March 31, 2016
For two weeks, Anna Addei was aboard the MV World Odyssey, as Ghana’s Interport Student for the Semester at Sea program. Anna is the sixth Ashesi student to participate in program since 2009.
Aboard the ship, Anna served as a shipboard ambassador for Ghana, sharing Ghanaian culture and values with other Semester at Sea students from across the globe. In the images and story below, she shares her experience aboard the ship
My once in a life time experience as Interport student for the Spring 2016 Semester at Sea voyage started long before I even got aboard the MV World Odyssey, the amazing German-built cruise ship which served as my home for a week and a half. On my arrival at the airport in Cape Town, South Africa, I was welcomed by a travel agent who seemed to know everything there was to know about the town. At this point, I had no doubts that I was going to have a much greater time than I had expected.
After a tour of the MV World Odyssey and a great talk over lunch with one of the students, I went shopping on Cape Town’s famous Green Street with newly made friends. The next day saw me site-seeing on a tour bus, seeing a movie with another batch of new friends and witnessing the thrashing of the Australian National Rugby team by South Africa’s team right from the stands of the stadium in an International Rugby game. To top this all, before the ship sailed the following day, I got to enjoy a truly South African lunch in the popular township, Langa, and also had the opportunity to visit Robben Island, where Nelson Mandela spent 18 years of his jail sentence. The seals and penguins on the island made the trip even more exciting. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I would find myself having such a treat in South Africa.
The experience on the ship was just as remarkable an experience as in Cape Town. From my cozy cabin to the exciting buffet of food set before me everyday, I felt out of this world. Yet, I considered my interactions with the students and faculty aboard the ship even more precious. With each day, I made a dozen new friends and was intrigued by the conversations we engaged in as we learnt from each other on a vast range of topics. The networking opportunities were also endless; from connecting with business leaders from world leading corporations to students from all over the world, I couldn’t ask for more.
The “school week” started and so did work for me. I had the opportunity to sit in on up to six classes each day and give insights on topics being discussed from a Ghanaian or African perspective. I must say that I haven’t been more glad about taking my Africana courses seriously; most of the insights I shared, were influenced by lessons learned from these courses. I also realized the importance of sharpening of my communication skills through various extra-curricular activities and career fair competitions we have at Ashesi, as I was commended by many if not all the lecturers who invited me to their classes. My presentation on Ghana which was addressed to all seven hundred members of the shipboard community put the icing on the cake of my ambassadorial duties on the ship.
When classes were not in session, the club activities offered a wide range of engaging options to choose from. I took the opportunity to put my dancing shoes on, learning the ramba and samba with the ballroom dance club. I also took time to join the Christian fellowship on board in their sessions including the watching of Passion of Christ in the ship’s classroom cinema, the Kino. When there were either no club activities or class, further networking and movie nights served as perfect alternatives.
Arriving in Ghana on Easter Sunday, time with my new friends didn’t end. With twelve others in my company, we joined a church in Takoradi for their Easter service. I was surprised at how difficult I found it to part with the ship and shipboard community when we docked in Tema two days later. The possibility of getting attached never crossed my mind but it was time to leave.
If I had the chance, I will do this again and again and again. Semester at Sea was such a worthwhile experience and has conveniently placed many goodies in my backpack of experience and personal growth, that have the potential to put my life on a trajectory that I never imagined possible.
Share this story