Southeast Student's Semester at Sea

Skydiving in Spain, hang gliding in Brazil and bungee jumping in Costa Rica are just a few of the things Southeast Missouri State University sophomore Ryan Dorenkamp crossed off his bucket list while studying abroad. Last semester Southeast MIssouri State University sophomore, Dorenkamp was one of only two students from Missouri to study on a Semester at Sea ship.

Semester at Sea is a unique study abroad program through the University of Virginia that students from all over the country can apply for.

“I was on an airplane flying to Colorado to snowboard and I met a kid who was flying to California to meet the [Semester at Sea] ship and he told me all about it,” Dorenkamp said. “Like how it was his second time and how awesome it was. So I literally landed, got off the plane, called my mom and was like ‘Hey Mom, I want to study abroad,’ and she was like, ‘You’re crazy,’ and I applied sitting in the airport waiting for my bus.”

Dorenkamp said the application process was long, but not terrible, and he was required to pass a physical, have a clean disciplinary record and be able to find financial accommodations.

“It’s not a weird study abroad program,” Dorenkamp said. “It’s actually probably one of the best out there, but it’s also the most expensive. So that was the hardest part, finding the financial aid and getting it all squared away. But once I got it all taken care of you could honestly tell it was going to be easily the best study abroad program you could ever do.”

Once accepted, the students board a large ship and sail around the world, doing classwork while on the ship, meeting with a professor for one day in each country and experiencing the world however they wish to the rest of the time.

“I took 15 credits, so I had five days in country that I had to do class, and the other time was free time for me,” Dorenkamp said. “So, basically, you would just find a group of people you connected really well with and had the same ideas as you, and you would just go do anything on your bucket list. From bungee jumping, to skydiving, walking with lions or hang gliding, basically whatever in your mind you wanted to do, that’s what you do. The only stipulation is you cannot leave the country.”

Figuring out which fun adventures to do during his free time was the easy part, according to Dorenkamp.

“The class part of it was one of the hardest parts,” he said. “You had to figure out what courses you still need. I finished up a lot of gen eds while I was on the ship, so, basically, I went to each class from each department and was like ‘Will this class from this ship transfer to a class I would take here, or would you guys allow it to count?’ I’m a construction management and architecture major, so while I was there I took a lot of engineering courses and basically just looked at a lot of buildings.”

Each voyage is different, but during his semester, Dorenkamp visited more than 30 cities in 12 countries on three continents.

“There's a lot of pros and cons to every place, but there are some places that have so many pros and so little cons, and I can say those places would be Ireland, Italy, Croatia and Costa Rica,” Dorenkamp said. “A lot of people on the ship didn’t like Senegal, just because it was a very big culture shock. We had just spent a bunch of time in Europe, getting adjusted to Europe, and then we went to Africa. Before we went to Senegal we went to Morocco, and Morocco wasn’t too bad, it was OK, but then we went to Senegal. It’s a very poor country, with a lot of people doing whatever they can to make a living. It was just, it was an eye opener, but at the same time it was just very uncomfortable. So that was one of the places I felt the cons outweighed the pros.”

Each student personally gets to decide how much or how little to do while on their Semester at Sea.

“We ported in Salvador, Brazil, but then I flew to Rio [De Janeiro], which is perfectly fine, ’cause I’ve always wanted to see Rio,” Dorenkamp said. “Some people went to the Amazon, because those people had always wanted to do Amazon adventures and boat tours and stuff. Basically before you go, you want to have a list, or thoughts, of what you want to do and what you want to achieve while you’re gone and find people that have the same goals as you.”

Dorenkamp found many people with the same goals as him and made lifelong friendships and connections with people he met on the ship.

“I text more of those people on a daily basis, or Snapchat more of them, or any type of social media conversation, Facetime, anything, than I do anybody else,” Dorenkamp said. “It’s just, you’re going to do whatever you can to see these people because they’re some of the best people you’ll ever meet in your life.”

On top of the relationships he gained through Semester at Sea, Dorenkamp said the experiences he had and things he saw changed him as a person.

“I just see the world a lot different now, and I see people here a lot different,” Dorenkamp said. “I see people from other cultures but live in America, a lot different than I saw them before. I feel like there's more out there now and there's still so much to see and to do. You never can stop. You should never just stop and just enjoy what you have. I mean, enjoy what you have, but you should look and see and do the other things that are out there, and don’t stop.”

Dorenkamp enjoyed studying abroad with Semester at Sea so much he decided he’s doing it again his second semester of his junior year.

“My mom saw how different it made me and how happy it made me and how much of a wonderful experience it was for me, so she’s doing everything she can to help me go again,” Dorenkamp said. “I’m definitely going to different places this time. I’ll go to China, Japan, India, Africa and back up into Europe, so she’s a little more worried for this time because of the places I’ll be, but she also knows that I’ve been able to travel by myself around the world, that I kind of have a good understanding of it.”

While Dorenkamp said it was hard to be away from his family, traveling the world changed his perception of where home is.

“I don’t feel at home,” he said. “That’s the hard part. I came back and there’s something called reverse culture shock, where you’re so used to something and then you go away from it, completely forget and then you come back and it hits you real hard. That hit me real hard.

“I made home my backpack, basically. I lived out of my backpack for months. I would put the things I need in my backpack and that was all I needed. So when I came home and put my stuff away, I was like ‘This is not right.’ I came back and it didn’t feel right, it felt weird. I still honestly don’t feel at home. I feel like another person passing through waiting for my next way out. That’s how it feels.”

His next “way out” will be with Semester at Sea again next year, and he suggested all students look into studying abroad.

“It changes you, and it changes you for the better,” Dorenkamp said. “You’ll never regret going away. The hardest part will be coming back.”

For more information about Semester at Sea, the different voyages available or to fill out an application, visit SemesterAtSea.org.