Nerd Alert:

Let me just start by saying that this is the coolest thing in the entire world. And the scary thing is, it’s only going to get better.

We boarded the ship two days ago now… I think. My sense of time is a little wobbly. But regardless, on August 23rd, me and my new found friends woke up early, they complained about my snoring, we packed our bags up for the last time, and left to check in. Everyone was silent for awhile on the long bus ride, clearly coming to the realization of what was next. We were about to board a ship. In Europe. To take classes that we could only have dreamed about while we sail across the world. I’m sorry, what? None of this makes sense; I still can’t believe it’s all real life. So the bus ride was a mixture of exhaustion, uncertainty, apprehension, nerves, excitement, and more exhaustion. But once we got off the bus and started going through security, the apprehension flew out the window. We were antsy to get on board, meet our roommates, and explore our new home. Exhaustion was quickly forgotten as we received our new IDs and wandered to our cabins. Of course, everyone else has their beautiful smiling faces on their IDs……….I have my passport picture. Which makes me look like a pale, blonde, petite criminal. Excuse the term, but this picture is straight Resting Bitch Face. I”m keeping it turned backwards so that I don’t scare the children on board.

I get to my cabin and my bags are waiting for me! Including all the things that I was nervous that they’d take (I didn’t list vitamins on my medical form, and rumors were saying they’d take them. HAVE YOU MET MY IMMUNE SYSTEM?!) and the small amount of clothes I have. I have my backpack that I’ve been living out of for the last month, and now I have a duffel bag to get me through the next three and a half months. Crazy. The cabins are small, but much bigger than I had expected. The shower is nice, the bed is comfy, and the you-only-get-five-hanger rumors were false. We got ten each. WIN. I unpacked, hung up my Chicago flag and all of my pictures (I only brought 10 or so, which seemed like a lot at the time but only takes up a small portion of the wall), and sat down to talk to my roommate.

Then, we spent the night exploring the ship, meeting new people, and trying the food. At the end of the night, I could have easily fallen asleep standing up.

The next day was chock full of orientations, lectures, meetings- all the fun stuff. BUT, I got to meet my professors. And I can say, with the utmost certainty, that they are the coolest, most passionate people I’ve ever had the honor of learning from. I had a class today, Educational and Economic Systems: A Look at Access, Cost, and Privilege, taught by a Mr. Fred Galloway. BLOWN AWAY. For everyone who doubted that I would be taking real classes and learning real things-man I wish you could’ve sat in on that class. A class like this has NEVER been taught at ANY university. At sea or on land. The professor got his doctorate a Harvard University, where he was part of a new program and took half his courses in Econ and the other half in Education. He worked on Capital Hill, advising the president on Educational reforms and headed the “Direct Loans” (one of the first widespread government loan programs) and spent 5 years analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of a program like this. He’s put over 100 hours into creating the syllabus for this course, as there is nothing to go off of. He also teaches a Micro finance and Entrepreneurship class that I’m taking, which is going to focus on developing countries and the small business that the economy desperately needs. We’ll be having a Field Lab (essentially a mandatory field trip) in Accra, Ghana, where we’ll be visiting a place called “The Hub” and meeting in small groups with business owners in Ghana, each of whom have a unique challenge that they are facing. We will then work in groups of 3 or 4 alongside these business owners to help come up with logical ways to solve their issues, taking into account the economy they are working with. I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never encountered a U.S. land-based university that would give me this opportunity.

Okay, I’m babbling. After meeting my professors, we had an activity fair and I signed up for everything and it’s mother. I’m signed up for Latin Dance Club. Take a minute and soak that in. Has anyone EVER seen my hips move? I don’t think they do, but I figure if I wanted to salsa in Cuba, I better learn now. I signed up for Sunrise Yoga and to be a Global Ambassador. I signed up to visit City of Refuge, in Ghana, and I joined a club that is going to watch Game of Thrones from the beginning. Needless to say, I’ll never be bored.

