Once a regular reporter for Young Observer, Gherdai Hassell is now a student at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro studying public health and nutrition science. She writes about her long-awaited voyage with the Semester at Sea programme sponsored by the University of Virginia.Although, it took me three years to become a Semester-At-Sea'er, here I am today, travelling on board the amazing ship ME Explorer for their 106th voyage around the world. Our voyage is travelling for 66 days to seven different countries. The itinerary is incredible as we sail across the Atlantic Ocean, through the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Black Seas from the Bahamas to Spain, Italy, Croatia, Greece, Turkey, Bulgaria and Morocco.The Institute for Shipboard Education?s Semester at Sea is a programme sponsored by the University of Virginia where students can travel the world on academic voyages. There are Summer, Spring, Fall and short-term voyages where students can study abroad on board the MV Explorer and get transfer credit to apply to their home institutions.I learned about Semester at Sea at a college fair held at Bermuda College back in S3 when I attended the Berkeley Institute. After visiting their table completely entranced by the thought of a multi-country study abroad programme, I knew it was something I wanted and was definitely going to do one day.Life on board the ship is like none other. We call ourselves a floating community. There are about 1,100 people in total on board the ship. There are about 300 faculty, support staff and dependent family members and about 700 students from universities all across the US including a few international students. There are inter-port students and guest lecturers who come on board the ship between ports to give students history on the countries we are visiting. The inter-port student is from the country we travel to next and serves as a peer informant on the ins and outs of what to do while in port.We are usually in port for four days in each specific country. While in port students can do independent travel or travel with SAS-sponsored trips that are sold before hand. Because the whole goal of Semester at Sea is to ?make the world our campus?, class days are very limited (there are only 23 class days on our 66 day voyage). While in port students must use their time to attend historical or educational sites and write observation papers on the site of their choice. Students are required, however, to have attended at least one field-directed practical outside the classroom led by their professor.Ship life is very similar to the college campus experience. We have a library on board, career services, counselling services, a health centre, computer lab, snack bars, dining halls, a gym and spa. We have student organisations, student workshops, and a field office for trips while in port. Days at sea are class days when all the events are held. There is never a time on the ship where anyone can say they are bored; there is always something to do. We have events such as the silent auction, the amazing race, sea Olympics, open mic nights, big explorer seminars, passport to leadership events, and movies on the TV loop.Thus far we have travelled to Spain, Italy, Croatia and Greece. While I have not completed this voyage I can wholeheartedly say, this experience has changed my life. With what I learn on this voyage I can confidently say that I have become a global citizen. With much ahead of me on the rest of the voyage, I trust that I will leave this experience with a new outlook and perspective and acquire a deeper understanding of my position in this world.