, maps, and luggage – but the memories and friendships will always be in my heart. In 5, 10, 15, 20 years I will look back and still not believe what I did, the places I saw, or the people I met. It’s surreal. It’s unbelievable and amazing and indescribable. I cannot answer the question, “What was your favorite country?” because once you have seen so many different ones, they all become your favorites for different reasons. Some people might not understand what I went through on this semester, and that’s okay, because I still don’t know what happen. It might hit me one day…

I am going to go home for the summer and go back to school in San Diego in the Fall. It’s going to be an adjustment for all of us. Some people are itching to get home, others want to be stow-aways on the ship, like me! But every book comes to a close and all good things have to end sometime. I’m smiling right now, because I can’t believe it. I have loved every moment of this and I will always, always have the most amazing memories to make any bad day disappear. Tomorrow, as we all go down the gangway one-by-one and return home, I know that we are all leaving a part of ourselves on the ship. I am already jealous of any future voyagers – the only advice I have for you is this: no regrets. Do what you want, do everything, and do not regret a SECOND of it. Everything happens for a reason, even if you don’t know what that is. Semester At Sea has changed me. I have grown, I have become more independent than I ever thought was possible. And as much as this is the end, it isn’t. It’s the beginning of life-long friendships, more travels around the world, and the possibilities are endless. I still don’t think that my words are adequate enough to express my emotions. Now, it is time to go back into the world with a new outlook. Everyone is taking last-minute video footage of the ship, photographs, signing maps and exchanging contact info and pictures and stories. We are taking full advantage of our last hours on the ship. Watch out, we have all been bit by the travel bug…

These are the moments, I thank God that I’m alive…

These are the moments, I’ll remember all my life…

Semester At Sea Spring 2006. The world is my home. I can only guess where I will go next…