At 17:00 last night, the ship cut ties with land and we pulled out into the sea. My friends and I sat in lawn chairs on the back deck, soaking it all in and cheering our heads off as the horn sounded. Last night I, uncharacteristically, skipped snack time and went to the gym by myself. Afterwords, I walked around the top deck to cool off and wandered to the rails, just staring off into the distance, where all I could see was a speck of light that was another ship in the distance. The boat rocked a little, but it was comforting more than anything. I sat, staring at the ocean and soaking it all in, for the better part of twenty minutes. Maybe I’ll get used to the beauty of it all someday. But maybe, most likely, I won’t.

I returned to my cabin and fell asleep with my phone on my chest. I was-literally- in the middle of setting my alarm and passed out. Let me say, it is SO weird to carry around your phone (to know the time) but have it be otherwise absolutely useless. I hardly even get internet in my cabin.

I’m hungry about 80% of the time, but I suppose I’ll adjust. They only serve meals from 7-8:30, 11:30-13:00, and 18:00-20:00, and although the food is pretty good, I try to keep my plates on the smaller side since it’s basically ALWAYS PASTA AND RICE. Everyone else thought to bring prepackaged snacks, but those didn’t make the cut into my bag. Oh well. I guess I’ll just keep busy and forget about it.

I think that’s it. Well, all that I can really put into words. I can’t really explain the hundreds of introductions (there are 647 students on the ship, over 100 crew, and almost 100 faculty) that take place daily, or the thousands of conversations you absentmindedly jump into with strangers. The constant knot of excitement in my stomach when my new friends and I discuss our plans to go to Berlin, or Paris, or an island in Senegal, or a beach in Portugal.

In the days leading up to this adventure, I found myself overwhelmed. Forgetting the opportunities that were ahead. There were several moments where I debated staying home, saying “screw it” to the unknown. Hugging Kevin goodbye at the airport before he and my mom drove off, my chest felt crushed. I sucked on the back of my teeth until my tongue was raw. I twirled my ring so often that that, too, was raw. My leg bounced up and down constantly and my head was pounding as I tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back tears. Then again, in the Munich train station, holding myself together while I said goodbye to my mom, my stomach swallowed itself. I walk, alone, to my hostel and nervously checked in, all while wondering what the hell I was thinking. Exhausted and overwhelmed, there were many times where I thought maybe this traveling thing wasn’t for me. Maybe I should just go home. Saying goodbye to Sarah as the hostel receptionist mocked my tears, I knew it was too late to turn back, but I also knew that I had NO idea what I was thinking. I love my friends. I love my family. I love Whole Food guacamole and the pathetic little howl that Beau does to wake me up. Why was I leaving all of that? Was this experience really going to give me everything I had hoped? Hiding in the bathroom the night before we boarded the ship, I Skyped my mom and Kevin and immediately started sobbing. I was excited, don’t get me wrong, but at that moment, I just wanted a hug from them both. I wanted to wake up obnoxiously early to sit with Kevin in the kitchen while he made us coffee and eggs. I wanted to go to lunch with my mom and talk incessantly for hours. I came to the crashing realization that I wasn’t just giving up texting and Facebook; I was giving up my life. Anyone who tells you that they didn’t have these feelings is a liar, and I’m not ashamed of the apprehension and nervousness that cascaded over me.

But, standing in the line to board the ship, all of that left. Watching the ship finally untie the ropes holding us to land, all of that left. Meeting my professors, all of that left. Finally, I remembered why I came here. Staring out into the ocean, alone and sweaty, seeing nothing but water and darkness, I realized that I can do this. I want to do this. I need to do this. I need to visit the European Union Institutions in Brussels and interact with small business owners in Ghana. I need to visit the favelas in Brazil and an orphanage in Africa. I need to learn to surf in Portugal and go salsa dancing in Cuba. I need to make friends in Morocco and Dublin and Spain and Barbados. How can I speak about the world, how can I work to improve it, without seeing any of it? As I sway back and forth while typing this, rocking with the ship, I realize that this isn’t just a study abroad program, or a vacation, or anything in between. This is an adventure. An experience. Something that very, very few people are lucky enough to have.

And now I hear my friends (I think) knocking at my door. So I’ll take this as my chance to cut off the ramblings of my personal thoughts. Apologies if your glimpse into my mind got boring sometime there.

If there’s anything else you want to know, as always, email me! adriana.kille.fa14